Alienware M15X i7-940xm Upgrade running hot

I used to be good with computers 10 years ago and just got back into it. So i just resurrected an old M15X and upgraded the video card & cpu to i7-940xm and Nvidia 675M. I am running HWinfo64 to see how my temps are doing and my GPU is idling at a cool 47 but my CPU is idling in the mid 60s? I cleaned and repasted twice using Arctic Silver 5.

Everything stock, nothing overclocked. successfully upgraded bios to A09. Fan is blowing ambient temp is 70 in the room. Help?

 

Is it overclocked? What are your load temps? Your load temps are what really matter. Run Prime95 for 10 minutes and check the max temp your CPU reaches.

 

Its not overclocked. Everything is stock running windows 7. Running prime 95 now its in the 70s stable, CPU Thread usage at 100%. .

Also, i don't know if this makes a difference but HWinfo64 is only showing Core 0 & core 1, I did see 4 cores there at one point however 2 of them dissappeared.

When I repasted on attempt # 1, the 2 missing cores reappeared. When I flashed my Bios to A09, the 2 cores disappeared. If i go to device manager i see 4 cores.

 

Under load in the 70s is rather cool for a 940xm. Make sure you run it for a few minutes though. I usually run mine for at least 10, but you'll get an idea as to how hot it will get within the first couple of minutes.

You should be seeing 8 cores in Device Manager (4 physical and 4 virtual =8). Sometimes this happens. I've had it happen as well. You may want to try doing a power drain (remove battery and power adapter and press down power button for ~20 seconds). If that doesn't work, you may have to re-seat the RAM and/or CPU (and make sure it's locked in the socket). The power drain and/or a BIOS reset (remove coin cell battery for a few seconds without any power to the laptop) has fixed this for me in the past.

EDIT: Also, make sure Stealth Mode is disabled. There are also better pastes out there nowadays than AS5. If you plan on overclocking you may want to look at using Gelid GC Extreme or a liquid metal paste like Thermal Grizzy Conductonaut or Coolaboratory Liquid Ultra. Liquid metal pastes make an enormous difference when overclocked.

 

The core issue I fixed by going into MSConfig and unchecking the CPU button. So i have my 4 cores back.

Now my temps are still off. Im idling in the mid to high 60s to high 70s with an avg temp 73. Using AS7, ordered Grizzly. Not even thinking about OC, trying to get the temps idling in the 40s 1st. Very strange.

Fan is working and blowing. When I am going to repaste, what is the best solution to use to clean the paste off? I ordered myself the AS Cleaning solution but maybe there is something better?

Also I AM READY FOR IDEAS

When I run Stress Test on CPUZ, all 4 cores don't go higher than 83C. So I cant get below 60 but i dont go below 83C.

 

You should see 8 CPUs in Device Manager, and 8 threads in Task Manager. If you don't, then something is wrong. Try the steps I mentioned earlier.

I forgot to mention that AS5 has a long break-in period. It should get better over time. Make sure not too apply too much paste. With AS5 I usually got better results by spreading a very thin layer on the CPU. I have not used that stuff in ages though and usually only on desktops.

You don't need any special cleaning kits. I use Zippo lighter fluid (sam as Naptha) first to get the main gunk off, then I finish the surface off with rubbing alcohol. Much cheaper than those kits.

The 920/940xm are 55W TDP CPUs, and the M15X cooling system is decent but perhaps you are aiming too high. My 920XM at stock clocks will usually idle in the low to mid 50s (with liquid metal paste). 83C at load during a stress test is not alarming.

If your CPU is at 1-5% use and your temps are still in the mid 60s to 70s, you may want to run a malware scan. This is after you have given AS5 ample time to settle in.

 

Core issue is fixed, it was a msconfig fix. I am averaging high 60s at idle with 83c at load during a stress test. No malware as I just loaded windows 7 from scratch. Ordered the grizzly liquid metal paste so if it doesn't improve, I will switch up.

