Let's share upcoming upgrade plans for the M15x beast :)

See previous page for heatsink.

Another interesting note, just received my heatsink with fan rated 7.7CFM instead of 5.5. I'll post pictures in a few.

 

7.7CFM Delta / Auras Heatsink

AVC is rated 5.5CFM for some reason

Spoiler

Heatsink assembly with fan removed





Fan itself, the center hub is different




Fan model and written "7.7CFM"



Dell sticker, the right one was stacked on top of the left one for some reason






The heatsink I got is made by Auras




While the M15x comes with AVC (asia vital components) on both GPU and CPU heatsink





Delta fan on full speed (run without heatsink assembly)




Is removable from hub




With heatsink assembly, the Delta fan is faster compared to my AVC fan by around 250rpm




My stock AVC fan says 5.5CFM (CPU)

 

Where did you get this?

Sent from my overpriced Galaxy S6 Edge +

 

Thanks for posting the pics. That fan part number appears to be the same as the GPU fan. Can you confirm? I would look myself but I am currently out of town on business.

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I believe it's similar, I can't be sure. But even if they are, you can't mount a GPU fan into the CPU heatsink, the screw holes and shape is not compatible.

My GPU fan is an AVC rated at 4800rpm with 7.7CFM written on the sticker.


I got it from this seller, but his picture is an AVC heatsink/fan http://www.ebay.com/itm/231488509739?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

I run a clevo 980M. Works perfectly. Also clevo mxm cards feature the black protective vinyl around the die. Super useful when you come to apply liquid metal TIM.

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63C using only gravity, large heatsink and fan.

That is very good! Time to set some records. Bring that thing up to 1200mhz mate.

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More like 1.2volts lol

 

I found the fan here:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/For-Dell-Al...an-Replacement-BNTA0815R5H-NEW-/401024823388?

 

Don't buy it till I test mine.

If it's only 1c difference then don't bother.

 

Too late... $10 shipped isn't going to kill me.

Sent from my overpriced Galaxy S6 Edge +

 

I bought some Akasa thermal adhesive tape and its absolutely useless! One tenth the thermal conductivity of good thermal paste and that is no exaggeration.
Sticking those heatsinks on top of my heatpipes makes almost no difference and this is only 0.3mm thick! 0.9 W/mk.

Absolutely useless and a waste of money

 

Sorry to hear that. But you can pick up arctic adhesive for less than 7$ on amazon, so don't be too sad.

Btw, for a 970/980M, do I need a different x-bracket? I believe my Clevo card comes with an x-bracket of it's own, but unsure it it will fit.

My stock GPU is the 5770M

 

The card will still fit fine. The question is the scews. You may have to buy news screws that fit.

 

Home depot?

I remember asking them for small screws like these and all they have is ones for construction.

 

You can get a whole set of assorted laptop screws from ebay.

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My upgrade plans for my recently purchased M15x are a Firepro M6000 and a SanDisk Plus 480GB SSD. This is the new model so I thought I would try it. Got it for $120 shipped from Newegg.

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I'm still waiting for my 980M -______-

 

I have one, but I am not sticking it in the M15x.

 

Tempted to put it in an Alienware 17 or an M17x R4, but the inability to run optimus/fully dedicated + forced windows 10 uefi bothers me.

Wonder how the M15x can run the 980/970M without w8/w10 full uefi?

 

It is a different BIOS and does not have this issue.

 

Yeah, what a shame :|

 

I got the 980M installed, but still with stock thermal pads. Everytime I run heaven benchmark with slight OC (core +135, mem +100) the computer would just display a blank black/grey screen, probably from inadequate cooling.

The clevo heatsink screws, I used on the original dell gpu heatsink. I removed the circlip and mounted the clevo heatsink screw which fits the 980M x-bracket.


However, I need visual help on how the 980M is supposed to look like with proper thermal pads.

I have currently 1.5mm thick 11w/mk thermal pad, and a 2mm 8w/mk thermal pad. Please advise for best results @King of Interns

Point me out on which pad should I use at certain component points (1.5/2mm) - right pcb is 980M




Edit: wow this card has some insane coil whine



The M15x shuts off in under 4 minutes while running firestrike for some reason...

 

Please let me know where you got your 11w/mk pad from. I need some

As for the shut down issue: Could be power, could be thermal, could be a hardware fault in the motherboard or GPU

 

performance pcs

I'm putting the 5770 back in, I dunno how to fix the shutdown issue.

I'm also using a Dell PA-7E 210w with center pin removed as many members have recommended to do. Do you think it's the GPU failing? I did buy this used.

 

Are you padding the VRMs? I outlined what is supposed to be padded. Not sure what sizes you need but some of the mosfets will have a big gap between the heatsink. You can always stack the thermal pads if you still get a gap. Make sure the thermal paste is spreading properly over the die.

 

If I stack the thermal pads on the back, the heatsink will not make proper contact with some of the components.

 

How is your GPU temperature during the run?

