Alienware m15x Processor Upgrade

Hello all,
So I recently purchased a Alienware m15x that was made in 2011. It was originally fitted with 4GB, a i5 M540 Cpu and a Nvidia 240m Grapics Card. I have already done some part swapping with it and it now has 8GB or DDr3 Ram and a Nvidia 780M in it. Now my only question is what would be the best processor to put into the m15x that would be compatable and not to expensive. Like from the $100 - $300 range. Thanks in advance.

 

The Alienware M15x can do up to a 940XM, though that processor still is pricey. 920XM and the 840QM are pretty reasonable in price now that 1st gen i7's have really dropped off in price. My old Alienware M17xR2 had a 920XM and it ran everything fine (though it was a little on the hot side).

 

Indeed get either the 920XM or 940XM... Worth asking around on the forum is someone has a good 920/940XM... I know that some people have actually come with Water cooling mods for 920/940XM in AW M15x....

http://forum.techinferno.com/alienware-m15x-aw-15/2220-[guide]-m15x-water-cooling.html
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/alienware-m15x-hybrid-cooling.766395/
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...5x-cpu-cooling-mod-guide-and-pictures.752797/

 

Okay. I looked both of them up and i'm leaning towards the 920xm. What are the major differences between the 920xm and 940xm. Also would i need to do one of the and external cooling mod or would i be able to get away with the stock cooling system?

 

Stock cooling handles the 920xm fine. I run mine 24/7 at 3.6ghz all cores and over 3.7ghz on single threaded apps. Don't get a 840qm. The 920xm as standard usually reaches at least 3.3ghz stable making it FAR more powerful than the 840qm with it's locked speeds of 2ghz. This is all cores I am talking about. Unless the 940xm is the same price or less I wouldn't bother considering it the two chips are pretty much the same.

Just ensure you use decent quality thermal paste and apply it properly, clean the vents and fans of dust once or twice a year.

Additionally you can download HWinfo64 that allows full manual control of both cpu and gpu fan. Useful when playing heavy games to stick all fans to max. The final thing to do is to elevate the back of the laptop. Standard practice with most laptops to help the cooling system do it's job.

 

I can't remember if the M15x has a bottom plate like the M17x which comes off pretty easily. I found that the mesh vents on my R2 got clogged with dust and hair pretty easily, a cleaning was pretty easy once the bottom plate came off.

I would recommend if you can afford it the 920XM, it's the best value between the i7-8xxQM CPUs, but not paying the premium for the "fastest" 1st gen i7 Extreme CPU. Even towards 2014, my old Alienware M17xR2 with 5870M Crossfire and 920XM, it played games at 1920x1200 with no issues.

 

Yes the m15x bottom plate comes off very easily. Two screws and slide it off. Then you have access to everything.

 

If you're gonna go for a 920 or 940xm, keep in mind that it's gonna draw a lot more power than your i5 so you may need to upgrade your power supply, especially if you're gonna overclock.

 

Indeed, very important point which we overlooked... Will probably need a 210/240W PSU...

 

Ah OK so I already purchased the 240w Alienware 17m psu so I was wondering how the installing process would be. I already have cooling paste and heat pads from my graphics card install. Thanks

 

The good thing about the M15X is how easy it is to swap the cpu and gpu. There's a great M15X teardown on Youtube which I linked below. I would suggest applying the paste by putting a SMALL dab of it in the center of the GPU and CPU, then placing the heatsink over it so that it spreads with the pressure. I would not recommend the spreading method using a credit card or whatever. I also suggest applying the paste once, then attach the heatsinks, and then remove the heatsinks to see how well it spread. Then re-clean, and reapply the paste.