Pwm bypass switch on 17 r1

Hello all! This guide/build log is inspired by @Striker1234 's lovely rocker switch for the pwm issue on our notebooks. If your here it's because you, like me, have an issue with the fan not keeping your CPU fan cool while gaming, and you dont care about noise either

Bit of a tl;dr
This laptop doesnt easily allow fan control throught the bios or windows, nor does it ever run the fans at max rpm. To bypass this, you need to cut the pwm wire on the fans. However, doing this makes the fan run at full speed, all the time, which is loud but it lowers temps alot! A way to fix this is by installing a switch of some sort so that you can make the fan work normally when you dont need it at max speed.

****disclaimer****
I am not responsible for anything you do to your laptop. I am simply making a guide on what works for me, and therefore not responsible if something you do breaks your laptop. Doing this does void any kind of warranty you may have(LOL)

Things you will need:
Either a push button or rocker switch(two if you are doing this for GPU too. The rocker switch requires a dremel.)
Drill AND dremel with drill bits
Soldering iron
Solder
Heat shrink tubing (or electrical tape)
Wire(doesnt matter the gauge as this is a signal wire that doesnt carry a current)
Electrical tape or epoxy(choose electrical tape if you want to remove it later
And of course an alienware 17 r1 laptop
Would probably be best if you also had spare fans, just in case.

First things first. You need to know which is the pwm wire on your fans. it is the second one from the right on the connector with the tabbed side. see pic. this is true for both the cpu and gpu fans.

Spoiler: pic

this will be wired to either end of the switch

now that thats out of the way, you need to fully disassemble the laptop, and i reccommend taking the panel off as well, as you willbe getting metal shavings everywhere in a little bit.. once the machine is disassembled you can find out where you have room to put a switch. like i said, you will have the most room where the "lock" is. See pic as this is where i am putting mine.

Spoiler: Pic

I ended up using the two of the buttons on the right for my mod. i didnt use the black button



This is the area i was scoping out for the placement of the switch. i left the motherboard in just to make sure i had enought room for both


outside look on the lock area.

Alright. you have your switches, you have where you want to place them. you have the laptop COMPLETELY disassembled. Well nows the hard part. You will need to dremel and make cutouts for what ever switch you are using. What i did, may or may not work for you, and having smaller buttons than me will definately help. take your time on this part, because you cut the wrong thing and youll end up having to order a new chassis. this is all metal too, so make sure you are using eye protection and maybe a mouth mask. My advice is to make marks on what the area that needs to be modified so you know what is needed to be done. see my pics for reference on what I DID to get MY RESULTS.

Spoiler: Pics

after cutting out the lock box



drilling and deburring the holes for the proper placement of the buttons


Test fitting the buttons!

Awesome! you've made it this far! Good on you! hold on just a little longer, we are almost done

Now that everything is set, you must run wire. Now this is easier the thinner the wire, and also you don't need much at all if the only one you are doing is the cpu. but because i was doing the gpu as well, i needed to run wire all the ware across the chassis. Again, See pics for what i mean.

Spoiler: Pics :)

this is me running wire for the gpu fan pwm. It was really tight because i was using thicker than needed cable.


The cpu pwm wire really doesnt need to be as long as it can be run straight through the regular fan cutout.



I leave extra wire for the ability to completely disassemble later without too much fuss. This is the gpu fan wired.

See? your here, and almost ready to reassemble. I hope you remembered to test fit with the motherboard before getting here

you should wire the fans now, and do final fit tests before you reassemble. you can use epoxy to hold the switch in place, but i like to have a removable switch in case i need to resolder or something im just using a bundle of plastic heatshrink tubing to put pressure against the switches.) below are my finished pics. Hope you enjoyed this rough guide on pwm cutting.

Spoiler: MMMM PICS!

 

Reserved

 

I did not do this mod yet but i did do this. Maybe both together would be the best? Ill tell you what. Ranger is so much better now. You can even swap any fan u like in and out it would Insane!!!!

Here the to the name of the controller on ebay.

Via url https://www.ebay.com/itm/Smart-Spee...g-Fan-4-Pin-/141302259926?txnId=1630642927004

Search via name
Smart Speed Controller for Laptop / Notebook DC 5v PWM Cooling Fan 4-pin

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G928A using Tapatalk

 

The reason I'm not using something like this is because the stock pwm works fine for everything except for gaming aand overclocking In a sense this does exactly what my mod will do, just with the potential of controlling the fan speed manually, which isnt what I'm interested in right now. It might be something interesting to do later on, but I'm happy with the fan being controlled by the ec when my system isnt being gamed on. Perfoictly quiet

 

Waiting to see where you decide to put the barrel switches.

I have been busy and also waiting on the sire stripper to arrive in the mail so I can better handle this stuff.

 

I'm adding the thermal switch that opens at 85*C and closes at 65*C, that way I don't have to think about it.

 

Ah ok. For gaming it it a told NEED! It has 20 degree fans speeds(4 or 5 pwm signals) it is wonderful! Fans are always running! My laptop is always cool to the touch

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G928A using Tapatalk

 

Ahh this makes sense! But for me, I like having manual control.

Wait for the OP to be updated in an hour or two. This is actually complete now

 

Awesome, looking forward to it!

 

Update op with full mod!

 

Where did you source those switches? I have some barrel switches but I think they are too large and only really practical for the sides of the laptop.

Awesome work man, loving it. I want to get those black switches and maybe they will work out for the front center of the chassis since I already have my internally powered usb hub in the kensington lock

 

i got mine from hobbytown usa. if you dont care for the leds, you would have alot more space imho. but it could get messy too. i have to replace my batt because mine is completely dead, but i was able to test a motherboard that i had a bricked bios on so i now have a spare motherboard. win win for me

 

I tried looking at their site and it seems there are a couple actually not terribly far from me but they don't seem to carry those same switches in store.

How much were they? If compensated, do you think I could trouble you to ship me some? I think those are perfect due to their low profile dimensions.

If my fuzzy scenario plays out I will need two more fans and I would want to disable EC on them for benching or gaming lol co plete Frankenbuild for sure.

Thanks for showing us how you went about it!

Only reason I liked the black ones was to more match the color theme of the ranger but I'm a function over form kind of guy.

 

my black pack hasnt even been opened yet lol. i dont need them anymore, and i have two extra yellow switches, which are smaller. pm me so we can work out details,