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February 27th, 2023 10:00
M17x R3, GPU cooler question
Hello All,
Another question for all you Alienware aficionados.. since this is my first one, I have lots of questions.
I recently got a M17x R3 in surprisingly good condition, so far it has just needed a battery (and I hope) cpu/gpu fans. Other than that everything is working great.
It came with the Nvidia 560m gpu.. runs fine, no issues there.. my question would be.. if I want to install the AMD 6990M gpu, would the gpu cooler be the same, or would I need to find one for AMD, and of course.. would that swap even be beneficial?
Thanks I’m advance!
Ryan
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mattyb3
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February 27th, 2023 12:00
Well technically there is a specific AMD heatsink so you would be better off getting the right one for the 6990M but the differences aren't huge so you should be able to use the Nvidia one without issue.
One of the differences is due to the GPU die position on the AMD cards. The first image below is the 560M with the die sitting parallel to the card but the AMD die sits diagonally. The heatsinks have a black sticker on the plate that sits up against the die (I'm guessing to help keep the thermal paste on the die). You may just need to remove the sticker on your heatsink so none of it sits against the die.
The AMD heatsink also has a few extra bits on it to help cool the chips.
You will also find that the Nvidia heatsink for the 560m will be rated to 75w (there should be a sticker on it somewhere) and the AMD heatsink will be 100w (from memory). This is probably the biggest reason to find the correct AMD heatsink.
Another thing to remember is the heatsink mounting bracket is different between the cards. This is the x-bracket that fits to the back of the GPU and allows the heatsink to mount to it. Make sure that the replacement AMD card comes with one as you can't use the Nvidia one on an AMD card.
mattyb3
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February 27th, 2023 12:00
AMD heatsink and Mounting Bracket
Nvidia Heatsink and Mounting Bracket (smaller center square that the AMD version and extra vRAM plate)
mattyb3
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February 28th, 2023 13:00
@RsParrish82 It's exactly the same. The R3 and R4 share the same chassis and internal layout. The only real difference between them is the motherboard specs.
RsParrish82
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February 28th, 2023 07:00
Thank you for the information! I was curious, I am having problems finding the part number for the AMD heat sink. If I could find out what it is, I may be interested in doing the swap someday.
Thank you for all the help!
RsParrish82
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February 28th, 2023 09:00
I am replying to my own question.. I did find an AMD gpu cooler on eBay.. $10.. looks intact, but it’s for the M17x R4, are they the same or are there any differences between the R3 and R4 heatsinks?
RsParrish82
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February 28th, 2023 14:00
Perfect! Thank you for that info! I grabbed the heat sink for $10, and the HD 6990 (tested working even!) for another $100 of eBay, both should be to my house by end of week.
RsParrish82
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March 8th, 2023 22:00
So…. The AMD card didn’t exactly work out, was causing some odd behavior in windows 10 so I reverted back to the gtx 560m, but today I went and bought the gtx 580m off of eBay even cheaper than I originally found the AMD card.. it has the backplate as well, the mounting holes look similar (in pictures of course) to the 560m.. can I use the cooler for the 560m?