I put the AS7 on last night so it did not have enough time to settle.

 

You mean AS5 (7 may refer to the amount in grams in the syringe).

The Conductonaut will really shine when overclocked. If you plan on overclocking, you will want to use a 210W or more power adapter.

 

as5 is WAY outdated in the way of performance. i recommend this instead

https://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NT-H1...69164631&sr=8-1&keywords=noctua+thermal+paste

its not electrically conductive so no need to worry about that. and it performs way better than as5. also this is another very good one. if i recall correctly its better suited for laptops since it has good performance with low mounting pressure

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002P5W4RU/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

forget either of these and go with liquid ultra

 

Hi guys,

I have also upgrade my m15x recently, and seem to be having a heating issue of the cpu, this is the first pc i have upgraded but reading the forums have helped. Now i think i did everything correctly but i am not getting the performance that i should be getting, and when i try and overclock i get a heating issue.

The one thing i haven't done is the undervolting the 7970m, and maybe that is my issue but i was hoping that was oudated info, and if i had a 210w dell PSU with the pin pulled I wouldn't have to undervolt.

What I have done is added a 920xm CPU, a 7970m gpu, added longer screws to keep the heat sink snug. I added a samsung ssd, and upgraded to 16gm ram.
I used Hwinfo to control the fan speeds and it is sitting on a cooling pad.

When i set the 920xm modifiers to 25 across the 4 cores and the 7970m at stock 850 1200, I get about 28fps on a 3dmark firestrike and the score was not very high. it was only better then 25% of other tests.

If I try anything higher my computer will shutdown, due to what i assume is an overheating cpu, as it is running in the mid 80's before the shutdown while the gpu is in it's high 60 or low 70.
I can get away with 26 26 25 25 or even 26 26 26 26, but there isn't much performance improvement. If I try 27 27 26 26, it shuts off within minutes. If i leave the CPU at 25, and try and up the gpu, 900 , 1400 for example, I don't get a performance boost either, and it will usually shut down before the benchmark finishes. I have the stealth mode turned off, and I don't notice any throttling using MSI afterburner.

I am thinking 1 of 3 things are the issue, when i 'pulled' the pin out of the 90 degree adapter i could have scraped up the metal casing, as i wasn't sure how to do it so i tried clipping the pin as low as i could. I have ordered another adapter and some thinner pliers to try and simply pull the pin straight, if pulling the pin is exactly how it sounds, like i said i am new to all of this.

I used Artic MX4 thermal paste, and reading this article maybe that is not good enough. But the GPU runs at 38 degrees and THE CPU at 45 when idle.

Lastly, I still have undervolt the 7970m.

I guess there could also be a faulty hardware.

Any guidance would be appreciated on settings or what ever. If i need to undervolt the GPU, could someone link the gudie and which vbios i should use, I know i saw the link around somewhere but can't find it again, I did get a bit hesitant when reading the comments at the time.

Thanks,

 

Not sure what your total score on Firestrike is, or which version. However, Firestrike total score is more driven by GPU than CPU. If I run my 940xm at 26/25/25/25, and use a mile (135 mhz) overclock on the 970m, I can reach a total score of about 6000. My recollection is that that is at about the 30th percentile. But note that the overall spectrum includes desktop systems with dual GPU's and 6+ core processors. In the laptop world, 6000 on Firestrike is not bad. My Gigabyte, with 6th generation CPU, and 980m GPU, can reach about 9000 - which is very high for a laptop. Bottom line - your hardware may not be that far off.
Best,
Joe

 

I would have to check again, but my score was around 5400ish. if 6000 is a good score then I am worrying for nothing. I was using the regular firestrike not the extreme or anything. Thanks.

 

That's the same version of Firestrike I used - and baseline for me was around mid-5000's. It is very sensitive to GPU performance - I was able to get to 6000 by overclocking my 970m with Nvidia Inspector - +135 mhz on core clock, and +300 for memory.
Best,

J