[Alienware 17R4 / 15R3] - Disassembly + Repaste Guide + Results

[Alienware 17R4 / 15R3] - Disassembly + Repaste Guide + Results



And here it is! Pictures are a thousand words so I did my best to let it speak for itself. Hope this helps!

*** I'll be adding comments ...still under construction ***

Below are the conductivity numbers for the top Liquid Metals and Traditional Paste:
(As we know the w/mk claims are to be taken with a grain of salt, however, from all my tests done so far, Grizzly Conductonaut has always topped CLLU by an average of ~3C. Results may vary. However, because I am repasting, every drop in C's count. It could make all the difference in some scenarios. To each his own...)

Liquid Metals:
Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut - 73 W/mk
Coollaboratory Liquid Ultra - 38.4 W/mk
Coollaboratory Liquid Pro - 32.6 W/mk

Traditional Paste:
Gelid GC Extreme: 8.5 W/mk
Grizzly Kyronaut: 12.5 W/mk
ICD: 4.5 W/mk

-------------------------------Let the fun begin...----------------------------

You can use Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol as well, but make sure to get at least 70%. I usually use 70% at first, then polish it off with 91% if I'm ever out of ArctiClean, which is almost never.




Make sure to keep your screws organized.






Here's a quick video on how I remove the WiFi cables. Haven't broken a pin yet....hope this helps.













Use a plastic pry tool and work your way around the laptop. It's kind of like the taking the top keyboard part off on the 17R3, only this is the bottom panel cover.




It's easier to keep the heat sink unit intact until you undo the two fan plugs on the back side of the mobo.






Make note of this...there's only a screw on the right side.




Make sure to unclip these before removing the mobo.


That's the power connector that needs to be unclipped before taking off the Heat Sink unit.


That's how it looks with the mobo off. Very solid...metal everywhere...it's a tank.


I've also measured the thermal pads while I was at it...

* It is highly recommended to do as many dry runs (after cleaning off the paste on the heat sink) and to measure the gaps of where the stock thermal pads are located. There are different variants of the heat sinks so the tolerances can be off by a lot. Not all of the heat sinks are created equal. Some areas may need a thicker thermal pad to ensure that there is good contact with enough pressure to allow the thermal pads to function at its peak. A thermal pad that is simply just sitting there and looks like it's touching both contacts will not provide the proper heat dissipation. Therefore, please use the info. below as a general guide. It would help to order more larger sized pads (1.0mm and 1.5mm) just to be safe.

AW 1070 Model:

I'd recommend replacing the stock thermal pads with Fujipoly:

2x - 1.0mm ( https://www.amazon.com/Fujipoly-mod...=UTF8&qid=1480891448&sr=8-6&keywords=fujipoly)

1x - 0.5mm ( https://www.amazon.com/Fujipoly-mod-smart-Extreme-Thermal/dp/B00ZSJRH22/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1480891448&sr=8-3&keywords=fujipoly)



For the 17R4 with the 1070 you'll need:
2x - 1.0mm (100x15)
1x - 0.5mm (100x15)

---

There are two variants of the 1080 heat sinks. CCI and SUNON. The good one is SUNON, but you'll still want to do some dry runs on putting the heat sink onto the motherboard to measure the thermal pad distances, just to be sure.

AW 1080 Model:



For the 17R4 (Sky Lake 6820HK) with the 1080 you'll need:
3x - 1.0mm (100x15)
2x - 0.5mm (100x15)

---



For the 17R4 (Kaby Lake 7820HK) with the 1080 you'll need:
3x - 1.0mm (100x15)
3x - 0.5mm (100x15)


---

Dried toothpaste...SMH


I mean...it's unreal how they spend all this money on R&D etc...then crap on it with cheap toothpaste? Oxymoron....I just don't get it.


Eekks...


SMH


Nice and Shinyyyy...


That drop is enough for the die and heat sink...It looks like a lot and for it being liquid metal and it usually is, but for laptops you have to be make sure to have the right amount.


