GPU fan rattling

for some reason, my GPU fan started rattling today. that is to say, the sound the fan makes isn't the "whine" it usually makes anymore, it's more like "brrrrrr" (if that explanation makes any sense). i'm certain it's the GPU fan, having tested a bit with Thermofan and stealth mode.

i'm suspecting there's either a hair or something else in there, unbalancing the fan. so my question is, can i open up my m15x and try to clean this out without killing my warranty? or will i have to ship it in for repairs (which i really, really want to avoid, seeing how i'd have to pay shipping both ways, and i'd be without my laptop for a few weeks, and i really need it now)?

all recommendations are appreciated.

 

I would call them to walk you through the procedure, in case doing it yourself will void your warranty somehow. Hope this helps:
http://4help.alienware.com/cgi-bin/alienware.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=5669&p_created=1194460031&p_sid=7ND3oLdj&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9NjUsNjUmcF9wcm9kcz0mcF9jYXRzPTAmcF9wdj0mcF9jdj0mcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT1hbnN3ZXJzLnNlYXJjaF9mbmwmcF9zY2ZfNj0yMDUmcF9wYWdlPTEmcF9zZWFyY2hfdGV4dD1SZXNlYXQgZ3JhcGhpY3MgY2FyZCBtMTV4&p_li=&p_topview=1

 

You could just try to blow compressed air from the out side of the fan.

 

Do what X2P suggests.
Get yourself a can of compressed air and blow air from the exhaust (in the rear). If this doesn't do the trick... just open it up and try and clean the fan like that. I'm sure you won't void any warranty like that.

Good luck whizzo!

 

you could take the fan out and they wont even notice anyways. theres no seal or anything. just disconnect the power cable and the two screws holding the fan in place. take it out and blow it out. then just screw it back in and put the connector back into place. it should be impossible that it will void your warranty. i've removed the fan alot of times of times already.

BTW if blowing doesnt work AW will just ship you a replacement fan you can put in yourself. they did it for me already.

 

As a precaution, you should hold the fan rotor so it won't rotate while blowing compressed air onto the blades.

 

well, i've just found time to have a chat with AW support. here's how it went.

I called the free hotline and was promptly forwarded to an agent. His german was acceptable, although he seemed to be more comfortable with english. i explained my problem to him. he then insisted on running the AlienContact program even though i had told him it was a hardware issue. unsurprisingly, after snooping around with HWMonitor a bit he told me we would have to open up the notebook.
So i get my screwdrivers etc and opened up the notebook. he directed me to remove the GPU fan (the origin of the rattling noise). he then told me to remove the GPU heatsink (which i did under protest). interestingly, the thermal paste seems to have been spread on the chip with about the same care as one would spread jam on toast, a rather sloppy job i must say. i'll definitely be re-doing that with AS5.
he then told me to "clean up a bit" around the GPU. not that there's anything to clean up except the dust in the fan and vent, which i duly blew out.
he then told me to reattach the heat sink. no instructions where given regarding the thermal paste, or in which order the screws should be screwed in (they're numbered for a reason you know ). he also told me to blow the dust out of the fan and reattach it. after closing up the notebook, i fired it up again.
surprise, surprise, there's the rattling noise. the agent finally realised that the GPU fan might just be broken/not working properly, so he decided to order me a new one. why thank you, that's what i was telling you from the beginning.

on a side note, i asked him about the thermal paste, and if it was okay to remove the heat sink and just screw it back on without the paste losing it's effectiveness. he told me that this was "no problem" as long as you didn't do it to often. apparently, the magic number for heatsink removals and re-attachments is four. after that, he said, you need to reapply the thermal paste. now, i'm no expert, but that sorta sounds like BS to me. what do you guys think?

PS: the agent said it would take 6 (!) days for the heatsink to arrive. we'll see how that goes.... it better be here next thursday.

UPDATE: my GPU is now idling at 60°C. so much for the agent's assertion that removing/reattaching the heatsink was "no problem"!!

 

once you get the new heatsink, try the new AS5. IT'll take a while before the new AS5 sets in though.

Btw, which GPU drivers are you running at the moment. And what were your idle temps before this?

 

177.92 with modded .inf from ltv2go, GPU idles at around 58 now, used to be 53-54. i've got a feeling that removing the heatsink (and simply placing it back on, without re-applying thermal paste) wasn't a good idea. why the TS agent told me to do this goes beyond me...

 

I wouldn't run any games until you re-apply AS5. I always put on new thermal paste when I take a heatsink off; it's is the only way you can be sure of a proper application (even spread, no bubbles, no dirt, and so on).

