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

So i tore mine down again the other day and repasted again (added a little more than last time) with kryonaut along with bending the arm/replacing all the pads but doesnt seem like i can get normal temps at 4.0 playing bf1. My OCCT, and prime 95 numbers are good but battlefield 1 seems to just cook my cpu at 4.0. My stock temps are great in the 60's highest i saw was 71 for a split second, but once i throw a OC in there they start rising quick. 4.0 gives me temps around 89-91c and 3.9 gives me 85c. Im a little disappointed since 4.0 was my goal for this cpu with temps under 85c.

Bending the arm really helped my core differentials at stock, it went from 15-20c degree difference down to about a 6c degree difference. But with a OC the gap widens again so i dont really know whats up with that. Im still on 1.08 bios and wanted to downgrade to 1.02, but i feel like my temps are only going to be worse. Im sort of out of ideas besides doing liquid metal, but im not really keen on that.

Anyone have any luck with adding one of those .1mm copper shims? I ordered some of ebay, but its not going to be here for a few weeks. Thats my last hope on getting my core differential to match more. Im happy with my cores 1/3 but 0/2 are just to high.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience. Glad the bending of the arm helped you. A 6C in core differential is not that bad all.

As for your higher temps as you climb up with the OC'ing, perhaps you don't have enough paste on there. Although you did put a little more than last time, it's either you need more paste and/or the gap between the die and IHS is too wide. The only real way to test this is to work with pressure paper which is expensive....

What size shim did you order? I hope the thinnest at 0.1mm yes?

 

Theres are the shims i ordered: http://www.ebay.com/itm/111724015574 i think they are the right ones. Have you tried adding a shim yourself? and do you think the bending of the arm will cause issues if i throw a shim in there (since now theres more pressure?) Also just to double check do i need to only add a shim to the CPU or do i need to add one to the GPU to keep the heatsink balanced?

Went i opened it up the second time i noticed my first thermal paste job wasnt the best. It covered the die, but didnt cover much more seemed like a "just enough" paste job. Enough for a desktop cpu, but probably not enough for a laptop with a uneven heatsink. So when i did it the second time i added a bit more. How far off the die do you think the paste should spread?

Im pretty sure i probably have a decent gap in my heatsink. The repaste alone dropped my cores 20+c degrees. My stock temps went from high 80's to high 60's. So i know its doing it job. My bottom cores are all in line, its just my top cores that are running hot. I originally had about a 20c degree difference in my cores too, but manged to drop it to about 5c at stock with the repaste and after bending the arm i knocked another 5-10c off that.

 

@iunlock ok is it better now?

 

@iunlock Did he just break your record?

 

only FSE and FSX. Iam working on FS ^^

 

Where are you guys buying your conductonaut from in the US? I'm stationed in Japan, so I have to order online, and everywhere I have searched is sold out.

 

Try ebay, though it'll be more expensive. I've ordered mine from Russia and there it costs 10 bucks for 1g but we have options to order from there, not sure if Japan has.

 

I checked ebay and they only have it from other countries. Does anybody have a link to someone in the US with it in stock?

 

FYI I've got an update from Dell on my delayed order due to "Quality issues". Read here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/alienware-17-delayed-qa-for-new-parts.799235/page-3

 

I think both Amazon and Newegg had it, but I chose Newegg due to having a giftcard.

I think they just didn't have many GTX 1080s too. I been watching Dells website a lot since a few months ago, to make sure of what I wanted and to get the best price on sales. The configurations change a lot. One day they might have 120Hz screens another they might not. The RAM configurations will change. SSD or no SSD, etc. As much as I'd like to hope it really is delayed due to quality, don't be surprised if yours also has problems since it might of been a stock related delay.

 

LHz has been given a tip that it's not just a stock related issue.

 

They have both been out of stock, as well as every other PC site I have searched. I might just get some CLLU on amazon

 

I bought my conductonaut from pc performance

 

Maybe this is info is interesting for you all who have the TRIPOD mess From an experienced user of Liquid Metal http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/clevo-overclockers-lounge.788975/page-753#post-10411731 @iunlock +++

 

@iunlock what was the temperature difference before and after applying grizzly liquid metal on the gpu gtx 1080/1070?

 

on gpu it's around 10~12c

 

So I have repasted my AW 17 R4 (6700hq/1070/FHD) with Grizzly Conductonaut without any bending or new thermal pods and temperature difference from purely LM paste (going from AS5) is 26 degrees (!) in Prime95 and 15 degrees in games. Also, the differences in temps between cores were 15 degrees, but now it is maximum 5.

Before in Prime my hottest core 0 was constantly getting 93 in mere seconds and after repaste it doesn't go beyond 67 after more than an hour of test.

Interestingly though, in GTA V Redux (heavy graphics mode) the CPU temperatures are way higher than Prime and my maximum core hits 78 degrees after two+ hours. Before the repaste it was 95 though. I've also tested the latest Dota 2 v.7 and it hits 75 degrees (used to be 89). It is incredible how a mere repaste makes such a difference.

