[M14X] Should I be worried about my temps? Or should I call Dell Tech?

Man... my temps just got worse...

This is just from playing SC2 and have virtual W7 w/ Rift botting in it, CPU is OC'd and GPU is OC'd

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Should I be worried now?

Bump please help before my laptop dies.

you are close to the limit since intel does specify the Tjunction @ 100C for that CPU so  your safe but almost pushing the temp threshold for that cpu  but when it hits it should throttle itself down unless such is disabled  but remeber laptop cooling barelly meet requirements to keep it cool @ stock  since its limited in space and airflow so overclocking for a few mhz aint always worth the risk 

I'm very close then. Should I apply my own thermal paste? Artic Silver 5. I heard Dell put cheap paste into our chips ;x or should I call a tech and tell him to apply MY paste?

if your confident on tearing down by all means .. trying to convince them to send a tech out to redo with your paste.. honestly i dont know how thats gonna go over lol but AS5 is nice i seen big drops on my old XPS M1530  for temps

Dude he has to do it. I will call Dell Tech and tell them my laptop is overheating they will send a tech over, I will tell them to do it.

Also will it void my warranty if I do it myself?

if you damage during strip down it voids but otherwise ive had dell tell me to take apart my old BRAND new M17X i just said excuse me? hell the tech couldnt even get it apart without breaking the hinge cover(touch strip) but anyway the tech can refuse to put your thermal paste since its not a dell authorized part  but prolly not since most are outsourced and dont know left from right.. i miss the tech i had in alberta  he was good.. was a CERTIFIED apple repair tech.. also acer,toshiba and lenovo repair certified as well as i knew him personally so i trusted him when he looked at the system and said.. OH MY GOD WHAT IS THIS! I KNEVER SEEN ONE LET ALONE WORKED ON ONE! took him better part of a day to replace board and both video cards but hey he was same person that swapped the board on my M1530 3 times (nvidia's fail at that time)

im getting temps at stock settings during sc2 games...i want to reapply the thermal paste but it's totally different from the m15x from what i can see and dont want to damage the laptop....thinking of just returning it.

those are high temps, I just ran starcraft 2 with ultra settings and 3D enabled and this is what i had...

core #0 max 68c

core #1 max 66c

core #2 max 72c

core #3 max 69c

nvidia gtx 460m max 63c

but i have an m17x r3

m17x r3

I7 2720QM

1.5 GB gtx 460m

4GB DDR3 1333mhz

120hz 3D monitor

do good thermal pastes make that much difference? 0.o .... hmmm .. maybe i should go buy some and redo my M15x's thermal paste then ...

it's kind of hard to compare the m14x with an m17x with temps during gaming..

Ok, decided to throw in my info too, in the interest of sharing

These are my min temps after leaving my notebook on overnight (dowloading torrents and generally idle), current usage when the screen shot was taken (surfing web, listening to mp3s, watching vids) and max temps after playing Mass Effect for a couple of hours. I know Mass Effect isn't really pushing my system but its good enough i guess

Now, these temps probably look ok right? I would think so too if the ambient averaged 26 degrees celsius. However its currently winter in Auckland and the ambient temperature is about 16 degrees celsius. Im guessing the thermal paste used by the Dell techs after the last 2 mobo swaps are inferior quality.

I will be replacing the thermal paste with Artic Silver 5 tomorrow and will redo my simple tests and post my results in a few days

PS: Oops! Sorry, forgot to post my current specs:

Alienware M15x (Rev?? I dont know which revision it is.. how do you find out?)
OS: Windows 7 Professional, 64-bit (Service Pack 1)
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-720QM (1.6GHz, Turbo up to 2.8GHz, 6MB L3)
RAM: 4GB Dual Channel 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM (2x2GB)
HDD: 500GB 7200RPM SATA
GPU: GeForce GTX 260M
- Core clock: 550 MHz, Shader clock: 1350 MHz, Memory clock: 950 MHz (1900 MHz data rate), Memory interface: 256-bit
- Total available graphics memory: 2810 MB, Dedicated video memory: 1024 MB GDDR3
- System video memory: 0 MB, Shared system memory: 1786 MB

I've torn down the m14x twice now completely.  Once to reapply thermal paste (TIM) on the gpu and cpu and the other time to replace the notebook chassis or base due to the spring loaded screws being stripped (and palm rest).

