Alienware Area 51m - Official Guide to applying Liquid Metal + RTX VRM cooling mod

DISCLAIMER: This mod is NOT officially supported on the Alienware Area 51M laptop, YOU assume all the risk and liability by attempting this repaste/mod on your own laptop. This thread was created merely to guide people on how to repaste/mod their Alienwares!

If you have never used liquid metal before it is advised that you read up on it, it is a conductive liquid, so if it is accidentally spilled on any components, motherboard etc, it MUST be cleaned completely before turning on the laptop!

Things you will need:

Liquid Metal - preferably thermal grizzly conductonaut.

Some sort of earbud to apply the liquid metal with.

Thermal pad exactly double the thickness ( 1.5mm or less) of the one placed on the rtx 20xx vrms which should be.

Some sort of tape, Kapton tape is advised. Although adhesive tape will work fine which is what I used.

Disassembly and Cleaning​

You will need to disassemble the laptop and clean off the thermal paste, here is a link to the perfect guide that @ssj92 made, subscribe whilst your there, it would mean a lot to him:

VRM Thermal Pad Mod​

As many of you may know, the Alienware Area 51m rtx 2080/2070 gpu module was and still is prone to frying due to the vrms reaching their thermal runaway point and therefore burning out and producing a smoke show

The reason lies below:



As you can see the original thermal pad makes literally little to no contact with the rtx gpu vrms on the top half, like what were you thinking dell?!

So, to solve this issue we need to use a thermal pad which is exactly double the thickness, the new thermal pad must be lower than 1.5mm or equivalent in thickness, replace the original rubbish one as shown below:



Make sure the thermal pad is NOT TOO THICK otherwise the gpu will not fit inside the chassis!

As you can see the contact points are way more pronounced in the picture below:



This is what the original thermal pad should have been doing, no wonder our RTX cards are cooking in the heat!

Now just put the heatsink back on the back of the gpu and screw it into place. Place it in the chassis, screw in both pci cables and slot in the power cable.

Pre-Application and Application of LM ​

So before you start applying liquid metal you will need thoroughly clean the GPU die and the surrounding capacitors, this is important so that the tape can make proper contact with the pcb!

The RTX die should look a bit cleaner than this:



Now you will need to apply tape to the capacitors surrounding the die like so:



Make sure you start applying the tape from the edge of the die so that the tape can stick between the pcb and capacitors like shown above. Use a fingernail or tweezer so that you end up with air pockets where the capacitors are situated. This means that you will have a proper seal and liquid metal will not be able to get underneath the tape.

Now you can apply liquid metal on the die. Considering the rtx die is quite big compared to pascal, slightly more liquid metal is needed to cover it entirely. You should apply slightly less than a pea drop like shown below:



Now gently spread the liquid metal with an earbud so that it covers the whole of the die, make sure to not go over the edges of the die too much otherwise the liquid metal may leak out from the side! You should end up with something like this, if it looks dryer in texture try adding a tiny spec of more liquid metal so you can see a kind of shiny surface:



Now you need to apply liquid metal on the cpu side, luckily there are no capacitors that need covering, this is a fairly easy process. Use the exact pea size amount of liquid metal as used on the rtx die. Evenly spread it across with the earbud and you should end up with your cpu ihs (lid) looking like this, again if it looks dryer in texture try adding a tiny spec of liquid metal so you can see the shiny surface as seen below:



Try NOT to go over the corners with this one, if you ever need to take the CPU out liquid metal will get on your hands and could possibly get on the cpu socket. It is a wise idea to try and put in a foam dam here if your new to this procedure, ask @Mr. Fox or @Papusan about this if you need clarification, they know what I'm on about!

This much contact space is more than enough, you don't need more, the heatsink can handle the heat dispassion just fine!

Now its time to apply liquid metal on the heatsink part, use the same sequence I wrote at the top, this time use slightly less metal paste, if you have too much on your CPU or GPU take a swab of that and dump it on the heatsink area.

Your heatsink should end up looking like this, space out the liquid metal more on the cpu side than shown in the picture, make sure its less than the engraved arrows in the heatsink, that is the cpu/heatsink contact boundary!



Now its finally time to put the heatsink back on the GPU and CPU:



Make sure to tighten the screws diagonally on the CPU and GPU sides!

Now its time to assemble the laptop back together and see if the laptop boots:



If you see a boot screen congratulations you've done it! Now do some load testing and check your temps before gaming!

