Upgrading my Ranger

Ok, it happened again and laptop crashed. Upon re-boot, laptop said battery is critically low. This is the first time it crashed and I couldn’t see if HWINFO said anything.

Edit: Hmmm, just got back into windows and everything was still there, it even continued my match of CS I was in. I'm really confused. There were also no errors shown in HWINFO, and it stayed how it was upon re-boot.

Edit 2: Sorry for all the edit's (this is starting to seem like a reddit post,) but I just noticed one of the cores hit 100C and thats probably what caused the shutdown, as I'm pretty sure thats the max temp of the 4930. My temps are usually in the mid 80's but I'm guessing this happened due to a power spike. I'm starting to think that the "unplugged" issue is because my CPU gets too hot, and the laptop is trying to cool it by choking out the power allowed for the CPU to use.

 

That is one of the fatal flaws of the Ranger, the EC is pretty slow to react. Thats why some people, not many mind you, created fan bypass switches to eliminate that problem.

I would use Throttlestop to tune the CPU until you get a better made heatsink, an issue with the heatink is that sometimes they just arent very level, but doing a repaste would be a quick and easy method to troubleshoot.

 

I made sure to paste the CPU very well when I first installed it. I also may need to clarify, I only get about 85c at most on CPU in all of the games I play but CS (I usually idle at about 45-50c.) I also don't play CS too often, but I know that it is super CPU bound. I ordered the 4-pipe heatsink from Cicichen which would arrive in about a week or so. Do you still think the "unplugged" issue is from the CPU spiking too much?

 

Yes, it's probably dipping to 800mhz and then returning to stock turbo

 

I would recommend liquidmetal for the CPU, in my M17X R4 it was a huge difference

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Not trying to start an argument, but unless you are planning to push your machine to the thermal limits, I wouldn't use liquid metal, etc. If you do, do your homework as to how to use it correctly and be very careful. I used Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut and it was an absolute mess. I will go back to a standard lithium type as I don't plan to OC, etc. and I purchased improved heat sinks and fans. I wasted a good hour cleaning up the Kryonaut mess. FWIW, I have been building PCs, including laptops for more than 25 years. That doesn't make me an expert, but I am certainly not a novice and I did look at the youtube videos before starting. I have no doubt it offers greater thermal conductivity, but for nearly all of us amateurs applying it, I expect the difference is negligible.

 

I'd personally like to use liquid metal as a last resort as I have no experience whatsoever with it. Though, I'm going to re-paste and see if that does anything today.

 

Off course you will have to do it carefully but common, its not a complicated procedure and the final results are awesome.
However I agree that it is difficult to clean the heatsink when you have to repaste.
I suggest you to read the thread in the forum about liquidmetal experience, I think it was @Raidriar ?!

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Ok, upon unscrewing the heatsink and fan, I saw that the CPU had barely any paste on the die and that all of the paste was pushed to the sides. I thought this was odd as I made sure to paste the 4930 really well when I originally installed it. I haven't had this ever happen to me when re-pasting a mobile CPU but I guess I did something wrong. I now see idle temps at about 40-50C and max temps at 83-86C.

 

Awesome, it was weird that you had those temps, the original heatsink is not so bad

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The reason I had the really bad temps was because there was almost no thermal paste contact between the CPU and heatsink.

 

Yes I understood x) but if you don't use liquidmetal use a good paste

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Use liquid metal if your heatsink is even, if not it's a huge pain. The only way you make a mess is to assume everything and do 0 homework.

In fact this laptop needs it because the EC is slow to respond

 

I’m using MX-4, though, depending on how my goal overclock goes (4ghz all cores,) I may consider using Liquid metal.

 

Also if you need you can use this to lower the temps:
https://a.aliexpress.com/_msEepN3
It is a external fan, only for 7€.. I though it was only marketing but one friend bought one and it is really useful, specially in Portugal (summer time) .

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I've seen those and they seem really really good. I may get one of those because my room is very small and has garbage ventilation. My room is usually about 10-15 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than any other part of the house.

 

You can also use the IETS GT300 to supplement your laptop's fans. The fans inside are pretty good. This cooling pad is a bit expensive, but it seems like one that actually does a good job at cooling laptops, unlike most cooling pads that barely do anything.

Disclaimer: I don't actually own this cooling pad. I'm just giving a suggestion to check something out that appears to be well built and does its job well according to reviews.

 

Another thing I've been meaning to ask is about the stock fans and a potential upgrade.

How fast are the stock fans? (both CPU and GPU)
Is there any other fan that would bit the chassis and be a bit faster? If so, where could I get one

I know people have upgraded the fans, but I would like some that fit the chassis as I move this laptop around quite a bit.

 

I'm not an expert for the fans, but you could use HWinfo to manually control the fans.
You wouldn't be able to spin more than the limite but it could help to lower the temps but off course, more power, more noise.
Regarding the fans may be @TheReciever has more info

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Exactly this. HWinfo can max the fans. The EC on this laptop does not ramp the fans to 100%. Temps will drop a little from the increased airflow.

 

The most I can do for the fans is 7000RPM, but my GPU seems to start hitting the 90-95 degree mark, though the CPU is cooled even better. I'll try messing around with it a bit more but it seems like 7000RPM takes power from the GPU fan and puts it toward the CPU fan.

 

Dont use HWINFO to max the fans, it disables the GPU fan because it wants to use the Compal EC which is not what the Ranger uses.