I don't know why the tech told you to do that either. I assume they have to follow a certain procedure before they can send out any replacement parts.

 

do you have to use AS5 for thermal paste? Im a big fan of arctic silver (proven to be the coolest paste) and can i apply this to my spu and gpu on my m15x without voiding the warranty?

 

Dude, my m9700 GPU fan is crapping out hardcore. It runs with a whining almost like it's gonna seaze up and die. The back end of my computer is so hot it melted the power connection cable and now I have troubles even powering on the flippin computer.

I emailed tech support earlier this week and didn't hear anything back. I decied to copy and paste my original email into about six new emails so hopefully they get the point.

Any idea what a new heatsink and fan would run? I'm sceptic to call as they will probably run through the same crap I've done and tell me the same story. This time though I fear they will pull a "Out of Warranty" card and claim the whole computer needs a repair. It's been out of warranty for about six months now, but I've had no battery for the last eight!

I did re-apply thermal paste to each of my gpu's and even the memory caps(both ends). Tried cleaning and reseating the HS with no luck either. My gpu's are idle at 70C(outragous!) with the latest drivers!

Anyone have any ideas? I'm open to new ideas!

 

AS5 = Arctic Silver 5

 

LOL, wow, nvm then, darn acronyms! I feel dumb >.>

 

I don't mean to drudge up old threads, but you wouldn't need a new heatsink... I'm not entirely familiar with the inner workings of the m9700, but I'm fairly certain that the fan would be separate from the HeatSink. you'd need a new fan though, 'cause they're custom manufactured... the only way around THAT is if you're good at either mcguyvering it together, or you've done some plastic molding before... in which case, you'd need to find a simmilar sized and voltage'd fan, then tear apart the outer casing and remold it so that it fits properly... or tear apart a fan and somehow attach it so it performs essentially the same function. either option is a bad idea if you've never even touched that type of thing before.

you'd just need to go order a replacement fan from AW. I don't imagine it'd cost $40 US to buy and ship... overall, a small price to pay for the system to be fixed. as far as the power situation goes, if you melted the actual cable, I'd suggest getting a new one, since all the shielding is probably shot now, and you're likely putting yourself, others, and your laptop at risk by continuing to use it (and letting it melt more)... however, if it's the connector itself (on the laptop) I wouldn't worry so much... but I would say to open up the hole enough for the power connector to fit in adequately. as for the melted cable, buy a new PSU, I'm sure they sell those too, and I havn't seen too many (from mfr's) that exceed $60... order both at the same time, and you should be golden.

 

Thanks for the help with this piggy backed comments, sorry OP. I'll be contacting AW for replacement parts, hopefully they will cut me a deal on the cost since I've had the notebook for less than two years.

 

well, it's thursday evening... AND THERE'S NO DHL DELIVERY MAN!!! now i'm mad, especially since my GPU fan is on it's last legs.

out of interest, was i supposed to get a tracking number or something at some point? because i never did...

 

Yeah these guys are very lazy in parts delivery, ask them for the tracking number and then ping the DHL

I got my tracking ID after 5-6 days of order confirmation, that too when I continuously asked for 4-5 times

 

ugh, i don't believe it. the part hasn't even been shipped yet. the TS agent told me it would be shipped in "1-2 days", which probably means "2 days". seeing how that's a saturday, it'll be shipped on monday. six days for delivery means it'll arrive saturday after next, with luck.

 

well, i got an email from TS (as promised when i called on thursday... probably first for AW... actually sending emails they've promised to send ), on friday saying my box would be shipped, and i'd get a tracking number the same day.

like hell i did. no tracking number so far, and my GPU fan is now shot to hell. it'll start running really slow, and then keep getting faster until it's spinning at about a million RPM. interestingly, there's very little air coming out of the back, so i'm guessing that the fan itself isn't attached to the motor anymore.

regardless, i am very unhappy with the situation, as i've now waited two weeks and the box (probably) hasn't even been shipped yet. much worse, my GPU fan is shot to hell, totally unusable, which means my laptop is now essentially a 500$ compaq, seeing how it's always on the IGP and on stealth mode (which lets me use 1.25ghz and intel X3100 graphics ).

bad form, Alienware, bad form.

 

ugh i'm about to go crazy... package arrived today. lo and behold, they managed to send me the heatsink (which, like physically can't break) instead of the GPU fan i need. fantastic, another week or so full of waiting and devoid of gaming

 

Sad to hear this happening to you whizzo. I really wish Alienware would improve their customer service.

I know how it feels, after paying so much for the laptop, you would obviously expect better service from AW.

 

That really sucks man.. That is just plain stupid.. That has to be really frustrating..

