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10 Wizard
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June 25th, 2012 01:00
5. Anti-MIO Cooling Project
Objective:
The objective of this project is to provide a way to cool to the motherboard's main processor, without the use of the MIO-Board. Basically, a little plug swapping and maybe installing a special cable ... that will allow the Asetek Cooler to function good enough to check the motherboard, power supply, and the machine in general.
Warning:
This hardware modification is completely un-authorized and should not be attempted by users who have machines still under warranty. While it will be targetted toward the Aurora, is should also work on the Area-51 (with little to no modification).
Community Involvement:
Instead of only myself working on this, I thought I would open it up to the whole AW hardware community. I see some of you pulling-off some pretty impressive hardware mods (after-market swaps of Motherboards, Power Supplies, Cooling Systems, etc.). I have a feeling that is do-able or even kinda easy. Lack of schematics from Dell, of their parts and the custom AW wiring is what makes it hard.
My machine is not broken now and I would rather not damage it (nor would I want anyone to damage theirs). So, we will do this the smart way and not just start connecting things because they look like they might work.
Why:
We all know that MIO-Boards fail in various ways. In some of the more serious modes of failure ... either the MIO-Board won't run the AseTek Cooling Unit (Pump and Radiator Fan) any more, or the MIO-Board is completely shorted-out and holding down the Power Supply (preventing the machine from starting) ... so it must be completely disconnected.
In the above scenario, users or technicians must either:
1. Install a good working MIO-Board in a machine that may have other major parts also bad (MB, PS, etc.)
2. Remove the Asetek Cooler and install a conventional HeatSink/Fan cooler
... all just to find out if the motherboard (and rest of machine) is truly working (and even worth fixing). Seems like a waste of time and money ... when you have a perfectly good liquid cooler right there ... already installed on the motherboard. If the Asetek pump is not turning, the machine turns off in about 5 minutes due to thermal overload of the Intel processor (not long enough to do any thorough tests, burn-ins, or benchmarks).
You can't test the MIO-Board unless the motherboard is working. You can't test the motherboard unless the MIO-Board is working (to run the installed Asetek Cooler). It's a vicious cycle. The only way is to remove the dependency on the MIO-Board for a short time.
Requirements:
1. Design and build a special cable (if needed). Constructed of inexpensive and easily obtained materials.
2. No cutting or splicing of existing parts is allowed. The machine should be able to easily switch back to it's original hardware config.
Research:
The motherboard's MB_CPU_Fan header should be a standard socket for a standard cooler (and operate as such).
Around 2009, when Asetek built the unit for Dell (to go into their first AW machines) they were also selling a similar unit to Corsair. The Corsair H50 unit was able to be connected to any conventional motherboard and work. To my knowledge the Dell unit has not changed over the years. If Corsair's H50 can be connected to any generic machine, so should the Dell-Asetek unit. Corsair has since moved-on, and is now selling Asetek's 2nd-Generation Design (that has a digital controller built into it).
While the Pump terminates with a 7 pin connector, only 3 wires are actually coming from the pump. It should be Gnd-, V+, and Speed Sensor (similar to a 3 wire fan). The Radiator Fan appears to be the same as any other 4-wire fan. One or both might be PWM. I'm pretty sure the pump only runs at one speed ... it's only the Rad-Fan that (optionally) needs to be variable speed.
| Liquid Coolant Pump | Radiator Fan (click to zoom-in) | MB_CPU_FAN Header | |
| Stock Plug |
|||
| 7-pin plug / only 3 wires to pump | 4-pin plug / 4 wires to fan (PWM) | 4-pin Header (PWM) | |
| Pin 1 - Gnd (V-) |
Pin 1 - Gnd (V-) Pin 2 - 12v + Pin 3 - Tachometer Pin 4 - Speed Control |
Pin 1 - Gnd (V-) ? Pin 2 - 12v + ? Pin 3 - N/A ? Pin 4 - Speed Control ? |
|
| Verified by Devanny | Pretty sure this is right | Should be. Needs Verification. | |
| Pin #s like a standard 3-pin fan | Standard 4-pin PWM fan |
This Asetek cooler is the same as the one Corsair calls H50. This is what it looks like inside:
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1025/3/
H50 Connection:
Radiator Fan: MB_CPU-FAN header (so it can be variable speed ... not required but nice to have)
Pump: Constant Speed. Some H50 instructions say connect it to any available fan header on MB. Others, say to use simple 2 wire adapter cable to connect to legacy Molex 5v/12v Drive Power connector (you will get constant speed). Not sure what it up with the discrepancy. I wonder if it's because they are unsure that all random fan headers will run at full speed, or are they worried that some fan headers can't handle power amps to drive pump?