I know that one of the heatpipes had a slight interference with a component on my daughter-in-law's M15x with the 970M. I had to tweak it (small c-clamp to slightly flatten the heatpipe) a bit so it would clear the component. This allowed the contact area to lie flat on the GPU die surface. I didn't have to do this with my daughter's 970M. Manufacturing differences...

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They should compress a bit to compensate. If not, you can always purchase 4 or 5mm pads. Akasa makes some 5mm pads that I use and they compress well. This is why I use K5 Pro paste now. I have been fiddling around with different sized pads for a while and couldn't get the right fit. I use the 5mm Akasa pads for the mosfets on my m6000 and K5 Pro for the VRAM and chokes.

 

K5 pro can fill such a big gap?

I tried with the used thermal pads the seller gave me, I tried to boot the 980M into BIOS and the laptop won't display (scr, num, caps flash), I contacted the seller and he said it *could* possibly be a defect and he would accept a return.

Seems like a dead card? I really wouldn't want to ship it back after waiting for so long.

Back on the 5770M right now.

 

I had to do the same for both my M15Xs (for my 7970m and my m6000). The thicker heatpipe would press on one of the chokes and not allow the heatspreader to press evenly on the die. Instead it applied too much pressure on one side of the die (the side nearest to the MXM slot). I suspect this why I ended up chipping the corner of the die on my cards. I was modding the xbracket to try to get the heatspreader to press down further, meanwhile the heatspreader was applying uneven pressure because of that interfering choke.

 

No, K5 pro is good for ~2mm. I use the Akasa 5mm pads for the bigger gaps.

Error codes explained here. If you try your old card and it works, then there may be a problem with the new card:

https://www.techinferno.com/index.php?/forums/topic/1019-alienware-m15x-m17x-led-error-codes/

 

Wouldn't risk it, take the return and refund while the selling is willing. Maybe try one last time and do this:

Remove old gpu, battery and disconnect from power then hold power button for 30 seconds.
Install 980M and try to measure if the heatsink is sitting flat. Do another power drain, holding power button for 30 seconds.

Put it all back together and try booting.

 

Okay, I'll buy the K5 Pro once I get my replacement.

Seems like another trip to usps today...

Where can I buy 5mm akasa pad?

Maybe this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/100mmx100mm...816783?hash=item1ea2b5690f:g:p2IAAOSw9N1VzfOI

Looks a lot like the stock thermal pad eurocom is using


EDIT: Fatboy, tried that method but didn't work. But my 5770M works without trouble.

 

K5 pro is good but keep in mind that everytime you repaste, you need to clean it off any re-apply it. It's not as convenient as traditional pads but it is great for filling uneven gaps.

 

When you remove it, does it form into a rubber like material you can peel off easily?

I will revise placement of thermal pads, maybe I'll get a GTX 970M instead of 980M after refund.



Does the above look right?

 

K5 pro is similar to a very thick thermal paste, but thicker. When you take your heatsink off it separates and some remains on the components and some on the heatsink (just like paste on the die). It doesn't peel off but you can clean it off with q-tips and a bit of rubbing alcohol. You can also scrape off the bigger chunks with a plastic thermal paste spreader tool like the pic below. Then use q-tips and some alcohol to get the rest off. I use it on my vrams and chokes (those grey blocks) and the 5mm pads go on the mosfets (the little black chips).

 

Sounds good, now I'll play the waiting game again.

 

Wow I missed all the action! Quick question though I am baffled as to why you OCed the thing.

The M15x can barely handle it at stock and I warned you so. Undervolted at that.

I have never tried to OC mine because there is no point. Honestly you get a game that pushes gpu to the max with no throttle at stock clocks at 1V. Pat yourself on the back if you can keep temps under 90C after extended gaming periods.

There is zero headroom for OCing.

I would refrain from doing that next time

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Either that or bad gpu

Anyways, I returned it and will be waiting my refund. I'll wait for pascal.

 

@deadsmiley @King of Interns @kosti

Going to test a 32GB kit on the M15x at micro center this week, I'll let you guys know.

Gonna load it with aida64 to see if it can utilize 32gb (if it actually boots and all that)

 

I ordered the hyper-x 16gb but the retailer refunded me because they didn't have it in stock. Awaiting a Hynix 16GB set that I should be getting tomorrow. 32GB will be interesting.

 

Update:
Parts-People.com checked and their entire stock of New M15x displays re 900p. Even the ones marked 1080p are 900p. They refunded me $50 instead of the $20 list price. Very cool...

 

I was able to use DSR on the M18xR2 with 680M SLI and it does look really good.

 

There's a 80usd 1080p display on ebay, sjk co or sk co is the seller iirc.

 

Those guys are awesome. I always recommend them.

 

Thanks dude. She is really happy with the 900p screen and it is brand spanking new.

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where is everyone getting these 16 gig sticks of ram?

 

Check your retailer or buy online

Not sure if the 32gb will work with M15x

 

I just got my M6000 today. I am going to swap out the 750GB HDD for a SanDisk Plus 480GB. After I get the GPU and SSD installed Win 7 will be installed.

We will see how this goes.