M11x R3 very high temperatures

Hello there. I keep having problems with my M11x R3. For those that haven't seen it, here is first part - http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...1x-r3-overheating-cpu-warranty-questions.html .

So as the previous topic shown, I repasted my AW with Arctic Ceramique. I doubt I did poor job, given I built and overclocked full-sized desktops for a little while before. It got to a point where i figured that I need to elevate my laptop at least 5cm above the surface for it not to downlock/downvolt CPU during gaming. Couple months later, I see that happening even with vent having clear and free access to fresh air.

After my repaste job I made my M11x run Orthos Small FFT test on all 4 threads and seen that it doesn't overheat with just the CPU loaded (i.e. I will only overheat while using GT540M). That was all done with it sitting on a flat desk.

Now, the fan runs 24/7, even when browsing the web and watching yt videos. Out of curiosity I turned on HWiNFO64 to find out that cpu temps read at slightly less than 80*C. Better yet, I ran 4-threaded Orthos and they jumped to 90*C pretty fast. Then obviously it downclocked to 800-900 MHz. The temperature kept oscilating between 80-90*C quite quickly, almost certainly too quickly. Fan speed was consistent at 6900-7000 RPM, however it didn't sound as loud as I recall it from the past. The lousy dB meter on my iphone was reading 56dB near alien-head on-off switch. Now there is something weird about it. Above everything - this is not how my Alienware should be working. I limited list of possible faults to these:
- faulty fan (tbh it blows hardly any air out of the chassis) - I've looked at this one as a replacement - NEW for Dell Alienware M11X laptop CPU cooling Fan 5M8N2 fast shipping | eBay
- faulty temperature sensor (there is no easy way of checking it but sudden temperature fluctuations in HWiNFO may be the sign)
- poor repasting (unlikely) - but I still have enough paste to redo it at least twice.


Besides that I'd like to ask owners of R3 if they too have problems with terrible performance. For an example I recently bought Bully, only to find out it runs on half of the core (single thread, 25% total cpu load) - in some places it dips well below 15fps which imho is just unacceptable.

Please help me narrow the list of possible faults as I wouldn't like to buy new fan or repaste for nothing. Thanks in advance...

 

I dont own an M11x r3 but there might be several reasons for the high temperatures:
- Vent exhaust might not be clear, the hot air cant get out of the chassis (hold your hand behind the exhaust, if you only feel very little hot air coming out, you should clean that.
- Too much thermal paste used - maybe you applied a bit too much thermal paste
- the heat pipe does not have full contact to the components -> bad transport of the heat from the fan ( this is unlikely to happen if you did handle normally with the heat pipe)

So first of all, you should clean the vent exhaust (there is much dust). If this doesnt work, checkout the heat pipe (as mentioned above).
The poor performance might be a result of the high temperatures -> throttle because of high temperature -> less performance. The temperature is the problem, normally on single thread applications/games, the turbo boost should improve the performance by overclocking its first core to the max (if you are using an I5/I7)

 

Thanks for quick response. To Your suggestions:
- there is very little air push through exhaust vent; I am 100% sure it isn't caused by the dust between heatsink fins etc. as the laptop was reassembled couple of weeks ago...
- too much paste - it's possible, but then again, I don't see why would that make temperatures progressively worse with time
- heat pipe contact - tbh I haven't checked that one. In M11x R3 heatpipes are, sort of, integrated with heat collectors for cpu and gpu. I believe they too are fine as loading gpu with work has significant impact on temperature of cpu...

 

If you have noticed that the fan is lacking in power, clean it, make sure everything is properly attached, and test again. If it still performs below standard, a replacement may be necessary. On top of that, you could always try some guy's heatsink mod ( shameless plug to my attempt at the heatsink mod, also on an R3), as it seems to help in overall cooling efficiency as well as cooldown speed.

 

Check those 2 things and let us know, those temps are high and they should be taken care of ASAP.

 

I'm unable to open my M11x right now as I don't have correct tools and time. But I was hoping you may help me by investigating HWiNFO log attached here View attachment orthos11052013-2.zip . I tagged points where I start and finish stressing the CPU using ORTHOS. From what I've seen there may be 2 issues:
- it seems to pick up and drop temperature a bit too quickly - poor contact with heatsink?
- at 77*C fan is not even running at full speed (I've seen it reach 7k rpm on some occasions) - and cooling settings in AlienFusion are all set to Active.

 

​

Just to give you a reference my r3 will get to around 85 degrees after 2 or 3 hours gaming. If I then raise the back it will quickly drop to about 75 degrees. When stopped gaming cpu and gpu temps rapidly drop to around 40 degrees.

 

This is more or less right on the dot. Idle temperatures on the R3 range in the 40s, and gaming generally spikes it to the 70s, and by raising the back of the laptop off the surface it is sitting on allows for more efficient airflow and better cooling.

 

To check for dust - use a flash light (probably got a phone with flash, get an app for torch) and shine it at the bottom intake and have a look through the back, as all the dust collects there. if its clogged, you found your issue. first thing to check on a laptop is the dust for overheating.

 

I just had this issue a month and a half ago. Even with a tear-down to fully clean the dust, the tech was not able to get the temps down without replacing the heat-sink. Once replaced it ran 100% perfect and still is. He did clean the original paste off the new heat sink and replace some with his own. I'm very happy with dell who were quick to respond even on a holiday long weekend.

 

Did they tell you what was the exact issue with your old heatsink? As for a dust - there is none as far as vent and radiator fins go.

Besides, I ordered a new fan and ArctiClean set. Hope they're delivered by the weekend as it's the last opportunity for me to get it sorted before my exam period at uni.

 

Sorry bud, no there was obvious answer. Could have been just not sitting properly.
but it was the heat sink for sure.

 

Okay. So I got the problem fixed today. One of the spring-screws pushing the heatsink to the cpu core was damaged and no longer forced copper plate against cpu. That went together with repaste (as it looked a bit messy after disassembly). The temperatures while gaming don't exceed 68*C now.

Also, I found a funny thing about battery socket. It was somehow damaged such that leftmost pin was bent against left wall of the socket. That obviusly meant the pin was making no contact with the connector but the system works 100% fine and worked with that defect for at least past 4 months.