​

 

Great guide. Interested how much LM would improve the temps since the 51m heatsink is much beefier than the 17 Rx line up !

 

Awesome post!
but...
If that is packing tape, I would highly suggest against using packing tape as it melts really easily with heat and in the least bit will create edges that lift at the edge of the die and the PCB.
I would personally use Conformal Coating. Some times people use clear nail polish but that can have temperature issues as well.
Conformal Coating is designed for exact objective saught.
If you are going to use tape I would highly suggest Scotch Super 33+ electrical tape.
Again, not sure if this is packing tape that you are using but I cannot think of a clear looking tape that exists that will for one properly cover the components.
Since it does not conform to the components well, LM can easily still get under the clear tape and get to the components. I have seen this happen to someone before.

Here is an example of Conformal Coating.
https://www.amazon.com/MG-Chemicals...ormal+Coating&qid=1564781581&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Here is the electrical tape:
https://www.amazon.com/Scotch-Super...ectrical+tape&qid=1564781637&s=gateway&sr=8-4


Also, last note...
What size pad are you suggesting on the back of the GPU? You have mentioned, "double the thickness" of the stock pads, multiple times. Unless you inform users what size pad to get then they are at a loss left wondering and assuming the size you are referring to. I am not sure myself, but judging by your photos that pad you chose seems a bit thick. Perhaps @S.K can chime in as he has done a lot of hours of trial an error into pad size thickness. I believe the conclusion was a 1.5mm pad was suffice and the best option. Your pad looks like a 3mm pad. .
Sorry, I do not mean to sound critical but when you are posting guides that could potentially lead to people making detrimental mistakes in their own systems I feel the need to chime in.
I hope you understand.

 

The reason conformal coating isn’t used is so that if dell inspect the device in case of failure there isn’t any evidence of any mods done. Otherwise I would advise conformal coating over what I have done. Thanks

The pad is exactly 1.5mm like you said, it looks way bigger in the photo, idk why...
That’s why I said double the thickness of the original, the photo maybe deceiving.

 

It improves temps by a few C when compared to high-end paste but nothing as dramatic as the R4/R5. @S.K has done quite a few rounds of testing with various pastes including conductonaut and has settled with Phobya NanoGrease Extreme for this heatsink at this pressure level. Paste applications in laptops cannot be compared to other systems has the contact and the pressure levels are so different in each one. A paste for one system might not be the best for another system etc etc. Because of SK's testing, I decided to try 3 of the pastes he tested. My results were similar.

Gotcha, I suggest posting the exact size in your guide. Many people following the guide will be looking for key things like exact pad sizes etc.

The conformal coating will not void the warranty. I have had systems that had issues that were not a result of LM which had a conformal coating on it and I had no issues doing warranty swaps and parts replacements. Besides, the conformal coating can be cleaned off.

 

Interesting, didn’t know it could be cleared off, my old 4940mx had conformal coating on it and it didn’t come off at all!

Also @DeeX ive been using tape for 4 years, I have never once seen it heat up to the point where the tape melts, that is roughly 110c which the die will never reach. I know because I used to make custom subwoofer enclosures using melted tape

There is a big difference in temp between the die and pcb, about 30-40c difference when at max heat. You can check this with an infrared sensor too.

Thank you for your help bro and I agree conformal coating should be used if people are willing to!

 

And you don’t put the tape on top of the die The PCB won’t run so hot and neither will it come so much heat down from heatsink outside the die area. Just use the thinnest Kapton tape. Even good quality electrical tape works well.

 

Exactly bro you know this stuff, this is common sense to you

You know how I found out the difference, by accidentally placing my finger on a 7970m when it had just turned off, the pcb was warm but that die, jesus christ its like it came out of hell, literally barbecued my finger and somehow those amd chips can handle it, what are amd dies made off

 

Nice! My VRMs had much deeper contact with the pads so I left them alone.

 

My comments were not about it melting like a flame would melt it but more like changing its state and changing the state of the adhesive.
It's pretty easy for even some warm to make it so the edges lift. I fully believe it has worked for you well, but when you post a guide there will be many people that follow this and it is just my belief that one should suggest to the masses the option with the least amount of risk. Not everyone will have the same skill level that attempts this. That's all I meant.
The scenarios that I mentioned did happen to someone and the problem was the edges lifted ever so slightly and LM indeed got under the tape.