Take your time....try to use only one side of the brush or the black Q-Tip that comes with Grizzly Conductonaut. For this application I've just the CLLU brush. Both (brush or Q-Tip) work fine...(I would refrain from using regular Q-Tips. The one I am referring to is the one that comes with the GC kit as it is very tightly spun to prevent cotton fibers from getting into the mix of things.)


I usually don't make the box area that big as the die size is much smaller. It really doesn't matter.


After you work at it for a while, it will start to get into the micro pores if you will of the copper and all come together to make a nice shiny glass like surface. It's actually quite nice.


Get ready for some amazing temp drops...Liquid Metal is the real deal.


Updated: While you're at it....
Revised PCH Mod.
(Revised and Improved over the copper shim method that I had posted here.)

Thanks for being patient guys. I just had to make sure before publishing this (long duration tests)...many many tests later, it's sealed and confirmed. It works great.


Note: Notice the orientation of the fins (horizontal). Also, the height you want is approx. ~4-5mm. The size of the actual HS doesn't have to be exact. I may even end up trying a bigger size (width) later and test it to see if it makes any difference. The thing you don't want happening is having the rate of thermal dissipation exceed the amount of air flow that's under there for obvious reasons.
Enjoy

---

Before:


After:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'd like to give a big shout out to @DeeX, @zergslayer69, and all the others who have shown support with the AW17R4 project.

Have questions in regard to repasting? PM with any questions and I'll be glad to help.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'll be adding more goodies so stay tuned.

Enjoy!

 

Grizzly Conductonaut (Liquid Metal 'LM") vs Grizzly Kyronaut (Traditional Paste)

I've decided to repaste one of my 17R4's with Grizzly Kyronaut to collect some data and to see what it can do. The results are pretty enticing. My goal was to see exactly what Grizzly Kyronaut can really do at its peak potential.

There definitely is a cure time. Absolutely there sure is...

Initial temps were actually about 4-5C higher at first, but I immediately went into some heavy testing and shortly after started my 6 hour long Fire Strike loop.

The temps right now are fantastic. I still can't believe this is traditional paste ( Grizzly Kyronaut <- For future readers lol as not all traditional paste is created equal.)

On average so far the CPU temps are in the upper 60C's while the GPU is in the upper 50C's. -

LM still has a 8-10C advantage over the overall CPU max temps. Average wise, the temps are approx. ~5C more than LM. So far....

Note: The GPU does seem to run 5-6C cooler with the Grizzly Kyronaut when playing OW. However, when it is stressed for long period of time, the LM is more sustainable as I think the nature of traditional paste kind of looses it's integrity under over the top unrealistic extreme conditions like a 6 Hour FIre Strike Combined Loop Test lol...Just thought it'd be worth noting.

For those who have missed the original post here are my gaming temps:

Ambient Temp: 22.5C

BEFORE: Stock


AFTER: Grizzly Kyronaut, HS Mod/Fix, Repad, and a ton of time balancing the stupid HS.


Temps with Liquid Metal: 4 Hours of Gaming at 36x - Overwatch


Here's some eye candy for the time being...

I've figured out how to OC the CPU to 7.77GHz with the fans completely turned off by tuning the LED's.



Don't lie...you know that looks fresh.

Update:

K guys...fresh off the press...I'll be running a bunch of benches tonight to obtain some stock figure then likely tomorrow I'll do a full disassembly and repaste with none other than LIQUID METAL! Grizzly Conductonaut to be exact.

The keyboard is pretty cool to touch as the heat is really concentrated toward the back as it was designed to do.

Stay tuned...lots more to come...this is just the beginning....

And this one...



And these...

 

looks really good !!!
can you give me the wallpaper with the badass eyes ... ?

if you can, look the reference of the fans ...

 

So i am abusing ur thread for posting my results sorry iunlock i have to say that this cooling solution is ****ing amazing! For real my temps wherent this low since my M17x R4! And this is even the 15... I only can recommend every1 to do a repaste with lm!

OCCT

http://imgur.com/pOIxDug

Unigine Heaven

http://imgur.com/iEVrsye

My GPU Temps where at high 60s (67-69)
This is so freakin amazing! Really happy with this thing!
No Undervolt!

*EDIT* Why doesnt it show my images?