Corsair chose to leave the pump wires different colors. Dell ordered theirs with all black wires (I'm guessing to hamper reverse engineering).
Since Dell will not give us the pinouts for the 7-pin header on the "Top Lighting Board", maybe we can figure out which is which by ohm-ing out the wires and see what the terminals are marked on the little control board inside the pump? This would have to be done on a dead or bad pump. Don't remove the proprietary 7-pin plug... use a pin or paperclip.
7-17-2012 Added more table data
7-18-2012 Added H50 connection info
10-5-2012 Added Devanny's Asetek and H50 info
Dell Rockstar Microsoft Windows and Apple iOS Developer (Retired) |
Tesla1856
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June 25th, 2012 11:00
Solution:
I'll try to document this solution better if I (or someone else) ever builds it.
This is untested. Use your voltmeter to double-check everything. However, as long as you don't short anything out or get your polarity reversed (or anything equally as silly) nothing should get blown up.
To facilitate the rewire the user would first disconnect the MIO-Board ... including Molex power, USB to MB, and MB_CPU_Fan header.
Connect Radiator Fan to motherboard's MB_CPU_Fan header.
Build or buy a little adapter cable and connect the CPU-pump to the Molex power that was being used to power the MIO-Board (or any other drive connector that has +12vdc available).
Pump Side --------- Molex or Drive power side
Pin 1 - Gnd (V-) - Black Wire
Pin 2 - 12v + - Yellow Wire
This is all you need to connect the pump. You get them free with most 80mm fans. This is from an Enermax and I have a spare here from an Antec.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999199
Across Yellow and Black wires, you should get +12vdc. Be sure that translates to the proper pins that connect the pump wires. This should run the pump at 100% speed - 100% of the time, which is what you want.
The Rad-Fan should speed adjust depending on load or at least run full speed.
Either way ... CPU is being cooled and you can test your motherboard without the MIO-Board working or even connected.
devanny
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October 6th, 2012 06:00
I had a friend who has forgotten more about electronics than I will ever know verify my findings. The table for the 7 pin header is correct above is correct. Pin 1 is ground, pin 2 is 12V, pin 3 must be the sensor wire and pin 5 is also a ground.
Regarding the H50. I went back and looked at the installation I did of the old H50 I had. It had a standard molex connector with just a power and ground wire going to it. I stand corrected again. Sorry. The newer H50's come with a three pin fan connector. See the photo here: techreport.com/.../corsair-h50-all-in-one-cpu-water-cooler
As far as the radiator fan goes, I did verify that going from right to left in your picture that pin 1 (black wire) is ground and pin 2 (red wire) is 12V. When I get a chance to hook it to a non-Dell motherboard, I will see if the fan varies speed and if the PC Health in the BIOS shows a speed for it. That will verify the rest of the wiring.
I haven't changed the connector pin on the Alienware pump yet. When I do, I will plug it into a non Dell board with a three pin fan connector and see what the BIOS reports for the pump speed.
I do have one of the motherboards that came out of these machines. I'll fire it up try to verify what each pin is by taking some voltage readings. Unfortunately, I don't see anyplace in the BIOS to read fan speeds. I will put a standard 4 pin fan on it to see if the speed does vary when you start the motherboard up.
morblore
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July 17th, 2012 23:00
I don't know if this helps but the 7-pin pump connector on the Aurora is a 5-pin on the Area 51. Still has just 3 wires to the pump, well 4 but two are double grounds ( I think ) just like the picture you posted. Anyway, there is an adapter for it. You can also see the color of the wires on this pic of the adapter which could help someone rewire the stock Alienware cooler. I'm seeing Green, Yellow, Black and Blue.
