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Alienware m15 R7 Service Manual

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Removing the fan and heat-sink assembly

Prerequisites

  1. Follow the procedure in Before working inside your computer.
  2. Remove the base cover.
  3. Remove the 2230 solid-state drive or 2280 solid-state drive in slot one, whichever applicable.
  4. Remove the 2230 solid state drive or 2280 solid-state drive in slot two, whichever applicable.
  5. Remove the wireless card.
  6. Remove the rear-I/O cover.
  7. Remove the battery.
  8. Follow the procedure from step 1 to step 21 in Removing the system board.
    NOTE: The system board can be removed and installed along with the memory, ethernet and audio board, USB board, and fan and heat sink-assembly. This simplifies the removal and installation procedure and avoids breaking the thermal bond between the system board and heat sink.

About this task

NOTE: When installing this component, please refer to the techsheet bundled with the service kit. This is only applicable for computers with the following Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) configurations that have Element 31 grease is applied to the CPU.
  • NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti
  • NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti
CAUTION: The heat sink may become hot during normal operation. Allow sufficient time for the heat sink to cool before you touch it.
NOTE: For maximum cooling of the processor, do not touch the heat transfer areas on the heat sink. The oils in your skin can reduce the heat transfer capability of the thermal grease.

The following image(s) indicate the location of the fan and heat-sink assembly and provides a visual representation of the removal procedure.

Removing the fan and heat-sink assembly

Steps

  1. Turn over the system-board assembly.
  2. In reverse sequential order (6>5>4>3>2>1), loosen the six captive screws (M2x4) that secure the fan and heat-sink assembly to the system board.
  3. Lift the fan and heat-sink assembly off the system board.
    CAUTION: Do not use an alcohol wipe to clean the thermal grease, the alcohol solution from the wipes will dissolve the Element 31 grease into conductive metal particles. If these conductive metal particles come into contact with the surface of the system board, it will cause the an electrical short when system is powered on.

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