Alienware M17x R4 cooling problem?

[Texiton]

I'm not sure if this is a problem, but my Alienware M17x R4 seems to be blowing more air out of the left vent than the right one.
When under heavy load, (1080p video rendering etc.) my CPU reaches excess of 80°C.
Is there a problem, or is this normal?
Thanks for any answers.
(I just got it yesterday.)

 

[Texiton]

There's hardly any air being blown out of the right vent.

 

[Texiton]

Maybe not any at all.

 

[darth pravus]

Blow out the fans with compressed air when it's off.

 

[Texiton]

Blow out the fans with compressed air when it's off.

It shouldn't have any problems with dust, it's brand new.

 

[darth pravus]

Why not RMA it then or get alienware support. That's why you paid the massively inflated price in the end surely?

 

[Texiton]

Why not RMA it then or get alienware support. That's why you paid the massively inflated price in the end surely?

Yeah, I'll send it back to them if it gets worse.
Alienware's way too expensive.
I got mine on a sale for way cheaper. 😛

 

[Nedal0]

Temps in excess of 80°C is worse already. The Alienware M17x R4 is known to get quite hot but 80°C is nowhere near right at all.

What is the Specs ? Whats your room Temp during use, What Temp monitoring software are you using ?

On another note, make sure you have all and the latest BIOS updates for your Model as quite a couple of people have had the heat issue for various reasons and a BIOS update has rectified it for majority of them. Others had to remove certain software to fix the issue.

 

[Texiton]

Temps in excess of 80°C is worse already. The Alienware M17x R4 is known to get quite hot but 80°C is nowhere near right at all.

What is the Specs ? Whats your room Temp during use, What Temp monitoring software are you using ?

On another note, make sure you have all and the latest BIOS updates for your Model as quite a couple of people have had the heat issue for various reasons and a BIOS update has rectified it for majority of them. Others had to remove certain software to fix the issue.

It's about 60°C when idle.

My specs are:
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit SP1
CPU
Intel Core i7 3820QM @ 2.70GHz
Ivy Bridge 22nm Technology
RAM
32.0 GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 798MHz (11-11-11-28)
Motherboard
Alienware M17xR4 (U3E1)
Graphics
Generic PnP Monitor (1920x1080@60Hz)
AMD Radeon HD 7970M
Intel HD Graphics 4000
Hard Drives
699GB W62SGS7Y (RAID)
Optical Drives
HL-DT-ST DVDRWBD CA40N
Audio
Sound Blaster Recon3Di


It only reaches excess of 80°C.
If this means anything, the side of the laptop with the fan that's going is always warm, but the side of the laptop with the fan that's not going always feels cool.
I'm using Speccy to monitor my temps, and my room temp is usually about 30°C.

 

[darth pravus]

60 at idle needs an RMA before it dies.

Something that new should be that hot idle.

 

[Nedal0]

Thinking about the whole thing and considering the fact that the Intel Core i7 3820QM CPU has a T-Junction of 105°C, 80°C on Max is really nothing to worry about.

I will suggest you keep you room Temps around 25°C if possible and also deploy a USB Cooler if you are worried. Antec, Logitech and Belkin have some very good Coolers.

A lot of Alienware M17x R4 owners have been running their Laptops for a long time under the same Temps and have had no issues whatsoever. As long as there is no Thermal Shut down, I strongly believe the Temps are fine.

There is no need to RMA the Laptop as you'll only receive a replacement with the same Temps and in the end, totally wasting your own time. Do your part in the form of Lower Room Temps and a USB Cooler to help the situation as these Temps are acceptable for the M17x R4.

The final decision is really up to you. Please keep me updated with any future developments.

 

[darth pravus]

The temps are fine but the chip will suffer a shortened lifespan

 

[Nedal0]

Now to answer your question about the Air Circulation and Vents, the Alienware M17x R4 has 2 Fans underneath it one n the Left hand side and the other on the Right hand side.

Basically the Left hand side Fan is an Exhaust Fan and that's why it does blow more air than the Right hand side Fan. This is totally normal and not any kind of fault.

I do believe Alienware takes the heat into consideration before choosing a Mobile CPU for any particular product. Mobile CPU's cope very well with the heat hence the T-Junction of 105°C for the Intel Core i7 3820QM.

"Texiton" I will suggest you visit any Alienware forums and read more about the Temps of the M17x R4. I'm sure you'll realize lots of users with the same model have the almost the same Temps as you.

 

[Texiton]

I've just fired up a game, and the right fan kicked in.
I guess the left fan is for the CPU, and the right fan is for the GPU.