The CPU header on the Area 51 goes from top to bottom: Green, Yellow, not used and Orange
System fan connector looks the same.
P/N: CB-PWM-D5
This 8-inch long, black sleeved fan adapter cable
converts a PWM female fan connector to a Dell
proprietary 5-pin 4-wire female connector.
www.1stpccorp.com/cb_fan_cable.htm
Tesla1856
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July 18th, 2012 00:00
1. Do you know of anyone that has ever used this on an Area-51? I guess it would be used to connect an aftermarket cooler to the MIO-Board?
2. If so, it might be helpful. I need the exact pinouts and preferably signals carried on each pin.
3. Yes the pump connector is only 5-pins on the Area-51. I wonder if the pin-outs are the same for pins 1-5 between the 2 machines ... and the Aurora just has an extra 2 pins (pins 6 & 7) on the end.
morblore
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July 18th, 2012 09:00
1) I don't know of anyone that has tried it.
2) ^
3) On one hand I want to say yes the pin-outs should be the same. It would be more cost effective to use the same layout between the two systems. On the other hand they used a 7-pin on the Aurora and a 5-pin on the Area 51 while both only needed 4-pins. Do you think if we emailed them they would tell us?
Tesla1856
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October 4th, 2012 18:00
Thanks for posting.
Yes, that is basically what this project is all about ... Running the pump and radiator fan from standard power. Of course, I was thinking more along the lines of short periods of time in a real Alienware ... but I suppose it could be a generic machine.
How does the real H50 regulate the rad-fan speed? For long term operation, rad-fan would need to run variable speed.
Please double check your pin numbers. As you can see it the pic above (click it to Zoom in) Pins 1,2,3 are used. Two wires are crimped into one pin (pin #1) and one of those goes over to pin #5 (that's the un-needed pin/wire). Nothing is connected to pin #4.
Because all wires are black, I thought it might be better to just make an adapter and not cut and splice. That way, the wires can't get mixed up. Also, for those of us that will use this as a temporary testing setup ... well, an adapter cable is obviously preferred.
devanny
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October 4th, 2012 18:00
I have two junk Alienware Aurora computers that I found when someone dropped them off at an electronics recycling center. The motherboards were gone but everything else was there including the pump, the fans, the power supply and the MIO board and fan/ pump board. I am very interested in reusing the pumps so I "borrowed" the computers. I ran across your post when i was trying to track down the pinout for the 7 pin connector.
On the seven connector, pin 1 and pin 5 are jumpered together and not connected to the pump so I ignored them. They wouldn't have anything to do with operating the pump in a standard "non Dell" setting as only three wires actually come from the pump itself. Consequently, pins 2, 3 and 4 must emulate the wires on the Corsair H50. I know the older model Corsair H50 has a three pin connector for the pump because I have one of those also. The problem is they are all the same color so you have to find out which one is power, which one is ground and which one is the sensor wire.
I took one of the computers and jumpered the green wire on the power supply to ground and much to my surprise, all the fans and the pump took off. Thus, the 7 pin connector had power to it. I poked around with my multimeter and found that
when I put the positive lead on pin 2 and the negative lead on the 4 pin, I got about 12 volts. When I reversed them, I got negative 12 volts. Consequently 2 pin is the power wire, 4 pin is the ground wire and by default, 3 pin is the sensor wire.
I will confirm this tomorrow by cutting the 7 pin connector off and soldering on a standard three pin fan connector. I'll hook the pump and it's fan up to a motherboard, boot to BIOS and see what readings I get for fan speeds from each motherboard fan connector. I'll post the results when I get them. However, I think the mystery may be solved.
devanny
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October 4th, 2012 19:00
I stand corrected. I pulled the fan pump board off of the computer case so it was isolated and tested again. I need to get my glasses adjusted. Pin 2 is positive, Pin 1 and Pin 5 are grounds, Pin 3 has to be the sensor wire. Thus, it is basically a standard 3 pin connector configuration. There isn't anything on pin 4 or 6 or 7. I'm going to use them in non-alienware machines so I am comfortable with changing the connector permanently.
