[Q] AW 17" R3 / AW 15" R2- Repaste now or wait until your warranty expires?

For those with the NEWEST/LATEST AW 17" R3 or AW 15" R2, did you dive right in to re-pasting your thermal compound or are you waiting it out until your warranty runs out?

The logical thing to do would be to wait it out so that you don't void your warranty. However...

Going a year or more and waiting doesn't do the hardware much justice either when it could be running cooler.

So if 'heat' is electronics worst nightmare and if we don't want to void the warranty prematurely, especially if you've paid for extended warranty, I guess that leaves us with only a few logical choices eh?

1. If you didn't buy any extended warranty, but have the 1 year premium warranty that came with your laptop, then it's a 50/50 call, since you likely won't be extending your warranty after point of sale, since it costs an arm and a leg.

2. If you did pay extra to extend your premium warranty, the answer is simple. Leave it alone or you might as well not have bought the extra warranty in the first place.

For those who have re-pasted, what thermal compound did you use and why?

Here are my favorites based on my own tests:

#1 - Cool Labs Liquid Pro or Ultra: Simply put, based on my own experience with re-pasting pretty much everything under the sun, there hasn't been a thermal paste that can out run this stuff. Yes, it's conductive and you have to be very careful with it, however, a little bit goes a long way. It's also a pain to remove if you ever needed to do a re-paste for whatever reason as it does require you getting down and dirty with sandpaper to remove the old stuff off your heatsink and IHS; which is sketchy being that our CPU's are soldered onto the motherboard. Therefore, unless you never plan to re-paste again, CLLP/U would be the best choice for the best results.

(I have never had to re-paste any of my computers with this stuff. CLLP/U was my go to choice for all my Delids on my i7-4790K's between the die and heatsink. Depending on the design and surface texture of the Heatsink, I've also used CLLP/U on top of the IHS -> Heatsink as well. *Reminder to never use this stuff on aluminum Heatsinks as it'll chew right through it.*)

Tip: If you're going to use CLLP, find a small brush like the one that comes with the CLLU. Avoid using the cheap Q-Tips that come with CLLP as it just sheds cotton lint, which will drive you crazy if your meticulous.

#2 - Gelid Solutions GC-Extreme: This is the best non-conductive paste I've used so far, which is one thing that it has over the CLLP/U liquid metal (conductive). So for most of my Delids, I would use CLLP/U on the die->IHS and Gelid for on top of the IHS->Heatsink. When it comes to traditional thermal paste that we're all used to, you know...that old school grey gunky stuåçff like AS5, I haven't found anything that can outperform Gelid.

I'm open to any thoughts and please share your experiences.

Cheers

(Disclaimer: I've done a search and I know there are a lot of thermal paste posts floating around, but I've made a new thread anyway.)

 

subbed......

really wanna get my AW15 done with liquid ultra.....(dont really wanna wait out the year warranty)

 

It's a tough call eh? My laptop came with the 1 year premium warranty so right now I'm in a pickle. Should I extend my warranty or just bag it and re-paste the beast?

Hmm....

BTW I'll likely go with CLLU as well as it's easier to work with than CLLP. Remember to use electrical tape to tape around the die and remove it after application.

 

i dont think ill attempt it...... my father in law is a TV engineer, while he dont know fk all about repasting cpus, he has extensive pcb solder and modular repair know-how..

if i shadow him i think we'll be alright!!

 

Imo best to get a laptop cooler and not repaste. Most people in second hand market do not value you digging into the machine and repasting. I think a laptop cooler will have a far bigger impact on heat than repasting.

 

already running the coolermaster U3... its good, but

the problem is how small the die actually is and the speed that the heatsink can physically draw the heat off of it...... in a desktop surface areas are much larger.... and the chassis wont heat up with components.. like the laptop

i hear that silver is a far better conductor than copper..... shame theres no machinists out there willing to create some replica heatsinks .... would be expensive but would certainly help dissipate heat better from that tiny area...

 

The CM U3 is nice in that you're able to move the 3 fans...I've used the U2 on my other laptop, but will have to order up the U3. I take it that you have the fans positioned directly under the vent or the hard drive, cpu and gpu areas?

Also, have you looked into these?

 

yeah the U3 is nice, those other coolers may not work as i need to physically 'push' air up through the underside of the cooler fins so the onboard fans can vent it.... those ones seem to 'pull' air through the fans which may not work as well.

im currently trying to get the 2x 120mm noctua 3000rpm fans i have onto a pwm usb connection... to replace the 3x 80mm coolermaster ones on the pad.

just struggling to find a way to control them currently....

 

That'd be a real nice customization. Make sure to take some pics once completed. As for controlling the fans, might have to rig a manual turn dial knob to a circuit board that has 3 simple speed settings or something.

