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    I bought another M15x (4th one)

    Discussion in 'Alienware M15x' started by deadsmiley, Oct 3, 2016.

  1. deadsmiley

    deadsmiley Notebook Deity

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    Specs:

    i7-740QM
    8GB RAM
    ATI 5850M
    1080p
    9 Cell Battery
    150w OEM power supply
    DVD drive

    NO hard drive caddy, drive or OS
    Missing some screws

    The seller (ebay) reported this as a non-working laptop, shuts down or simply won't start. I notice it has the 9 cell battery and I figure if I can get it cheap enough I can part it out at the worst case.

    I bought a hard drive caddy and drive interposer. I installed an old Samsung 256GB 830 SSD.

    Win 7 installation went fine. Installed GPU-Z, Steam and Counter Strike: Source. Good frame rates, but the GPU is hitting 90+c.

    Long story short: It looks like heatsink isn't contacting the GPU die very well. I replaced the stock shoulder screws with standard ones and BAM! It runs much cooler with no issues so far.

    Total cost: $204.31

    It's a sickness. I know. :D
     
    deadsmiley, Oct 3, 2016
    #1
    triturbo, kosti and ADOR like this.
  2. Rengsey R. H. Jr.

    Rengsey R. H. Jr. I Never Slept

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    for that price , it's a killer deal. Plus it can still play current games when gpu is upgraded. well worth the purchase.
     
    Rengsey R. H. Jr., Oct 3, 2016
    #2
  3. deadsmiley

    deadsmiley Notebook Deity

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    I thought so too.

    Sent from my overpriced smartphone
     
    deadsmiley, Oct 3, 2016
    #3
  4. deadsmiley

    deadsmiley Notebook Deity

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    Picked up a 920XM for $82 shipped from ebay, which isn't a bad price.

    Sent from my overpriced smartphone
     
    deadsmiley, Oct 8, 2016
    #4
    MatsueMaiku, kosti and Rengsey R. H. Jr. like this.
  5. MatsueMaiku

    MatsueMaiku Notebook Geek

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    Awesome! Nice deal on the CPU, too!
     
    MatsueMaiku, Oct 13, 2016
    #5