Did you ever complete your motherboard swap? And did it work? Any complications? I also have a cherished Alienware 13 R1 from 2014 and the replacement i7 / 960m board off eBay is a tempting price...let me know!
Hi @Bo205 and @rtucker666 welcome to this free user to user Alienware laptop discussion forum. This is not Dell Support.
Found Dell OEM Alienware 13 Laptop System Board (aka Motherboard) with i7 2.4GHz CPU - DP/N V7VWN at $329.95 & Includes 1 Year Warranty. On-board Intel Core i7-5500U CPU @2.4Ghz. Nvidia Graphics.
Dell support for Alienware 13 (R1) Documentation includes Service Manual and how to remove and install the System Board. There are YouTube videos that show how difficult/easy this process can be.
Even though he hasn't responded yet I have to say it has to work. There is no physical difference because both the heatsinks and most if not everything on the board is designed to fit in that specific design.
So I went ahead and did the motherboard upgrade, now running i7-5500 and the 960M gpu. All running well, no problems with the fit in the chassis. Also upgraded the screen to the touchscreen QHD panel and the WiFi chip to wifi 6 / Bluetooth 5. One thing I overlooked is the new power consumption- my battery now only lasts about an hour instead of 3 which I didn't even think about. I'm tempted to get the larger 240w power supply from Dell as I think the stock 130w will be struggling with the more powerful components now.
ejn63
10 Elder
•
30.7K Posts
2
May 16th, 2020 04:00
R1 to R1 board, yes. What you cannot do is R2 board in R1 chassis or the reverse.
Bo205
2 Posts
1
May 16th, 2020 10:00
Yes, R1 to R1. I'm aware the R2 board is slightly different and won't fit into the R1 computer chassis.
Thanks for your help. It is greatly appreciated!
rtucker666
2 Posts
1
April 16th, 2022 16:00
Hi Bo205,
Did you ever complete your motherboard swap? And did it work? Any complications? I also have a cherished Alienware 13 R1 from 2014 and the replacement i7 / 960m board off eBay is a tempting price...let me know!
crimsom
7 Technologist
•
6.1K Posts
0
April 16th, 2022 17:00
Hi @Bo205 and @rtucker666 welcome to this free user to user Alienware laptop discussion forum. This is not Dell Support.
Found Dell OEM Alienware 13 Laptop System Board (aka Motherboard) with i7 2.4GHz CPU - DP/N V7VWN at $329.95 & Includes 1 Year Warranty. On-board Intel Core i7-5500U CPU @2.4Ghz. Nvidia Graphics.
Dell support for Alienware 13 (R1) Documentation includes Service Manual and how to remove and install the System Board. There are YouTube videos that show how difficult/easy this process can be.
A51-06
5 Practitioner
•
3.1K Posts
0
April 17th, 2022 01:00
Great job @ejn63 ! and Congrats @Bo205 on the issue being fixed!
A51-06
5 Practitioner
•
3.1K Posts
0
April 17th, 2022 01:00
Even though he hasn't responded yet I have to say it has to work. There is no physical difference because both the heatsinks and most if not everything on the board is designed to fit in that specific design.
rtucker666
2 Posts
0
July 1st, 2022 17:00
So I went ahead and did the motherboard upgrade, now running i7-5500 and the 960M gpu. All running well, no problems with the fit in the chassis. Also upgraded the screen to the touchscreen QHD panel and the WiFi chip to wifi 6 / Bluetooth 5. One thing I overlooked is the new power consumption- my battery now only lasts about an hour instead of 3 which I didn't even think about. I'm tempted to get the larger 240w power supply from Dell as I think the stock 130w will be struggling with the more powerful components now.