You have to not use the Compal EC iirc.

Another reason why some pursued physical bypass switches for more reliable fan control

 

I forgot to mention you need to use 2 instances of HWinfo to max out both the CPU and GPU fans. Sorry about that. You will need to run an instance of HWinfo 64 and HWinfo 32 to achieve this. See my guide here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...fans-on-the-aw-17-ranger-using-hwinfo.831103/

There is a risk of a kernel driver collision occurring when you do this, but this has rarely happened to me. A hardware switch mod is a better solution like @TheReciever mentioned, but I didn't want to mod my chassis or cut my fan wires, so I opted for a software solution instead.

 

Alright, Thanks!

 

Just managed to get my hands on an MSI 1070 MXM for a bit more than I would have liked to pay, but it seems all parts right now have been amplified due to covid. I may also want to re-flash the vBIOS as the guy who had it last used a dell vBIOS iirc. It will be here in about a week or so.

 

Some may be able to answer this question a bit easier then others, but what doesn't allow the Pascal drivers from installing on the Ranger, and what is the user doing to fix it when the drivers are modified?

 

Nvidia

Adding your hardware ID's to the allowed list.

 

Oh, alright... didn't know it was that simple. Thanks!

 

Since the laptop was never shipped with the 10 series cards, the Hardware ID that links the GPU to the laptop model is not in the Nvidia installation package. Modifying the .inf to include the Hardware ID fixes this. It is no longer a certified driver when this change is made so you must Disable Driver Signature Enforcement to get the driver to install.

 

I'm going to do the upgrade most likely on Thursday or Friday, weekend at worst as I don't personally have a dremel tool, so I'm having a friend come over with one. I've been reading about modding the drivers and it makes sense besides the SECTION part. Though, I think everything will come together when I am actively doing it. I also plan on making a post on the whole installation process as the few guides that exist don't have any pics remaining.

 

It can seem a little tricky the first time but it will soon become pretty easy. You really only need to change one thing in the Device ID line which is the laptop ID.

When you open the .inf just scroll down to the last line (or any, it doesn't matter) that includes your GPU ID which should be 1BA1 or 1BE1. Change the 4 digit laptop ID to your machines ID in two places. You'll get the laptop ID from looking up the Display Adapter Hardware ID in Device Manager


Then you just have to add the String line at the end of the .inf by changing the same 4 digits in one of the 1070 strings

 

Alright, its finally here! The seller wrapped it up very well and there appears to be no physical damage. I plan on installing it today or tomorrow and will post an instillation guide within the next few days.

 

you'll want to clean those contact traces, got a couple of smudged pins, could just be discoloration but its good to be sure.

 

I need a bit of help when cutting the tabs of the MXM slot off, I have cut down on them, but they are still not budging. Are they connected to the MOBO, or just the MXM slot?

 

Can you take a picture? It will help on the analysis

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I managed to get it done, I then nodded the heatsink. It’s a long story, but I need the Cicichen heatsink or else the bend on the 1070 is extreme.

 

Update:
I plan on getting Cicichen's heatsink for the 1070, but I have put the 880m back and re-assembled the whole thing.

Upon turning it on, it made its normal bootup sound and the LED's turned on, but it stayed the same, no display output to the internal and external monitors either. My keyboard and mouse would occasionally flash for a split second but otherwise, that was it. I'm on my GL502 right now as I really don't want to disassemble the whole thing again and troubleshoot, that can be done tomorrow. I really just hope the MOBO isn't dead or something else went wrong as I made sure to remove all of the metal shavings and put extra time into ensuring that I re-assembled everything right.

 

Grab some contact cleaner spray, clean out the MXM slot and try reseating the 880M. Hopefully it's something simple.

This is why I went for the standard 1070 instead of the MSI. I didn't want to risk cutting and modding.

 

Where did you end up getting a standard 1070? It seems like the only ones I can find are the crappy ones that come from China, and that's why I went with the MSI variant.

 

Likely he is using the "Dell" variant

 

Mine probably is the crappy Chinese one, have no idea really. I bought it from one of the users on here. I’ve had it in my M18x for around 12 months.


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Try to reset the bios, remove the battery and power cable press power button for 30 seconds and then try again.

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Am currently working on the Ranger right now. Does anybody know how to power on the laptop without having to use the keyboard power button?

 

No, you will need to connect that portion of the keyboard, at least in my experience

 

Well ****, I bent 1 of the pins on the cable that connects the LED indicator portion to the MOBO

 

I just ordered a new cable for like 5 bucks on ebay. Do you think I can bend the pins back to get it to work temporarily or no. Also, would I have to worry about shorting the MOBO if I do try to bend the pins back?

 

I dont see the harm, worst case is the trace is broken and simply wont work.

Would prove irritating working with that though, I would just step back and come up with hypothesis as to what may have gone wrong, so you have some ideas as what to look at in detail when you re-approach the project.

 

Yeah, I'm probably going to step back as the shipment for the new cable will take about a week or so.

 

Don't try to push so hard, just relax take a beer and think again. If you stress out you will be over thinking and do something wrong.
For us to understand the situation is better to publish something with pictures or printscreens (it will depend on the subject off course).
What I say to my clients, "without all information is difficult for us to help or to do a full analysis".
In this last subjects:
- problems to cut - send a picture
- broke something, can I fix? - send a picture
The details can help but with one or 2 pictures we could analyse the damage.

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Alright, I appreciate the help.