M17 Heat Questions

Hey There, I ordered an M17 a while ago and have been hearing reports that by changing the thermal paste used in the laptop, you can drop the temperatures about 3-10 degrees C.

1. I'm wondering if anyone has tried removing the thermal grease and replacing it with arctic silver 5.

2. How difficult is it to remove the bottom panel of the laptop in order to get to the cpu and gpus?

 

Shouldnt be difficult, there are a few guides around how to replace hardware in the M17 which will help you access the thermal paste.

But if im not mistaken doing so you void your warranty, which i dont think you should sacrifice it over 3-5 degrees.

 

^^ what he said

 

I used AS5 when I installed my X9100 CPU (started out with the P8600). Then, the other day I re-did the GPU cores. There are maybe six or seven screws holding the bottom panel on. The heat pipes for both GPU cores run into one big heatsink. The heatsink, fan, and both heatpipes all come off as a unit. I don't know if this voids the warranty, but mine was already gone from flashing the BIOS to OC my CPU. This is an easy job, and I would recommend it. These are DTRs, and they make a lot of heat. My GPUs used to hit 95C when playing Fallout 3, now they usually hit 87-90C. Any excess heat you can avoid will add the the longevity of your M17's life. The thermal 'crud' that AW uses is sub-par, to say the least.

 

Ahh, thanks for the input. I'll probably do the same to mine when it arrives because a few degrees makes a big difference, especially when you get up higher. I'm just glad to know that it seems fairly easy to do and that it does in fact lower temps.

As a previous AW laptop owner, heat is my biggest fear. The previous laptop only lasted 4 years before it essentially blew up from continuous overheating. It was the Area-51m from 2003.

 

I recommend a good notebook cooler to help keep these beasts cool:
- Zalman ZM-NC2000
- NZXT Cryo LX

 

I thought that the other reviews only noted a 2 or 3 degree drop in heat and as such wasnt enough of a drop to warrant the purchase of a cooler?

 

I was saying this in another thread, but I've never seen any temp drop from a notebook cooler. I think they're a gimmick.

 

I would not say that... I have one of the original 17" beastly notebooks... first dual-core notebook as well.

I have tested over a dozen notebook coolers.

The best one for my notebook are the Zalman's since the airflow lines up well with my four fans... especially the GPU fan.
- a noticeable 5-10C degree drop for GPU and 5-8C for CPU.

When choosing a notebook cooler, look for the ones that are lined up to the notebook's bottom vents/fans.... which would give the best results.

If you by a cheapy like the Antec's and Belkins... then do not expect much... you get what you pay for. (unless if those cheapies line up with your notebook's vents).

 

As stated before the Cryo NZXT is a little pricey but well worth it as a good cooling solution.
It's 3 fans blow out a good amount of air and I also get about a 5-10C degree drop for GPU and CPU.

 

I had some $60 one, it was black anodized aluminum with two USB-powered fans. I think it's still laying around somewhere in the basement. I'll find it and see if I can get some results. Thanks for the input gentlemen.