Interior Cooling for m11x

I have just recently heard of using stuff like IC diamond 7 or Arctic Cooling 5 for laptops, but I haven't found any videos on youtube of how to install it into your laptop(specifically the m11x), and what it actually does...

I saw a youtube video of a guy reviewing three products, but I was wondering if anyone has any experience with these that can explain a few questions I have... (For the m11x)

How do cooling compounds work?
How effective is the cooling compound you used?
What is the temp drop/raise after installation?
Do you think it is worth it?
How did you install it?

Thanks... I'm hoping I could learn a little bit more about these so that I could install one in the future.

LASTLY!!!

If I am planning on getting an SSD, should I get the SSD before or after installing the cooling compounds?

 

>How do cooling compounds work?
It's the medium between the cpu/gpu and heatsink, so it's there to transfer heat.

>How effective is the cooling compound you used?
It seems to drop faster, but I changed it out so soon after getting my m11x I can't be sure.

>What is the temp drop/raise after installation?
No difference. There really shouldn't be because it's up to the heatsink to absorb heat and the fan (and heatsink somewhat) to dissipate it, so the heatsink compound is irrelevant.

>Do you think it is worth it?
Meh, probably not. I always do it, though. It can't hurt (unless you mess it up).

>How did you install it?
Check the disassembly manual

>should I get the SSD before or after installing the cooling compounds
Doesn't really matter. You do take the hard drive out to get to the heatsink, but it's one of the first things out, so it doesn't save much time to do it all at once over doing them at two different times.

 

Awesome... have you had any experience prior to doing it? I assume you have since you said you usually do it. What would you rate the difficulty on a scale of 1-10? If you happen to install another one, do you mind posting a video/pics of the installation? I would love to check it out! And ty for being the first to reply!

 

I've been building computers since middle school so yeah some experience

It's pretty easy, I'd say. One nice thing about the M11x I hadn't experienced before is some of the screws have a washer on them so that they stay with the part--no risk of losing those! It would have taken about an hour total, except I had trouble getting the keyboard cord back together (but it's really easy if you put it in the right way hehe--that was a "d'oh!" moment). Are you familiar with the repair manual and the youtube video showing it apart? I'll track those down if you aren't/can't.

I didn't take any pictures (my only camera is the M11x's webcam, which is hard to use when it's apart ), but this thread with pictures is what motivated me to do it and has some good ones http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/499569-alienware-m11x-r2-i7-internals-pictures.html and here's another one with nice pictures http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...k-tim-temperatures-benchmarks-overclocks.html, though it's of the R1, so it is slightly different.

 

That's perfect Thanks so much for the advice and help, I can't wait to start on this... (wish me luck lol). I won't be able to start on it until maybe december or something. The cooling compounds take a long time to cure right? Maybe up to 200 hours? Would it be better to apply the cooling compound when the laptop is new or... later on?

Sorry for more questions, but I want to make sure I don't make any mistakes!

 

Hasn't the consensus been that replacing the TIM doesn't have much of an impact for the M11x?

 

I would have to disagree with that statement.

Ive seen a 5 degree Celsius drop in idle temperatures, and 10-12 degrees under full load. Also, the time it takes to drop down after operating at full load has also decreased.

I used AS5, and have about 300 hours since applying.

 

So... basically for 300 hours you were laptop-less?
What did you do while it was curing?

 

no he means he put it on and has used the laptop for 300 hours now

 

Oh I see... how long did you let it cure then?