I dont want to get kicked from the dell/alienware forums but you can visit over at techinferno.com and we can help.  My advice is always to contact

Dell/Alienware support first and get guidance or permission but if you choose to replace your own thermal paste, let us know.  I used Shin Etsu from Fry's which is very very expensive and works well.  Lowered my temps from 87/88c to 81/82c.  GPU temps at 100 percent utilization 750/900 clocks are 72-74c.

Good Luck,

Stevenxowens792

Hey all ... i've carefully followed all instructions in the M15x service manual, prepared myself with ESD mat and wrist strap, even bought anti-static tools ;-)

So here is what i did. Took apart my M15x, just enough to remove the heat sinks for the GPU and CPU, replaced the thermal paste with Arctic Silver 5, put all back together and voila!

Here are my new results while playing the same game for a couple of hours and leaving the machine to idle overnight to get the lowest temps possible.

Assumptions:
Since I didnt do anything to the hdd, we can use that as the control measurement. The ambient temperature was slightly colder during my second test.

Min Temps:
So first, looking at min temps, ambient temperature brought my hdd temp down further by 1 degree (40 > 39).

Taking that into consideration, thermal paste didnt do anything for min CPU temp. (42,38,42,38 > 41,37,41,37)

However, GPU temp was brought down further by another 2 degrees! yay! (37 > 34)

Max Temps:
Looking at max temp of the hdd,  it is 3 degrees lower in the second test (i might have trashed the hdd less during the second test, but we will just assume ambient temperature was the cause for the low temp)

CPU temp mostly improved, except for one core which is hotter in the second test assuming a 3 degree handicap (70,67,68,72 > 66,63,66,64)

GPU saw a big improvement of 4 degrees! (77 > 70)

Conclusion:
Proper application of quality thermal paste can make a difference in the reduction of CPU and GPU temps =)

IMPORTANT NOTES FOR ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO TRY THIS:
- You do this at your own risk and any damage inflicted will obviously void your warranty!
- Use ESD mats and wrist straps or risk frying your own components and voiding your warranty! =P
- Please pay attention to ALL instructions in the service manual!
- When fastening/unfastening screws, use the correct size screw drivers or risk wearing out the treads of the screw and forever sealing your components in place!
- When fastening the screws, DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN! These are not moving parts and do not need to be super tight. Just turn the screw in until it stops. Give it a baby grip final twist and leave it at that! When I was taking apart my M15x, some of the screws were in so tight (courtesy of the last dell technician who put my M15x back together!), I nearly couldn't unscrew them because the treads were starting to get worn!
- When applying thermal paste, you want to use as thin a layer as possible. DO NOT CAKE the component in paste! That was what I found when I opened my M15x. The last tech drowned the components in paste. A thick layer of paste does not transfer more heat! It makes it worse! The best heat transfer comes from metal on metal contact (from the chip to the heat sink). However, there will be micro air gaps in the contact. That is what thermal paste is for. Its meant to seal those air gaps and provide more surface contact. So a thin layer is more than enough.

I think i've covered everything. Good luck and happy gaming everyone! =D

Great Job & great write up and directions Noel Ho

Brings back memmories when I was into gaming laptops.....I just want to add useing caned air to knock the dust off/out of your heatsinks once a week or so will prevent buildup on the heatsinks and fans just make sure to use a papperclip to prevent the fan from spinning too much.

Also I never read the service mannual but when applying the thermal paste useing the sandwhich baggie method is great as it allows you to work the paste into the poures of the metal without transfering oil from your fingers.

Best wishes