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    Does the Alienware 17 r3 get warm under the palm rests?

    Discussion in '2015+ Alienware 13 / 15 / 17' started by Joshva, Dec 20, 2015.

  1. Joshva

    Joshva Notebook Consultant

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    Hi,

    I am very sensitive to heat on the palm rests. I am considering the 970M version with the Skylake 6700HQ CPU.

    Does the machine get hot under the palm rests?

    Thanks in advance,
    Josh
     
  2. thegh0sts

    thegh0sts Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    the CPU in most models is towards the back of the laptop so the heat you speak of would not be generated by the CPU or GPU: possibly due to where a hard drive or SSD is placed. on the 2013 models the MSATA SSD slot is located towards the left of the touchpad and that area does get warm.

    so in short, yes it can get warm but not because of the CPU.
     
  3. Joshva

    Joshva Notebook Consultant

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    Are the air vents at the back or the side?
     
  4. thegh0sts

    thegh0sts Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    they're always at the back. i don't ever believe that they were ever on the sides.
     
  5. Joshva

    Joshva Notebook Consultant

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    So if i was to remove the m.2 entirely and just run a Samsung 850 Pro 2.5inch then i'd be ok? I am not worried about the right side as my hand is normally on the mouse
     
  6. thegh0sts

    thegh0sts Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    you would have to test that: make a note of where everything and test.
     
  7. Jambu95

    Jambu95 Notebook Geek

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    i have a 17 r3, both left/right palm rest stays cool even under full load, but the area at the led indicator, power button and above the numpads are the hottest area,
    The warmer parts are (esc , F1, F2, F3 area), (F8, F9, F10 , F11 area) and the ( end, delete, macro 6, macro 7 area)
     
  8. abdullah_mag

    abdullah_mag Notebook Evangelist

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  9. HunterZ0

    HunterZ0 Notebook Consultant

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    I have no m.2 drives and one 500GB SATA Samsung 850 EVO and it works fine. There's only one SATA bay+connector in the 17 R3, and at least 2 m.2 slots, so you'll need to get an m.2 SSD if you want to also have a 2.5" mechanical drive for data storage.
     
  10. Corprustie

    Corprustie Notebook Enthusiast

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    I've never experienced the machine becoming noticeably warm at all around the palm rest area; however, my keyboard can get quite warm during gaming. It's not something that I really notice during typical usage, but if I put my entire hand over it I can definitely feel the warmth. It has never bothered me at all though and doesn't interfere with anything.