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Custom m15x Heatsink

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Alright so I got an Alienware Area 51 m15x that runs just a tad too warm for my liking. The gpu temp is my only concern since with an oc to 570/1425/900 and running 3dmark06 it reaches 92c. Vents fully cleaned, reapplied thermal paste(properly). Have a laptop cooler but I'm trying to think of ways to add a little more mass since it has only a single heatpipe for an 8800m gtx. Normally I wouldn't concern myself with the gpu temp but it heats up the whole right side and the hard drive gets to 50c which is hot hot hot in this small casing. Alright all thoughts and ideas appreciated :) 

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Ouch 50C on the HDD and 92C on the GPU? Thats really not good (especially for extended periods).

I'm not too sure what you could do

You may want to de-oc your system as to not do permanent damage to your mobo and any other components.

As far as custom heatsinks are concerned...you could probably make one yourself if you have the proper tools...but it still might be quite hard to do.

If you really want to do it...you may want to look into making your own laptop case with more room for better cooling. It would be hard, but it would be worth it for yourself if you plan on keeping your OC.

Look up a guy named Ben Heck. He's done excellent jobs of converting XBOX 360's/ PS3s into laptops...he may have used those Xbox's, but it could still apply to your laptop.

Even if you were able to add more mass to the heat pipe, theres still an issue of how you would get that extra heat out. You would need to add most likely another fan...which i don't see being possible. And being a 15" laptop, thats going to be quite hard as you already have limited room.

Well I already suggested the Ben Heck route....if not...not sure what else you could do.

Good luck.
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Alright, talked with a metals buddy of mine and I decided the best route would be adding a different kind of notebook cooler and taking my trusty drill(I use it like I would a dremel) added some vent slot over the gpu heatsink itself to suck air out. Also removed the black tape on the bottom cover to get hot air away from there as well. My new cooler was $14.50 at a local tech shop and works by vacuuming hot air away rather than pushing cool air up. Further more I went to Ace Hardware and got some aluminum plates(bout 1x1) and using some pruning shears I chopped it into shape and added it onto the heatsink with AS adhesive. Before gluing it down I drilled holes throughout the plates so it has like a heat vent as the air gets sucked out. For the heatpipe I got some good old copper pennies and AS glued them on along the length. New temps under max load and an even better oc of 600/1500/1000 are 82c gpu, 48c cpu and 38c hard drive. Soon as I can I'll try some extra hard drive cooling :) 

Wow great job Ari.

You really should post some pics up of the modified hardware...that would be cool to see.

The temps are still a little high, but much better than before.

By the way what kind of cooler are you using? I have a gaming laptop as well...and my GPU gets quite toasty.

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Again, nice going Ari.

Just to let you know...even though you are getting much better temps now, just the fact that you are overclocking your GPU will decrease the lifespan of your GPU (possibly other components as well). Also it will be drawing more power since you overclocked...so it may be possible that are reaching the limits of what your laptop power cable can provide. Just keep that in mind if you plan on keeping your laptop for a while.
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