 

No worries! I have just finished gaming and am about to post up my results as well.

This is great...thanks for sharing and yes the new cooling solution of the AW is a hit (good) and not a miss.

I actually like how much this thing weighs....feels confident.

Update:

After gaming for 35 Minutes....just look at that GPU Temp

 

do u've got occt or unigine results?

 

Working on them now...

The results will be posted here:
[CPU + GPU Temperatures + Benchmarks] - Alienware 17 R4 / 15 R3

 

Your GPU thermal headroom is amazing. Cant wait to see the GTX 1070 pushed beyond stock GTX 1080 benchmarks

 

I'm a bit surprised myself on the numbers that it's producing on the bone stock configuration. If you search on 3DMark.com, and look at my recent fire strike and time spy submissions, the scores of others around mine have much higher OC's so I'm really excited to see what this can produce when I actually do OC, which will likely be later today.

 

I received my 15r3 Friday 6820 1070 UHD.

CPU temps hit 98c in battlefield and GPU hit 89c.

Its going back Monday I am not even allowing anyone to come work on a 3k system. I will either order another or wait and get the 13 with oled.

I love the 15 but mine either has crap paste job or no paste and I am not flipping out the entire motherboard to repaste it.

 

Is this 98C in Overclocked mode or disabled mode?

 

was disabled. I did many test and benchmarks, cpu hit 101c in XTU stress test again no OC.

 

That sounds like a thermal paste issue from the factory. It's such a simple fix if you're willing to repaste it, but again..it should work within reason right out of the box eh.

::iunlock::

 

has anyone posted a repaste guide for the r3?

 

Send back the R3 and get the AW17 R4 at the same price. That maintains <85C at stock 6820HK.

 

What is the ambient temperature like ?

This is something everyone forgets to check, @iunlock , what are the ambient temperature like for you.
Those are really nice temps, but kinda contradicting what others have posted in the Alienware threads. Most people are having seriously high temperature issues. Specially with some of the newer games that use the CPU and gpu both at the same time.

 

The stock high temp in 6820 is only noticeable in the 15R3, the stock temp in 17 is normal

 

Will you be adding an actual guide? Curious to see how tedious this process is.

 

iunlock, i have a question, the 6820hk max frequency under load is 3,4 or you can surpass the TDP with no time limit ?

 

The disassembly should be about identical between the 17R4 and 15R3. I'll be working on it tonight.

I would as well.

I always know what my ambient temperature is. Anywhere from 22C-23C and the only time that changes in if the windows are open at night where it could drop a few degrees to 21C.

My IR temp gun is next to me and used frequently, to make sure that all my data is constant under the same ambient conditions.

I've ran numerous tests last night and have noticed a temp difference of upto 20C between Core #0 and Core #3 while set to the same multipliers.

This clearly indicates that the stock paste is rubbish to no surprise. The only reason that it's hanging in there right now is because the paste is fresh, but it's giving out for sure.

Yes. It will be a full guide. Hang tight

The TDP can be adjusted no problem to set a max limit. On some of the runs I was in the progress of tuning and creating different profiles for OC.

::iunlock::

 

Ya, it seems like the 15 R3 got screwed when it comes to temps.

 

Cant confirm that! I've got a 15r3 with 6820hk and after the repaste it stays so much cooler then my aw17r3 (which i also repasted).

CPU never hit 70s while stressing alone or while Gaming.
Even in Unigine Heaven it stood between 67-70 and GPU was at 69.

 

i think is a cpu problem in some cases ... or a bad surface contact between heatsink and cpu ( a pressure problem)

 

UPDATE: (10/23/16)

REPASTE (Grizzly Conductonaut) SUCCESSFUL AND WOW...

YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS...

STAY TUNED...(Literally just finished up. Running OCCT while cleaning up.)

 

Wow at least post ur temps dude Cant wait!

 

Sorry for reasking the same question on this thread but will sacrifice my warranty by repasting ?

 

I'm trying I'm trying haha...after finishing up I got super hungry so got a quick bite to eat while cleaning while running benches while transfer over pics etc...

Here they are... (Make sure to check the the repaste and disassembly thread for more...)