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

 

the best non conductive is the
Grizzly Kryonaut
http://www.amazon.com/Thermal-Grizz...2958881&sr=8-1&keywords=thermal+paste+grizzly

 

i can feel you.. lol.. in my case since im not an expert on disassembling laptops ill just extend my warranty because im afraid if i repaste on my own i might break certain parts of the laptop. i also have asked dell tech chat support in the UK if they can send out agents to do a repaste and they said no.. they will only send out agents if they will replace a part.. i asked them whats the temp they consider as overheat and said 95 celcius.. in my case ill just monitor my temps and once it will reach 95 celcius ill contact dell so they will change the heatsink and by then ill ask the agent to use my thermal paste instead of the oem thermal pads..so i get to have my warranty used and get a new heatsink plus a repaste.. hehehe.. i ask dell forums about doing a repaste on your own voids warranty and they said in the US its ok to do the repaste own your own that why they provide the service manual. they told me to check/ask technical support in my region what the policy is because it would differ. so i asked dell chat support in the UK and they told me if i open further than the base panel that will void warranty.. so extended warranty and let them do the work.. the only downside is the laptop will experience 95 celcius heat for a time and the hassle to get dell agents..

 

Great point. That's a smart way to utilize your warranty and not have it go to waste.

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I'm going to run tests on mine when I get it with stock paste. Make sure it operates normally under stress and record temps. Then if everything is ok I'll repaste and see the benefits.... Or lack thereof. I highly doubt the Dell technicians that they send out give two crap if you repasted. They're just contracted to go out and fix many kinds of laptops not just Dell. My cousin is one.

 

So very true. They don't give a rats. Well most of them...unless they are thorns that go by the book LOL....I sure heck wouldn't be one of them....

Looking forward to the temp data....thanks for doing that.

Cheers

 

I just re-pasted fans do not run on idle any longer and temps are mid 40's to low 50's with no fans simply passive cooling.

Stock paste:

 

It is not clear that repasting void the garanty as it is not clearly stated in the garanty agrement. Read yours as it might change between countries.
Mine state that volontary damage are not covered so unless you break something during the repasting process...
I am also not sure that dell investigate like crazy and check if the thermal grease is not the original in case of a system replacement.

 

I'll have to comb through mine to check the details on what it states.

The only paste that I see that would stand out like a sore thumb would be Cool Labs Liquid Pro or Ultra. Other than that...I also don't see them going as far as taste testing to make sure it's the original compound. =P



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Dell techs came out twice to look at the mother-in-law's system which had some capacitor (IIRC. It made such an obnoxious buzzing sound) fault, which eventually led to the motherboard being replaced. At no point were they bothered about the Liquid Pro that had been used to repaste the CPU. Some systems have tamper proof stickers but otherwise they'd have to forensically test the heatsink screws to ensure they hadn't been removed and replaced (Unless you do a terrible job and moticeably damage the screw heads etc...).

 

Looks like they put the motherboard into the oven and set it for 350 for 15 minutes after they put the paste on.

 

so its best just to do the repaste on your own and just be extra careful not to break anything instead of waiting for dell tech support? if so does anyone have a video of a doing a repaste on the alienware 17 r2? so i can have a guide instead of the service manual from dell.. not really good with disassembling laptops and this is my 1st alienware laptop so im a bit of paranoid that it might break..

 

It's not the easiest system to repaste by the looks of things but it's also not the hardest. I found a video where they show how to access the CPU and GPU heatsink. It doesn't show the removal of the heatsinks but that isn't too tricky. I found the relvant part of the service manual and included it below. You'll often need those star-tipped screwdrivers to remove the screws that secure them. The rest will be the standard procedure of repasting and there are lots of videos detailing that. Don't lose the parts, take a photo as you perform each step, make notes and set aside 2 hours at least to do it. Ask a friend to help if you know anybody who has done this sort of thing before.

Obviously, if you can get Dell to do it in the very near future then go for that option!



http://www.manualslib.com/manual/898181/Dell-Alienware-17-R2.html?page=85#manual

 

you only need to have all in order and dont turn on any fan because the dust can be adhered in the thermal pads or thermal paste ( use medical gloves= easy to buy in a farmacy) and take your time removing the palm rest. I disassembled mine like 5 times entirely (tried with many pastes, but only liquid ultra make a real diference)

 

wow judal.. well done.. medical gloves is plastic or cloth? lol.. sry no idea...

 

Rubber gloves work the best IMO....

Also it helps to use paper to draw out and label the parts while taping the screws to the sheet of paper. That's what I do. =)

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i want to make an advice to everyone that want to repaste, pay attention to the cable that connect the power botton with the board ( this cable must be placed well or your notebook is not going to adjust well in the back, near to the graphic amplifier port)when i say "adjust well" i am referring that this cable have to be in a duct to attach "well" ( i cant find the right words, but you have to understand that i speak spanish )

 

cool.. thanks guys..