 

Wow, you must of been gutted :/

Sorry to hear about this

 

It might be more easy to just order what you need from somewhere else, and pay.

 

the m15x is an AW-exclusive design, i don't think i'll be able to find the cooling fan anywhere else, short of having one custom-made.

 

What are the fan specs?

 

0-60 in 2.5 seconds
HP: 1.2
MPG: 40

 

haha... nice.

 

fan arrived today, totally unexpected. immediataly installed it, working perfectly so far.

VERY happy camper right now

 

That's sweet news So only the fan needed changing?

 

yup, been able to reproduce the sound on the old fan with a small battery pack, so everything should be good now.

 

good deal, glad it's fixed.

 

Hi Whizzo,
I may be late telling you this, but artic silver (unless ceramic) isn't a good idea to apply since it's conductive. If you spread it wrong, it can possibly ruin a resistor or two. Also, Alienware is no longer advising artic silver. However, if you've already applied it, they won't hold you liable if everything is in working order.
Also, the representative was correct in telling you that you can remove the heat since around 4 times without reapplying thermal paste. Standard proceedure use to indicate applying thermal paste every time it was removed. However, this was unecessary as long as care was taken, and the thermal paste wasn't dry or flakey. You can chose the method that makes you most comfortable, but I have yet to see one overheat.

Gabe

 

eh, too late now. oh and i didn't use AS5, but Zalman ZM-STG1, it's easier for n00bs like me to spread on the chip

PS: the way the original thermal grease was slathered onto my GPU, i'm surprised it didn't bridge two resistors.

 

Hi Whizzo,
The important thing is that everything is working now. I still tend to apply thermal paste every time I remove a heat sink (I'm stuck on old methods). I personally won't use artic silver myself. It's really syrupy and tends to run where you don't want it to.

Gabe

 

just checked the shipping invoice. get this. my new fan (arrived today) was sent out...

yesterday.

that must be an AW record.

 

What are the new max temps for the GPU now, with the new thermal paste and fan running?

 

haven't done any stress-testing yet, thought i'd let the the new thermal grease settle a bit. but i'll definitely get in a map or two of good ol' Crysis this evening

 

Sorry for digging this up. This is just to share my experience.

It all started with a weird sound yesterday from the machine, so I restarted and it seemed to be fixed. Didn't pay much attention to it.

In office today, the sound came on again, from the GPU side. So i called up Alienware and they asked me to open and check everything. Did all they asked me to, and the sound stopped coming after some time. Was relieved, for all of 45 mins. It started stirring up again and this time it was buzzing big time, with a nice soft vibration to the entire keyboard and palm area. So i called them again, ad they promptly decided to send me a new fan. since we isolated the sound to be coming from there.
After the call, it started working fine again. that was about 12 hours ago. I just fired up COD5 and 20 mins into the game, there was a horrid sound, like a pig squealing or something. I switched it off immediately, and now there is nothing again.

whizzo, did you send in your fan back to them? I'm sure you got an RMA for the new part. Is this the one they sent? Item:M15X THERMAL MODULE GTX, Qty:1

Also, when i opened up the case today, some part of the GPU was black, like it was burnt or something (approx 10% of surface area); is this normal? I'll put up a pic of it if necessary.

 

definitely only use your lappy with stealth mode and/or the IGP from now on. aso for part, hate to break it to you, but that's the heatsink. they made the same mistake with me. here's what you really need:

1 | MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS-fan for the thermal module GTX

call TS and inform them of this.

also, please post a pic.

 

Thanks a ton. Will do both tomorrow (4 am here)

 

no problem. if you have any more questions, fire away (tomorrow ).

 

Here are the pics. Sent an email last night, and will speak to them today.

 

Is the GPU fan supposed to be on even though I'm in integrated mode? This is really getting to me now. cant type or concentrate with that buzz and vibrating.
Edit: putting it in stealth mode in integrated switches off the fan and the noise can work peacefully

 

Putting it in stealth mode on both modes should lower your fans.

 

Yea, realised that. But that noise will still be there with the external, right? With the 3100, the fan goes off completely, while with the 8800, it would be reduced. The fan makes noise on very low speeds too, like around 1800 r/min

 

yes, i noticed that the fan ist still on a bit, even on integrated graphics. as for the "burnt" GPU heatsink, that's just black paint, nothing to worry about.

EDIT: your laptop wasn't running when you opened it up to take those pictures, was it?

 

It was. The agent told me it would be fine to see where exactly the sound came from, which includes taking off the cable to the fan while the GPU was still running

 

wowza. NEVER do that again. even if he tells you to. german TS and I managed to locate the sound perfectly fine without opening the lappy while it was running.