STOCK PASTE: (Notice that this is just a 1 5 minute run and look at the Max Temps, then look at the 30 minute run below. The temps kept rising on this run when getting close to 30 minutes.)


AFTER: 30 minutes (Liquid Magic. Grizzly Conductoanut. Look at them Temps!)


Ambient Temp:


Update:

I just left it running...here it is after 1 Hour!


The new cooling system is no joke. It's not a gimmick. If it was, I wouldn't be able to achieve a 53% decrease in Temps...been doing this stuff for a long time, not the first time at the rodeo...trust me, the new cooling solution is the real deal.

UPDATE:

So while cleaning up I just left it on...2 Hours Later...Nothings changed...I would say: "TEST -> PASSED."


UPDATE:

While I'm working on the Repaste guide I just left it on...3 Hours Later...Nothings changed...

Is the new AW cooling system a gimmick? - NOPE.

All rise...Case closed.

 

Very nice to see, this also helps the laptops longevity. With temps like this, the battery and surrounding components will last longer too.

 

Try clearing your cache on the browser? It's showing up fine on all my computers....hmm...

Anyone else? Can you see them?

Thanks for the heads up regardless.

 

This is awesome!!! Thanks for taking the time to document all your findings.

Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk

 

i can only see the last update post 3 hr one image the rest is showing big minus sign in grey
yeah i cleared the cache twice

quick question does re pasting with liquid metal or gelid ectreme voids warranty ???

 

Hmm that's odd.

Can anyone else confirm whether you can see all the images or not? I'm curious, because on my Macbook Pro, iMac, Tablet, Phone etc...all shows up fine...

Just want to make sure in case I need to reupload the images?

 

I can't see the majority of the pics in your posts, they look to be broken or private or something?

 

I can only see the images for the 3 hour run you posted. All of the other images are not working for me. I'm currently using Tapatalk to few the forum.

Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk

 

Hmm...thanks for the heads up. I'll reupload them now...

Update: Ah just checked TapaTalk and the images are broken in there...so strange..fixing it now...

Cheers!

 

The temperature of GPU in stock test look weird. It is 19 degrees in avg. What caused that?

 

K just fixed them...can you guys confirm that they are working now? Thanks again for the heads up.

Yea HWiNFO64 is acting strange when it comes to the GPU readings...I was in the settings messing with it and I think I had unchecked the "wake GPU," settings? Not sure, but the GPU info being displayed is jumpy. I'm in the process of trying to figure that out. Any ideas? It started happening after messing with the settings.

 

Is repasting the CPU on the new 17 r4 easier than on the 17 r3? (That looked a big job)

Thanks

 

Maybe you can try dosabling the IGPU?

 

Good to go. Images are working on Tapatalk.

Sent from my Nexus 9 using Tapatalk

 

Yes would like to know the same, appears from design its going to be similar?

 

Is there an actual guide somewhere as the title of this thread implies?

 

There will be soon. He stayed up really late doing the process, taking pics, and running tests. Now he has to go through the photos and write up the guide. Patience young grasshppper.

Team RA

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

 

The 17R4 is wayyyyy easier than the 17R3. But still take your time...

 

Music to my ears.

 

Yes I've been working on it for the past...well...9.5 hours and almost straight....I've been working on editing the pictures. The actual repaste is a breeze.

I'll be uploading everything soon. Hang tight.

 

Saw the guide. This is way beyond my technical skills ;_; Desktops are way easier I don't suppose I can pay someone to do it?

 

The repaste look beautiful and amazing, any chance you link in the guide the materials you used so I know what to buy, such as the thermal pads (where to buy which brand) The electrical tape (again which brand)

And any other specific pliers / screwdrivers do you think would help ease the disassembly process.

I apologize, if it sounds very basic, I just want to be sure I am ready before hacking the machine / any machine

 

For those who don't want to risk liquid metal... it looks like there is plenty of room for a 4th heat pipe... I wonder why they left it out, it looks designed to be there?

 

Thanks for all the info and those temps are really amazing. I have an R3 with the AGA and 1080 and I'm thinking of either getting a 15 or 17 inch with the 1070 for better gaming on the go.