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    M15x fans running at maximum all the time

    Discussion in 'Alienware M15x' started by svcr0c0, Aug 25, 2011.

  1. svcr0c0

    svcr0c0 Notebook Consultant

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    I bought a used M15x w/ i7 920xm and Radeon 5850 a couple of days ago, and everything works perfectly except for the constant fan issue. Here are a couple of the things I tried:

    - I reflashed several BIOS and EC versions (A07, A08, A09, unlocked A09 and their respective ECs)
    - I tried the power button trick to discharge all the capacitors on the motherboard
    - I installed HWInfo64. Now HWInfo64 can control the rpms, but I'm not exactly happy with the solution. It has to run in the background at all times, and it's very finicky to get a constant rpm.

    I am in the process of reapplying thermal paste on the GPU and CPU, since the previous owner dumped enough to cover 20 CPUs. The system does not crash, and it is reporting the temperature properly.

    Some people on this site report the constant fan issue as happening once in a few boots, or that it goes away after a few minutes. I could live with the problem, but my M15x is full blast ALL THE TIME. I am actually considering selling it if I can't figure out a solution.
     
    svcr0c0, Aug 25, 2011
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  2. Esco

    Esco Notebook Consultant

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    try a power drain,

    remove battery, press the alienhead 20 secs and put the battery back in maybe it helps good luck!
     
    Esco, Aug 25, 2011
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  3. svcr0c0

    svcr0c0 Notebook Consultant

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    I tried that, it did not work. I also plugged in a regular i7 720 known to be a good CPU, and the fans are still going crazy. .
     
    svcr0c0, Aug 25, 2011
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  4. KurtH

    KurtH Notebook Evangelist

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    If you sell hit me up next month.
     
    KurtH, Aug 25, 2011
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  5. kyussmanchu

    kyussmanchu Notebook Consultant

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    Have you tried HWinfo to manually control the fans?
     
    kyussmanchu, Aug 25, 2011
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  6. svcr0c0

    svcr0c0 Notebook Consultant

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    I found the problem... I plugged in a spare 5730 and the fans run normally. In comparison, with the 5850 the fans are running at 4000rpm at all times (at idle or in Fallout 3 or RTCW). So the 5850 is faulty.

    And kyussmanchu, did you read my original post? I did use HWInfo to control the fans, and it worked.
     
    svcr0c0, Aug 25, 2011
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  7. svcr0c0

    svcr0c0 Notebook Consultant

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    Sourced another 5850 and it works perfectly. I still got the fans running at 100% once in about 10 reboots. Now I'm running furmark 1.91 on it, and no matter what settings I use, I cannot heat up the new 5850 past 67 degrees Celsius.

    As a side question, what is the hardware difference between the 5850 and the 5870 besides the clock speeds? I got two cards, one 5850 and one 5870, and both cards are Ati ES cards as far as I can tell...

    Edit: It turns out I was running in Stealth mode... So many things to learn about this laptop.
     
    svcr0c0, Aug 26, 2011
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  8. svcr0c0

    svcr0c0 Notebook Consultant

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    Sold the M15x and picked up another laptop in its place. If anyone of you guys is interested in a Radeon HD5730 or HD5870 (I have one of each that are working pulls from an M15x and an M17xR2), send me a PM. Willing to ship anywhere, I have them just lying around from testing the M15x.
     
    svcr0c0, Sep 5, 2011
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