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    Lots of Problems

    Discussion in 'Alienware M15x' started by Oracie, Mar 20, 2012.

  1. Oracie

    Oracie Newbie

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    Hi guys, I've had this computer for almost 2 years now, and I have been experiencing a lot of problems with it.

    I've a pretty bad build, Intel Core i7-740QM, 4gb memory, with an ATI Radeon m5730 card, which during the time of purchase, I believed was more than enough for me to use. The purpose of my laptop was for me to use for college purposes, as well as a moderate bit of gaming.

    Ever since I got the laptop, I've experienced a bit of problems with it. Ever since the first week that I received my laptop, I would always have problems with the graphics driver crashing and recovering. However, I never paid much attention to it as I was preoccupied with schoolwork and the laptop still did it's job.

    However, recently the problem got worse. There are times when my laptop would freeze consecutive times in a row, forcing me to press the power button. Sometimes these freezes would occur when my cursor would enlarge by itself, other times the screen turns black and flashes. I could still hear my friends talking to me on Skype, but the screen stays black and I can't move the mouse cursor. These freezes are so random that it got to the point where I'm even afraid of using my own laptop to do school assignments. Most of my classes assign online quizzes or homework which I only have one attempt for and I can't risk getting a 0 because my laptop would freeze while I'm doing them.

    In addition, during my free time, I would like to play games that aren't graphics heavy such as League of Legends, Warcraft III, Aion, Rift, WoW, etc. However, the graphics for the game would lag really bad, no matter what settings I play the games in. I would think a 5730m would be able to play Warcraft III, a 10 year old game, perfectly, but I was wrong. Also, I think I may have an overheat problem, because sometimes when I play any of these games, my computer would shut down on me. I'm clueless when it comes to computer stuff, so there's no Overclock or any of that sort of stuff.
    But I would assume a cpu temp of 67 degrees Celsius and a GPU temp of 58 degrees Celsius when I have nothing else opened except Google Chrome is a bad sign.

    Sorry for the long post, but I really need help on identifying what the problem is. The warranty for this laptop expired a long time ago. I don't want to give up on this laptop just yet, as purchasing a new laptop would be too expensive.
     
  2. Hobgoblinpie

    Hobgoblinpie Notebook Evangelist

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    I specifically remember the cursor enlarging problem to be driver related. Have you updated it recently?

    Yes, 58 degrees is pretty high for a 5730M. I sit at around 45 degrees on idle with my 5850M.

    Sounds to me like you just need to update the graphics card and clean out your system (or at least, the graphics card and heatsink).

    Here's a video of an m15x teardown:

    Alienware M15x Teardown 1 of 3 **READ SAFETY PRECAUTIONS PRIOR TO REPLACING PARTS** (Official Video) - YouTube

    Note that you will not need to remove the HDD, RAM, coincell battery, indicator cover, Keyboard, Palmrest, WLAN, WPAN, CPU etc) to access the graphics card and it's heatsink. However, to access the CPU, and therefore clean it out, you will need to remove the metal cover for the RAM and Indicator cover.

    Or, if you're still in warranty, say you're having overheating problems to Dell, ask for a replacement card as well, and then when they open it they can remove the dust as well.
     
  3. otosan

    otosan Notebook Consultant

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    I would suggest to cleaning your M15x, and re-pasting thermal paste on CPU and GPU

    as for graphic card, 5730 is pretty old and considered one the weakest card among all card avail for this notebook, and seems this is the part that cause u most trouble..

    i would suggest to do clean new driver install after u do the cleaning and re-pasting, and see how far it help u...

    if it still cause u trouble, i will say that u better consider to get a new card, even good 2nd hand GTx 260m will do good if u only look for more stability without power upgrade, if else, u can consider GTX 460 or 560m... it's still quite easy to find and won't cost u a fortune..
     
  4. Oracie

    Oracie Newbie

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    Where can I find those cards?
     
  5. Hobgoblinpie

    Hobgoblinpie Notebook Evangelist

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    You could contact Dell and see if they could offer you a discount on a 5850 - that way it'll be in warranty with Dell. I replaced my 260M with a 5850, because the 260M was overheating and throttling, even when perfectly clean, and I was able to get it for £20.

    There are some places that sell laptop cards, but they vary in price. I'll see if I can find some links.
     
  6. KumquatWrath

    KumquatWrath Notebook Evangelist

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    You can also find cards like this occasionally in the NBR marketplace or on eBay as well. That method is cheaper as well I believe.