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    Will an Alienware 18 Motherboard fit in a M18xR2

    Discussion in 'Alienware 18 and M18x' started by heywheelie, Jul 4, 2019.

  1. heywheelie

    heywheelie Notebook Geek

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    I have an M18xR2 and having a few problems with the onboard components. I can get an Alienware 18 cheap and wondered if the motherboard of the 18 would fit in my M18xR2? Are any of the parts interchangeable eg RAM, Video cards etc

    cheers
     
    heywheelie, Jul 4, 2019
    #1
  2. Reciever

    Reciever D! For Dragon!

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    All those parts will likely have no problem working on the AW18 motherboard, but it will likely not fit the m18x R2 chassis
     
    Reciever, Jul 4, 2019
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  3. heywheelie

    heywheelie Notebook Geek

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    Thanks but hopefully my recently retired IT service tech mate might be able to make them fit the AW18xR2 chassis.
     
    heywheelie, Jul 5, 2019
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  4. Reciever

    Reciever D! For Dragon!

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    That's not going to happen, different kind of i/o and different number of them.

    Plus the cpu will likely fail to post.
     
    Reciever, Jul 5, 2019
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  5. ssj92

    ssj92 Neutron Star

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    It will not work because the ports are different. Unless you want to modify chassis. Also I believe the size is different too. Heatsinks are also different.
     
    ssj92, Jul 6, 2019
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  6. Raidriar

    Raidriar ლ(ಠ益ಠლ)

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    Nothing is interchangeable between the two. I have spare M18x parts if you need
     
    Raidriar, Jul 7, 2019
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  7. heywheelie

    heywheelie Notebook Geek

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    Is the RAM the same? How about the optical drive, are they interchangeable?
     
    heywheelie, Jul 8, 2019
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  8. Raidriar

    Raidriar ლ(ಠ益ಠლ)

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    RAM in M18x R2 will not work in Alienware 18, but Alienware 18 RAM will work in M18x. Alienware 18 can only accept DDR3L sticks. Optical drive can be interchanged but not with the connector, m18x and Alienware 18 use different cables. You must recycle connector from your existing computer.
     
    Raidriar, Jul 8, 2019
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  9. ssj92

    ssj92 Neutron Star

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    You can interchange GPUs assuming you have 680M , 780M, 880M or 980M. I've tested 6XX series.

    RAM can be DDR3 (1.50v) or DDR3L (1.35v) in M18x/R2.
    AW 18 runs DDR3L (1.35v). Not sure if it boots with 1.50v RAM. @Mr. Fox might know that.

    HDDs/SSDs should be interchangeable except the caddy/cables are not.

    I wouldn't bother with the AW 18 honestly, better to repair the M18xR2.
     
    ssj92, Jul 9, 2019
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  10. Mr. Fox

    Mr. Fox BGA Filth-Hating Elitist®

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    As far as I know, it will not. I think Haswell needs DDR3L. Older is forward compatible on RAM, meaning you can use DDR3L in the M18xR1/R2, but the opposite is not true. I don't know why that is, because you can manually use higher voltage with DDR3L. I have manually set 1.500V on Clevos. I use 1.600V+ on my desktop with DDR4 (the default is 1.200V). I used 1.650V on the M18xR2 with no issues.
     
    Mr. Fox, Jul 9, 2019
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