M17x GPU heating up - new fan needed?

Hey Guys,

Been thoroughly enjoying my M17x, possibly even a bit too much.

This weekend i had some rattling start from one of the fans in my system - quickly checked if my temps had gone up and it seems that the fan on one of the NVidia 260s aren't doing it's job.

the GPU reports up to around 84c during game play, while the other GPU lies at around 60c.

I'm now wondering if i need to replace the GPU fan - out of warranty too (yay).

I then checked around our local PC stores et al - nobody stocks laptop GPU fans figures..

question now is:

a) where on earth do i get a fan for an Alienware M17x NVidia GPU?
b) where on earth do i get instructions on how to replace it? (i don't want to break everything)

Any ideas? best way forward for me?

Cheers and thanks in advance!

 

warranty! get those bums at dell to fix it for you

 

since you said out of warranty, you may have gotten the m17x as a replacement right? here its a like for the gpu fan http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-Alienware-...ItemQQptZLaptop_Batteries?hash=item23051f1bd8

 

If you have no way to extend the warranty call them anyway and buy the fan. It shouldn't be too expensive. Moo has a perfect guide on replacing the fan.

 

how are you out of warranty on the M17x?

It just came out 7 months ago and yea...

 

maybe because he had a m1730 or m1710 replaced for the m17x and the warranty expired on that one

 

The rattling is common. I have it with one of the gpus also. I've just been a bit to lazy to call dell. For temps, have you confirmed your SLI profile is valid for the game in question? If the profile does not enable SLI properly you will see a temp difference like the one you mentioned. Only 1 gpu will be handling the work.

 

Absolutely correct @blasterbeam210 - this was a replacement system for an XPS M1710...my warranty on the Alienware only extended as far as my original system (the XPS) warranty and i couldn't extend it (something about replacement systems et al yada yada).

Thanks for the link as well buddy - appreciated:

The guy on ebay is selling it for $59 - i wonder if Dell would charge me that much as well...think i'll give them a call.

@Moo - going to look for your guide to replacing the fan..

last quick question(s) - is the stock fan the "best" one to have? if i'm going to replace it i might as well fork out for a REALLY good one..

 

I'm not sure if my profile is correct - TBH i got no idea how to check that out (help?? pretty pls)..

but i'm fairly certain that my temps hasn't gotten this high before on the single GPU - think max i've ever hit was around 69c-70c and that was on an even hotter day..

 

Try this - its the current SLI profiles and should run with whatever driver you are running.

SLI Profile Updater - MODDED
Last Updated: 02/03/2010

I also suggest installing 186.82 to obtain the best results. If you are content with your driver, thats fine. See below on how to check if SLI is actually working for your game.

To verify that NVIDIA SLI technology is enabled and working:

1. From the NVIDIA Control Panel navigation tree pane, under 3D Settings, select Set SLI configuration.

2. From the menu bar, click 3D Settings, then click the drop-down menu item Show SLI Visual Indicators.

3. Launch game and you will see an SLI bar on the left. It should be going up and down on both the top and bottom section of the bar.

 

The stock fan is the ONLY one, really, so it'll be the best. It does work well, though. I had the fan on my computer die 3 times in a row -_-

Anyways, if you want to order it from Dell, which you really should, call Dell's Spare Parts Department, and the part number is F605N for the right side fan (I don't know the part for the left side, sorry). It'll cost 54.99 through them.

However, your fan really doesn't sound dead. 84C is NOT that warm. If you fan was dead, your game would be slowing down and you'd be hitting 100C as it throttles itself (I should know, it happened to me 3 times ). I'd say it isn't broken; there could be some dust buildup, and you probably don't have SLI properly enabled for the game you were playing.

 

Couod just be loose.....you really need to open it up and investigate......thats after following Batboys advice as this seems the most likely problem.
Dont go ordering another fan on a whim without exhausting other avenues.
Good luck mate!

 

Thanks fellas - Batboys, followed your instructions and got the drivers and SLI update sorted out..heat still going up within mere minutes.

The rattling of the fan has stopped (good/bad?). Tested it yesterday and again, i start up MW2 and basically within 1 minute one of the GPUs are spiking up to 84-86c now.

@no92stallion, i know 84-86 isn't that hot, but it's never done this before, always cruised in the high 50s-60s only.

i talked to Dell yesterday after contacting one of the very senior people i know at dell corp affairs and was advised to upgrade my BIOS to the latest one - did that...and...well, now i can't boot into Win7 at all..repair et al doesn't work..The escalation spez from Dell is going to call me this morning and help me sort it out. he mentioned that with RAID i'd have to do something else first.

so, lets see - i'd have been ok if the temp hadn't gone up that fast straight after the rattling started with the fan...

think i might open it up and have a look at dust too - just never know, might be a bit of chicken stuck in there

@tonytoff, thanks for the advice - i'm luckily still under warranty (not sure how that went about but suddenly i am) after talking to my contact at corp affairs.

 

good luck pal getting it sorted. Hope it works out well for ya!

 

If you are running RAID you will need to re-enable that in bios.
It is listed in two places (first enable raid then directly under that you will have to enable each hard drive listed).

If you are not running RAID then try looking through the bios and see if any of your settings were changed (AHCI or ATA etc..)

 

Right on the money

http://4help.alienware.com/cgi-bin/alienware.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=6067

84-86c is still too high (IMO). I have never exceeded the high 60s - and yes, this also includes MW2. I do not user a cooler pad but instead rely on free air flow. My system has the bottom intakes exposed and is elevated using a Logitech Alto Stand - I do not suggest this stand as the front of the M17x is curved but for now I am using it since its the only one I have.

Something is either wrong with your fans or GPUs. Dell needs to troubleshoot more. IMO, the A03 BIOS will change nothing in terms of lowering thermals. My observations from testing on my own system (running Vista), is that A03 actually increases GPU temps slightly. Again, just my opinion and observation. You may have different results.