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    Fan nightmare

    Discussion in 'Alienware' started by Dangerous_Dave, Oct 30, 2018.

  1. Dangerous_Dave

    Dangerous_Dave Notebook Guru

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    I'm trying to fix the fan on an Alienware 17 R3 where the original was making a grumbling noise. Went looking around for one with exactly the same number code on it and finally found one on Ebay - which took nearly a month to arrive from China. When it got here, it was nearly a two hour job to put it in because the GPU fan is buried in the machine and requires a full disassembly including lid off and motherboard out - only to find that it makes this really annoying sort of soft whistle when it's spinning up. So then I had to wait another 3 weeks for the seller to send a replacement out, another hour and a half to change that one in, and lo and behold, it also makes the same stupid whistle when it's spinning up.

    Are these likely to be knock off parts? It's ridiculous how much time and effort I've put into getting hold of a replacement fan only to be in the same position I was when I started.
     
    Dangerous_Dave, Oct 30, 2018
    #1
  2. cruisin5268d

    cruisin5268d Notebook Evangelist

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    Why not just buy a new one from Dell?
     
    cruisin5268d, Nov 3, 2018
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  3. rinneh

    rinneh Notebook Prophet

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    That whistle is typical and normal for PWM controlled fans. The latest batches of the fan type used in the 15R2/17R3 all have it. It's jsut part of the design.

    YOu can hear it here in other fans

     
    Last edited: Nov 6, 2018
    rinneh, Nov 6, 2018
    #3
    cdoublejj likes this.
  4. cdoublejj

    cdoublejj Notebook Deity

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    look up the fan upgrade for the m17x r4. hell none of the screw holes line up yet it works great. as long as you can get it in there and wired up, ducting tape will hold it on to the heatsink. then you can get a fatter or slimmer or fast or slower fan
     
    cdoublejj, Nov 24, 2018
    #4