GPU temps haven't changed much. I was getting 73C at max before, I am getting 70C now.

Oh, I forgot to mention I have -160mv undervolt on core and -60mV on cache, but those were same for before and after.

 

I have an Alienware 17 r4 - 1070

I have followed everything in the iunlock article at the beginning of this thread. A few things that i noted temp's wise before doing the repaste, if i lifted the back of the laptop (placed a plastic container upside down roughly 2" in height), the temperature declined by as much as 10'C. So after a an hour playing BF1 or Titanfall 2 (ultra settings) the GPU never rose above 43'C and the CPU was around 63'C. Now when i laid the laptop down as intended the GPU never really got above 54'C but the CPU belted up 83'C where now and then stalled the lappy and needed to restart.

All went well with stripping the laptop down, repasting and building back up but when i try to look at the temps in OCCT, Intel Extreme Tuning and MSI afterburner the CPU temps are all over the place. ie one minute showing 33'C then 60'C then 46'C and then back around 33'C.The GPU keeps going from 0 to 43'C in one step. Do i have to recalibrate the system or have i not plugged in a sensor ?

Thanks

 

Gpu@43 degree while playing bf1? No way....
What settings? What Load (%) ? Vsync?


@topic: cpu @4.2ghz while playing bf1
Gpu temps to high?

 

Just received my 15 R3 6700HQ + 1070 & 120Hz 1920x1080 Gsync. Ran OCCT and 2 Heaven benchmarks - CPU max temps ranged from 78-83C. GPU Max Temp 66C. Can't compare it to my previous 15 R3 cuz I ran neither test, maybe it'll help you guys though. Order was placed 12/7/16. Seems like a inch from the bottom of the screen from left to right has lightbleed. Which tbh doesn't look as bad as when there was 2 huge corners of light bleed on opposite sides. I'd like to provide more info but I need to change the thermal paste and add the SSD + RAM

 

@Mobius 1 Love the machine, hate the heat. Newbie so can't PM yet, can you msg me here to see if I can commission your skills on my 15R3?

 

When did you order and receive it?

 

Ordered 11/19, received 11/28. I use it for video rendering - after undervolting, temps still head up to the mid 90's. The renders complete and the machine does not crash. It's a 1070 / 6820hk model. But during the renders, lots of temp and limit throttling. Default settings do not force a throttling but temps still get into the 80's-90's.

 

Well, not sure how I could have screwed up, but my temps are worse after the repaste with Grizzly Kryonaught (however you spell it). Fingers are so not in the mood to tear it down and fix it. Might have not tightened the screws enough, temps are fluctuating quickly from 50-high 90s according to HWinfo. This is on 1.0.8. Wonder if I can get one of their guys to come out and repaste lol

 

sorry for the late reply

Just to make it clear, i have the i7 which is the 6700 HQ not the K so i am not able to OC the CPU, only the GPU.
Just sorted an Instagram account so as to upload some pics to make it easier than explaining, hopefully.
Sorry but i cannot get the pictures to show in here, though ive copied the url from Flickr.

This before the repasting https://flic.kr/p/P1tppQ)

shocking Paste https://flic.kr/p/Q7ExuP

How i have my packing under the laptop https://flic.kr/p/PHXFrU

This is stock temps before stripping and with no packing under the laptop https://flic.kr/p/PHXgpW

This is stock temps before stripping and WITH packing under the laptop https://flic.kr/p/Q4WqY9

BF1 temps (playing for one hour straight)

BF1 settings https://flic.kr/p/QeBhyA

BF1 without packing under the laptop https://flic.kr/p/PHXgtU
NOTE: left of image package temp is 80'C

BF1 WITH packing under the laptop https://flic.kr/p/QeBhwS
NOTE: now look at the package temp !!! thats just shows how restricted the laptop is for allowing air to get under the latop to the fans

After Stripping and repasting as with all the parts iunlock used for his machines. I also downloaded 3Dmark and ran the Time Spy Benchmark. These results are including having the packing under the laptop, i will post additional temps with the packing soon.

These are now my new stock temps with the following settings in the BIOS and OC GPU
https://flic.kr/p/Q4WqUb

GPU TO 4253 MHZ MEM CLOCK
GPU TO 2050 MHZ CORE CLOCK
BIOS setting for CPU is set to Performance

3DMark running Time Spy. These temps are Stock CPU (bios performance CPU set to off) and GPU as Stock
https://flic.kr/p/Q4WqPS
https://flic.kr/p/PHXgjq

This Last one is with the GPU OC to above settings and CPU performance enabled in the Bios

https://flic.kr/p/QeBhAE

The highest temp is 91'C package temp but that was under the highest load during the benchmarking, after that with the Fans on full the temps took a very short time to get to 35'C package temp. Very very impressed how the modification turned out.

 

Still dont see 43 degree gpu in bf1...i see 57 and thats realistic

 

????? really ?

Please see this https://flic.kr/p/QeBhwS

45'C GPU and 43'C package Temp - These temps are stock GPU and CPU, not OC and these are before repasting

 

You have to look at max. Temp...

