Alienware M18X Service Manual

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 System Board
AlienwareM18xServiceManual
Removing the System Board
Replacing the System Board
Entering the Service Tag in the BIOS
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The system board's BIOS chip contains the Service Tag, which is also visible on a barcode label at the bottom of the computer.
Removing the System Board
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1. Follow the instructions in Before You Begin.
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2. Remove any installed card or blank from the Media-Card Reader.
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3. Remove the battery pack (see Removing the Battery Pack).
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4. Remove the base cover (see Removing the Base Cover).
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5. Remove the hard drive(s) (see Removing the Hard Drive(s)).
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6. Disconnect the coin-cell battery cable from the connector on the system board (see Removing the Coin-Cell Battery).
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7. Disconnect the video-card heat-sink fan(s) cable from the connector on the system board (see Removing the Video-Card Heat-Sink Fan(s)).
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8. Disconnect the processor heat-sink fan cable from the connector on the system board (see Removing the Processor Heat-Sink Fan).
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9. Remove the center control cover (see Removing the Center Control Cover).
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10. Remove the keyboard (see Removing the Keyboard).
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11. Remove the macro keyboard (see Removing the Macro Keyboard).
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12. Remove the display assembly (see Removing the Display Assembly).
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13. Remove the palm-rest assembly (see Removing the Palm Rest).
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14. Remove the Bluetooth card (see Removing the Bluetooth Card).
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15. Remove the memory module(s) (see Removing the Memory Module(s)).
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16. Remove the Mini-Card (see Removing the Mini-Card).
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17. Remove the video-card heat-sink(s) (see Removing the Video-Card Heat- Sink(s)).
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18. Remove the video card(s) (see Removing the Video Card(s)).
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19. Remove the processor heat-sink (see Removing the Processor Heat-Sink).
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20. Remove the processor module (see Removing the Processor Module).
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WARNING: Before working inside your computer, read the safety information that shipped with your computer. For additional safety best
practices information, see the Regulatory Compliance Homepage at www.dell.com/regulatory_compliance.
CAUTION: To avoid electrostatic discharge, ground yourself by using a wrist grounding strap or by periodically touching an unpainted metal
surface (such as a connector on your computer).
CAUTION: Only a certified service technician should perform repairs on your computer. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell is
not covered by your warranty.
CAUTION: To help prevent damage to the system board, remove the main battery (see Removing the Battery Pack) before working inside the
computer.
CAUTION: Handle components by their edges, and avoid touching pins and contacts.

Alienware M18X Specifications

General

Bus type	DMI
Stepping	E1
Tjunction	105 °C
Processor cache	6 MB
Processor cores	4
Processor model	i7-3630QM
System bus rate	5 GT/s
Processor family	Intel® Core™ i7
Processor series	Intel Core i7-3600 Mobile series
Processor socket	PGA988
Processor threads	8
Processor codename	Ivy Bridge
Processor frequency	2.4 GHz
Processor cache type	Smart Cache
Processor lithography	22 nm
Processor manufacturer	Intel
Processor front side bus	- MHz
PCI Express slots version	3.0
Processor boost frequency	3.4 GHz
Processor operating modes	64-bit
ECC supported by processor	No
PCI Express configurations	1x16, 2x8, 1x8+2x4
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	45 W
CPU multiplier (bus/core ratio)	24
Maximum number of PCI Express lanes	16
Motherboard chipset	Intel HM76
Memory slots	4x SO-DIMM
Internal memory	12 GB
Memory clock speed	1600 MHz
Memory form factor	SO-DIMM
Internal memory type	DDR3-SDRAM
Maximum internal memory	32 GB
HDD size	2.5 \
HDD capacity	500 GB
HDD interface	SATA
Storage media	HDD
Optical drive type	Blu-Ray ROM
Card reader integrated	Yes
Total storage capacity	1000 GB
Compatible memory cards	Memory Stick (MS), MMC, MMC+, MS PRO, SD, SDHC, SDXC
Number of HDDs installed	2
Display surface	-
Display diagonal	18.4 \
Native aspect ratio	16:9
Type	PC
Power supply type	AC/DC
Wireless technology	Wi-Fi
Ethernet interface type	Gigabit Ethernet
Compliance industry standards	IEEE 802.3, IEEE 802.3u, IEEE 802.3ab
On-board graphics card ID	0x166
Discrete graphics card model	NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 675M
On-board graphics card model	Intel® HD Graphics 4000
Discrete graphics card memory	4 GB
Discrete graphics memory type	GDDR5
On-board graphics card family	Intel® HD Graphics
On-board graphics card base frequency	650 MHz
On-board graphics card dynamic frequency (max)	1150 MHz
Audio system	HD
Wi-Fi standards	802.11b, 802.11g, Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n)
Bluetooth version	3.0+HS
Cabling technology	10/100/1000Base-T(X)
Ethernet LAN data rates	10, 100, 1000 Mbit/s
HDMI version	1.4
Charging port type	DC-in jack
USB 2.0 ports quantity	USB 2.0 ports have a data transmission speed of 480 Mbps, and are backwards compatible with USB 1.1 ports. You can connect all kinds of peripheral devices to them.
eSATA/USB 2.0 ports quantity	1
eSATA/USB 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) ports quantity	0
Pointing device	Touchpad
Keyboard number of keys	82
Operating system installed	Windows 8
Form factor	Clamshell
Product type	Laptop
Product color	Black
Market positioning	Gaming
Battery life (max)	- h
Number of battery cells	12
Processor code	SR0UX
Processor ARK ID	71459
Processor package size	37.5 x 37.5 (rPGA988B) mm
Supported instruction sets	AVX
Intel Identity Protection Technology version	1.00
Cables included	AC
AC adapter power	330 W
AC adapter frequency	50 - 60 Hz
AC adapter input voltage	100 - 240 V

Weight and Dimensions

Depth	322 mm
Width	436 mm
Weight	5410 g
Height (rear)	54.2 mm
Height (front)	53 mm
Depth (imperial)	12.68 \
Width (imperial)	17.17 \
Height (rear) (imperial)	2.13 \
Height (front) (imperial)	2.09 \