The regular H50 I have came without a fan. I used a standard 4 pin 120mm fan on a recent install I did with it so that it would have speed control. Sorry for the confusion.
Tesla1856
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October 5th, 2012 00:00
Thanks. The above table has been updated. Is it correct?
See what is says above in "H50 Connection" paragraph?
Did the pump on your H50 have a standard 3-pin fan plug on it (to plug directly into a MB header) or do you usually connect to a spare SATA or Molex (where there is plenty of 12v amps)? Not that the pump needs much, but since the MB headers are built for fans, I'm sure they can only handle 0.5 amps or so.
I need to know so I can describe the solution.
As for the rad-fan ... I think it will plug directly into the MB_CPU_Fan header. It should be PWM.
To facilitate the rewire the user would first disconnect the MIO-Board ... including Molex power, USB to MB, and MB_CPU_Fan header.
morblore
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October 5th, 2012 03:00
I think it's right. 1 and 5 must be grounds so that leaves 2 and 3. On a standard connector 2 is positive so 3 has to be the sensor. There is no 4 because it runs at 100%.
Tesla1856
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October 11th, 2012 00:00
Thanks for verification.
Yes it does. And the review speaks about finding a MB header for it ... but as you can see in the pic ... there's an adapter on it and it heads over to the drives (likely to attach to a Molex connector for 12v).
It's either because of amp draw or they are afraid a MB header might do something weird and end up not running the pump at 100% speed / 100% of the time.
Tesla1856
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October 12th, 2012 21:00
Solution has been posted up above on second post. Please feel free to double-check and offer suggestions.
The Dell black 7-pin socket (header side) is not easy to source out. Settling for a generic header-pin-group. It's only 2 pins, so it should work for either the Aurora or Area-51.
Cass-Ole
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May 20th, 2016 06:00
The original A51 >< Aurora R1-R4 have kooler pumps that use a Molex SL 5pin & 7pin
Below, I'll walk through my interpretation of the Anti-MIO Kooling Project
Aurora 7pin shown >< A51 Identical Left-to-Right
typical Molex SL pieces
top http://www.molex.com/molex/products/datasheet.jsp?part=active/0050579405_CRIMP_HOUSINGS.xml" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc">50579405 (Aurora 7pin = 50579407) (Series 70066)
top http://www.molex.com/molex/products/datasheet.jsp?part=active/0701070004_CRIMP_HOUSINGS.xml" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc">SL 5pin male Part Number: 70107-0004 (Series 70107)
SL™ Wire-to-Wire Crimp Housing, Single Row, Version A, without Mounting Ears, 5 Circuits
btm male pin 16020107 22-24AWG (Series 70021)
btm http://www.molex.com/molex/products/datasheet.jsp?part=active/0016021115_CRIMP_TERMINALS.xml" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer nofollow ugc">16021115 (gold/au) >< 16020086 (tin)(Series 70058)
typical fan parts (frozencpu.com performance-pcs.com etc)
AClub forum link to > CPU Pump power needs
I use 22AWG UL1007 wire > 22 gauge wire <
*note* --> 20awg & larger will never fit the SL pins/connectors = 'too fat'
Solder
I use a 25watt tip with .015 extra-fine 62/36/2 silver bearing 64-035 RadioShack
.022 or .032 60/40 rosin-core works for me in a jiffy
I force-crimp the wire to the terminal with needle nose pliers (no need here for a fancy Molex terminal crimper, but if u have one use it) then I solder wire to pin, give it the death-grip
below is a similar 'extension' I just made
to make anti-mio, I'd place fan terminal/pins & fan connector on
this is a basic SL build
crimped/soldered > pins pushed in til 'click' in place w/help of precision flat-tip screw driver
this is a 20cm / 8" kooling pump extension for a custom A51 build for a friend's mthrbrd swap, where a longer cord is needed for the pump
your Anti-MIO Cable may be similar, see below
simple SL Male + terminals >< 22g wire >< 3pin fan + terminals
crimp / solder / click in place
< right: Anti-MIO adapter 7pin w/3pin fan
sean76034
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August 23rd, 2017 21:00
Cass-Olé could you still make/sell the adapters? I would like to purchase one.