 

S.Korea has a ton...so does Italy....

 

Which paste is this again?

Record of? Please elaborate. I think you were looking at the, "Distance to.." column, thinking that it was the max temp?

His ambient temp is obviously very low as his lowest minimum is 17C. That's very cold.

However, the max temps even with a cold ambient temp are as follows: 83, 74, 79, 76?

The temps should be in the low 50's with ambient temps that cause his minimums to be in the 20's with a low of 17C.

 

Very excited, and gratified to see your 3 videos on the Dell updates for this system, thank you for enabling this issue, and posting those.

Are you going to update thermal pad change recommendations in this guide? My AW17 R4 is still a couple of weeks off.

 

You're very welcome. The OP has been updated with this new image:



Enjoy...

 

Its colaboratory liquid ultra. But will do a repaste with conductonaut and the correct pads.

My ambient temp is about 21 - 22 degree but my wife open the windows once a day to circulate the air. Thats why my minimum is so low

 

CLU is a great liquid metal. If you still have some left, there is no need to change that out.

Yes your ambient temps are amazingly cool haha. It keeps electronics happy.

 

My 0.1mm pads are definitely unusable, and I'd rather not put on old pads anyway. Can someone do me a favor and check if these -
BCP
1roll 15mm x 25m Double Side Adhesive Thermal Conductive Tape for Heatsink LED - 0.1mm thermal tape is fine? They're from Amazon. Idk anything about 0.1mm pads and I'm also on a phone (not home from work yet). Thanks for any info cuz I'm def trying to finish this before Christmas

 

Nah clu was empty my chance to give conductonaut a try

 

I guess the people that got their laptop before this fix need an alternative pad. This location is listed as not as important, by iunlock. I saw some silicone based pads for the T220 style transistors at 0.2mm.

 

Hey guys quick question, how much conductonaught do you need for one repaste of just the CPU and GPU? Is 1 gram enough?

Cheers

 

Well I think I got good working pads and paste, but I already bought the fujipoly 1mm and used them everywhere cuz that's what was said would be good and work fine. Not blaming anyone (pretty sure it's dells fault for giving wrong pads themselves which gave a wrong measurement) but I too would like a alternative haha. I put my pads aside in a little baggy that came from the fujipoly 1mm, but they probably aren't in new/great condition (the 0.1mm as they're extremely thin)

 

1g is plenty. Need some for the CPU/GPU and the copper heat sinks

 

A new competition/bickering... Who of you, who can manage to keep lowest cpu load temp with the Tripod heatsink Perhaps the highest bench score with highest possible overclock should be of much bigger interest? J/K

BTW. Coolaboratory Liquid metal is and should be the preferred liquid metal. You never know the longevity of the fix with the messed up Tripod heatsink after bending the 3rd feet on the flawed designed cpu heatsink. And there is almost no big difference in max temperature between Conductonaut, Phobya Liquid metal and Coolaboratory Liquid Ultra. Maybe max 1-3C degrees Uneven pressure from heatsink and thinnest possible Liquid metal although its fixed with the Band-aid fix, <can> be a leakage disaster longer down the road. Metal fatigue due to abnormality (correction with bending) is well known.

 

Quick question maybe someone could answer for me, is the Tobii wire in this pic, also on the 15 R3? Cuz I feel like its not even though the plug is there haha. But at the same time, I don't see how Tobii could work on the 15 R3 without it, even if it isn't as special as the 17R4

http://i.imgur.com/iKjFwS2.jpg

 

it could work, you can swap the screen and tobii assembly between motherboards (15/17)

 

Oh so they use the same motherboards, except the HSF is bigger/smaller depending on the notebook size. The first time I had my 15 R3 apart I thought for a second maybe I missed a cable/ripped one off. But the 2nd time I knew it was just non-existent.

 

the 15" does not have the full fledged tobii bar

 

Haha Tri-Pod ROFL...every time I think of that word / heat sink mounting design, I can't help but to think of a three legged dog haha...poor dog....but yes...

CLU is actually ideal and that is why I would recommend CLU just the same as I'd recommend TGC. Regarding the recent "fix," I think it just may hold up from the looks of it. With the thinner ~0.1mm thermal pad over the FET's, the bending of the arm is no longer needed as much, however, I would still give it a slight bend.

The temps out of the box on the newer systems are much improved along with the core differentials. We should be seeing some interesting reports starting to pop up here in the forums shortly with stock temp data...

I've just finished up a 15R3 that was an earlier batch and with the heat sink mod + the bending of the arm the temps and differentials are fantastic.

Here's a 1 Hour OCCT run on stock clocks...well 36x...but you get the point.

 

Is this with stock paste? Can't believe it

So for the 15... Are the pads needed the same as for the 17 (on GPU RAM etc)?

 

Nono this is definitely not stock paste. It's stated clearly on the image, "After repaste+repad+fix. Grizzly Conductonaut."

They are a little different.

 

What's the difference?