Area-51m, overheating, #3

Question

Hi

I've been using the Alienware Area-51m for a long time now and feel it heats up way past normal. Specially along the panel adjacent to the power button, which is understandable since the Heat sink lies below. But also on the palm rest area on for the left hand which you would normally use to access the WASD keys (as a gamer). It gets so hot that I cannot keep my hand there for more than a few minutes. To counter this, I have to always keep the Air Conditioner in my room running.

This video makes it more intriguing since it shows that the left hand palm rest area shouldn't be heating up much at all: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6vfByX5nL8

I've attached a screenshot showing CPU temperatures soaring well above 90 degree C even when the load is not that high.

I'm even considering opening up the laptop and replacing all the Thermal Paste.

Is anyone else facing these issue and/or were you able to rectify it?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Regards

spentas · Answer

Hi, I bought mine a year ago and have the same problem for a long time. Same CPU i9. Thermal paste on CPU and GPU was changed by dell technician due to replacement of broken GPU about 6 months ago.   Still, it often ends with a throttling and sometimes with a blue screen of death and/or simple system shutdown even with all fans on. And it gets really hot.   Make some CPU tests in pre-boot (F12 while the Alienware logo is shown) and if it shows very high temperatures like over 90 you should contact the support. If thermals not so high there (mine 78-88), I've got an answer that this type of laptop can handle 100 degrees temperatures just fine, but if it turns off, it's also normal. So, I'm thinking of replacing with i7, I don't know...

illiciit · Answer

I updated the Firmware version to 1.9.3 and installed 'Intel Driver and Support Assistant' to get some more updates. The Temperatures have reduced but now the Graphic card keeps crashing from time to time. Diagnostics through the boot menu says everything is working okay.

I will open another thread to figure what drivers should be used; latest ones from Nvidia or the one from Dell which is dated Nov. 2019.

TheRedKipper · Answer

I have a 1 year old m15 r1 but had the same overheating problems. CPU temps during gaming were 100 degrees without fail. Area around power button became almost untouchable. Could feel the heat through the AWSD keys. Graphics and CPU freezes were common.

Just took the heat sink out and the thermal paste was dry and flaked off in chunks except in the very center of the CPU and GPU. Also has oxidized fingerprints on the heat sink copper directly over the chip contact areas. After a thorough clean and new paste I'm running a lot cooler with no freezes, stable fps and temps only spiking above 90 degrees. Power button area now touchable even after long gaming sessions and heat through the keys is not noticeable.

luckeydogg · Answer

So is this normal temps? All of sudden got this today. These temps are in F also..

A51-06 · Answer

My Dads area-51m hits 201 Fareinheight. He replaced it with some of this stuff ands it’s pretty chill at 5.0Ghz with all cores being used 80c.

Paste:

https://www.amazon.com/MorningDawn-Performance-Thermal-Paste-Metallic/dp/B071K7R5PF/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=Thermal+Paste+server+grade&qid=1595943641&sr=8-4

Thermal pads:

https://www.amazon.com/100x100x1-5mm-Aikenuo-Conductivity-Conductive-Temperature/dp/B075JDF6JV/ref=sr_1_7_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=Thermal+Pads&qid=1595943677&sr=8-7-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExS1BUUEFVUEtMM1FEJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwODgwMzg3MkVUTjg3VkdLOFlDWCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMzY0ODAyQjRYQUI0OFhOUUtGJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfbXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Will.RLGN · Answer

Mine is even worse temps are out of this world! And no upgradability to new gen!

I feel cheated and lied too! Reps told me that I would be able to stay current with future upgrades!! Future Upgrades dont mean only upgrade with what was currently Already available within the same generation!! I sunk alot of hard earned money into this laptop hoping for several years of upgradability as was promised by my sales rep only to find out less than a year later my “top of the line, unprecedented holy grail of upgradability“ as they called it is obsolete less than a year later, as I purchased this in October of 2019. Had I know. That 9 months later id be obsolete I would have just purchased a desktop! This is deceptive business practice and false advertising if ive ever seen it! And Alienware/Dell knows it! They have now throttled our machines because of heating problems and bad engineering! They knew what the original selling point and promises of this product was, and they purposefully lied knowing it would bring more sales! Im So tired of not getting what I paid for with this evil company! The computer doesnt even perform as promised, throttling At 75c and heat and performance issues plagued from day one!

Will.RLGN · Answer

Yup this is pretty normal operating temp for me even with a i7 9700k and a rtx 2060!

Chip Hotfist · Answer

My A51M (i9-9700, RTX2080) would constantly throttle the CPU and the GPU when playing games, getting down to 40FPS on Doom Eternal on full settings. Underclocking didn’t seem to help much at all.

I suspected the issue was heat and decided to repaste the system. Removing the heat sink showed the factory used a large excess of thermal paste which had leaked out everywhere. There were also heaps of air gaps in the factory paste.

I repasted the CPU and GPU with Artic MX-4, and also replaced the thermal pads with Arctic pads, and now it holds 144FPS with no under- or overlocking, and the system is about 20C cooler.

Alienware

Area-51m, overheating, #3

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