LOL, "PCB doesnt run so hot" you say, but then you suggest using Kapton tape which is rated for extreme temps +/-. Do you suggest packing tape?
I just don't think that is the best suggestion. With prices for Kapton tape, electrical tape, conformal coating, or even clear nail polish being so affordable; Why not suggest one of those?
I personally do not think packing tape is the best suggestion for a guide that people new to LM might follow, that's all. I personally would suggest the one that has the lowest risk of something going wrong.
Thanks for reminding me about Kapton tape, I totally forgot about it.

 

No offense, but using shipping tape is a big no-no especially cheap stuff which can barely stick to cardboard. Like the other person said, it will unstick easily at high temps, especially at low humidity. Kapton is much better.

 

Ok guys I don’t think I’m using packing tape as it doesn’t loose it’s sticking properties at high temps I think it’s some sort of adhesive tape, in the uk it’s just known as sellotape a kind of thick plastic tape, packing tape (brown tape) is much MUCH thinner so I have advised against that, thank you very much for the suggestions

It seems that tape varies from country to country lol.
It’s advised to use Kapton tape as everyone knows what that is.

 

See, below. Many tapes works. But different quality all over make it difficult for people.

 

I think the purpose of the tape is catching any excess LM that squeezes out after the heatsink is tightened. If it's applied properly, there should only be a tiny bit of LM coming out. Sounds to me like this person applied the LM wayyyy too thickly if it went below the tape.

I do agree the most foolproof method is best for a general guide, but I don't see any issues with tape if you know what you're doing.

 

This is 100% true. That is the point though. When an inexperienced person comes to a place like NBR and sees a guide, they may be on their first-ever attempt or maybe their second or third. When not very experienced with LM it's easy to apply too much LM that would not be considered "wayyyy" too much but still enough for it to leak when the system is jarred. Those type of people need to be told to use the best material to protect the components around the area that could potentially leak. I have not written a guide but if I did, I would want my guide to be very specific as to lessen the chances that my guidance aided in an inexperienced person's mistake.

That sellotape what we call packing tape here. We have the brown tape you refer but more commonly the clear sellotape you have in your photos we call packing tape.
Its the same stuff I refer to that got loose around the edges when warmed. Also, a huge problem is that not Sellotape/packing tapes are made the same.
Granted not all Kapton tape / electrical tape are made the same either but at least in those two cases, there are goals an objectives for the application when it comes to temperature etc.

@Mr. Fox or @Papusan Do you have a photo / guide of the foam dam he is referring to for a socket 1151?

 

I think you’ll find it in bro Fox Tornado MSI Barbone gift thread. http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...6-owners-lounge.797128/page-740#post-10578315

I post from a small phone on my Summer vacation

Even search on foam dam and @Falkentyne

 

Thank you for finding the thread I forgot where I saw that picture

 

I used a bit of regular scotch tape to insulate the gold contacts on my old 6700K, never once had any issues with it peeling off or losing adhesion and I ran that thing pretty hot. Kapton tape is better if you have it though.

 

Only thing I would add is that the video link to the disassembly - have to watch that one very closely - guy moves super fast with edits - you want to go much slower in actual practice in order to not damage something...

Also - when you remove the 14 + 1 screws to get the cover plate off covering access to CPU/GPU - there's actually another screw by the motherboard connector - a small screw with a small metal brace- don't do what the guy says in the video and just wiggle free - because he missed that screw. You'll end up damaging the unit. Once you remove that last screw you can gently remove the brace and then the whole cover plate will come off.

 

So is that black heatsink what dell has added to try and keep the Gpu’s from frying? Oi. . .well looks like doing the thermal pad mod is essential to keeping this thing running long term.

 

I did small heatsink mods from a Morpheus 2 kit I kept - basically they are small silver heatsinks with tape that you can stick on thermal pads - you need low profile ones - but they fit and I'm getting cool temps.

 

Can you post some photo asap please? I am looking for solution for this

 

I wouldn’t recommend liquid metal paste on a die (gpu in this case) it will damage the surface as time goes by.
Use gelid extreme or equivalent on it for a far better safety note that the temp may rise by 1C to 2 C at best case

 

You say to put 1.5mm on the underside of the GPU but my 1.5mm arrived and it looks nowhere as thick as yours in the second picture:

https://imgur.com/a/NarZwMR