 

another thing, you need to remove the display to remove the motherboard. dont try to remove the motherboard without remove the display.

 

+1 ....muy importante

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My repaste results with AS ceramique Revisited:
@judal57, @rinneh , @Papusan , @iunlock and everyone at NBR .
Please my quality of shots is low since I'm on slow connection, I reduced the quality of the picture and I took the pictures using my Phone.Forgive me .
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Previous repaste with Ceramique 2 was hurried and I applied too little.
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Old paste photos: Unclean HSF and CPU/GPU.


After Repaste with @judal57's help, I kept asking him a lot of question almost like a nagware. Although, he was busy he helped quite a lot.


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After Repaste With Line method on CPU and X method ON GPU.:

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I hope @Papusan likes the X method.

 

Cleaning the HSF:

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Some Firestrike screenies along with HWinfo and TS running with zero undervolt.
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After OC of GPU on core +130 and +200 on memory as per @judal57 suggestion.
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tried some undervolting and there is some drops in temps upto 5-7C. It was @iunlock repaste result that made me a little jealous and I went for a repaste. Yes @iunlock GPU prefers trad. paste. I think NV has trained its GPU core to prefer trad. paste than metal paste. Maybe low level programing did this.

Thank you @judal57

 

@Vasudev nice !!! for the firestrike pictures, i suggest you taking print screen, i cant see very well the temperatures

 

I will do it after some time. Thanks.

 

I always use the "rice grain method" but in terms of laptops, too much is better than too less. Why did you choose ceramique by the way?

 

Me too until @judal57 said otherwise. So far it been good. Why ceramique? Because it was lying in my cupboard and only paste I have. After ceramique 2 runs out, I will buy mx4.

 

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OCCT results and FS results:
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@judal57 @rinneh & @iunlock
Undervolted to -20.1mV. Temps been hot all day so core temp was in range of 85C at peak, reason: fans spin up late. Test was for 30 mins. Earlier OCCT stops at 17 secs.

Firestrike un-optimised run on GPU OC of +130 on core and +200 on memory: TWo screenies one showing Core temperatures and other showing PCH.

I hope everybody is happy esp. @judal57. thank you guys.
A big thanks to @Prema for Vbios mod to get OC limits unlocked. Sorry @Prema I don't know how @Papusan and @Mr. Fox wrote "Powered By Prema VBIOS" in their 3Dmark results.

 

@Vasudev MX4 have a really poor lifespan, loose performance after 6 months or less

 

TG Kryonaut is hell lot of expensive for me, costs 122$. Other options would be GC extreme 6 and ICD.

 

Icd is very good in my opinion for the money.

 

But it scratches the surface, that's the issue holding me back. Its like having a sand paper built-in to the paste itself.

 

i have read a lot of good reviews on GC, you can give it a try. or buy from ebay as i do and wait 1 month to have your thermal paste and you can have TG kryonaut a lot cheaper

 

I havent issues with that to be honest. As long when you remove it you use alcohol to soften it up.

 

I thought you used Conductonaut. Which IC diamond, 7 or 24?

 

I use Kryonaut on the GPU and IC D7 on the GPU.

Because I have a slight uneven CPU heat sink. The ICD7 is much better than Kryonaut to handle that. Got a 5c core temp difference with Kryonaut, 3 with ICD7.

Actually got the heatsink replaced. Had a temp difference of 10c before that.

 

Okay. I used sand paper to even out the heat sink surface that made quite a difference. All thanks to @judal57

 

@iunlock @Mobius 1 @judal57 @Papusan @sagarbhathwar @rinneh
I decided to repaste after seeing my horrible temps with my repaste. Feels like I used Dell Toothpaste application method.
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After Repasting with CM Maker Gel Nano ( Reloaded Version)
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Before Repaste:
How to explain Thermal Throttling to senior representatives of Dell(India)?

 

CPU and GPU repaste by applying thin coat.
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After repasting Correctly
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I didn't do it alone, I must thank @judal57 for this. I didn't know the correct application of thin coat until @judal57 sent some links to videos. So I'm indebted to him. Also, every step of repaste was carefully inspected under boss @judal57 and only after that I assembled the PC.
This is my result.

 

My AIDA64 test by checking CPU,FPU,RAM and GPUs.
I'm excited.

@judal57 @Papusan @iunlock @Mobius 1 @sagarbhathwar @rinneh
My room temp was still above 30C. I tested it yesterday with room temps at 37-40C. So these are temps I got yesterday from running AIDA64 stability tests. I'm still using stock thermal pads.
Last two pictures are temps using aggressive fan profile set using HWINFO.
Suggestions are welcome!

 

run stress fpu only

 

On stock fan or extreme high fan speeds?