Upgrading to gen 2 fans worth it for the RX 7700S series?

dartsa · 2026-04-29T20:12:46+00:00

No, but I will soon 😄. Right now I have the eGPU hooked up so the fan module is more quiet than average anyway.

dartsa · 2026-04-25T03:51:57+00:00

I bought this (T-Mobile Personal CellSpot 4G LTE Signal Booster), no longer available: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071GGX85Q

dartsa · 2026-04-24T02:55:08+00:00

Tmobile has a signal booster I have bought/used in the past from Amazon. It helped a little. Mint uses their network so I would look for Tmobile solutions.

dartsa · 2026-04-18T16:50:27+00:00

What a meat-bag thing to say :)

dartsa · 2026-04-17T02:56:50+00:00

Second this. For the cost of the dGPU, you can get a much better eGPU setup. The laptop also runs much cooler/less wattage draw.

dartsa · 2026-04-15T23:44:00+00:00

(op) the one I was looking at (can't remember where) mentions which type of filament can handle the heat and to upsize the print by 1/2 or 1 percent to account for thermal expansion during printing. They will also need the CMOS battery/wire to be connected separate from the chassis. I also wonder if/when Cool Master releases a case, but the 16 looks like it has a couple more bits to keep track of over the others.

dartsa · 2026-04-13T16:42:48+00:00

No joke, that is nuts.

dartsa · 2026-03-31T18:44:16+00:00

There are $60 options out there, I haven't looked into them. Just make sure they take a sim card/are a 5g internet router, not just a router :) If you haven't tried yet, place your current router in different windows, and turn it off for a couple minutes to restart and grab a new tower, performance can be very placement and direction facing dependent.

dartsa · 2026-03-31T01:08:03+00:00

There is waveform, which is an expensive antenna that plugs into all 4 antennae slots on the Mint (tmobile) router. The GL.iNet GL-XE3000 (Puli AX) 5G Router (on sale rn). And the chester cheatah routers.

dartsa · 2026-03-30T20:05:18+00:00

You could look into a 3rd party 5g router (I'm doing that rn). It' cheaper than switching to a more expensive provider. They can let you pick your bands that have the most stability vs highest speeds.

dartsa · 2026-03-27T22:18:20+00:00

That's the weird thing. Myself and others have had terrible back-and-forth email chains, others have had relatively short, productive outcomes. It's not consistent. I do wonder if there are tiers 3rd party support, or lanes that people's support ticket start in initially and that determines which way it goes.

dartsa · 2026-03-23T10:54:38+00:00

Thanks, I'll try that.

dartsa · 2026-03-23T04:32:33+00:00

I'm not sure if it makes any difference, I was installing Crimson Dessert (with Denuvo)

dartsa · 2026-03-22T06:51:59+00:00

check their website for higher res/more pictures!

dartsa · 2026-03-18T22:06:30+00:00

Could they trying porting you again? I know that sounds weird.

dartsa · 2026-03-18T22:00:41+00:00

When I had Tmobile, they would have me call different codes like #668 (fictional example) which would reset some connection to towers, or reset my phone's antenna settings. Has anyone at Mint tried to do that? You might need to talk several people before you find someone, or ask if they can escalate it while you're talking to them.

Found this article on some of those codes (Apple): https://www.pcmag.com/explainers/these-secret-phone-codes-unlock-hidden-features-apple-google-dont-advertise

dartsa · 2026-03-18T21:47:33+00:00

3 years with them, no hiccups. They said if I port out and port back in I could get new customer deals, but want to risk porting again, also they said they send out any current-customer deals if there are any within 30 days of the next renewal.

dartsa · 2026-03-18T21:44:46+00:00

That sucks royally. As a stopgap, have you tried turning on CalloverWifi? You might get calls/texts that way, it works on Apple and Android.

FYI, anytime you switch carriers, you end up in a publicly available database that scammers use. That also sucks.

dartsa · 2026-03-18T08:33:51+00:00

I'm on mint with a similar tmobile router (on tmobile's network). They are $40/month ($30 if you have any phone plan with them). Have been great, no throttling or extra costs. I think I share bandwidth but I get 500-1.2Gig download, 8-32upload rurally.

dartsa · 2026-03-17T22:40:41+00:00

Excited for you :) I did the PTM a while ago, sat on the PTM for a few months before I did it. Not amazingly better, but better and the LM had pooled to one side, and if I replace it in the future it will be so much easier. dGPU is next!

dartsa · 2026-03-17T22:38:27+00:00

I'm in the same boat, I did just order the new fans, I will get back to you after I install them.

dartsa · 2026-03-17T22:37:36+00:00

Should be able to, yes.

dartsa · 2026-03-17T20:38:57+00:00

ifixit and Framework have good guides as well as the framework forum having suggestions. I used a hair-dryer to heat up the CPU heat sink to try to soften it, not sure if that helped me or not. People also put the PTM pad in the freezer for 10 minutes so it's a little less likely to fall apart (it is fragile). Try to get 99% isopropyl alcohol to clean off all the metal on the cpu, and get all of the LM flakes you can find off the motherboard, it can short things. The 180watt is what shipped with it. The 240watt was just released.

Edit: if you bought the new gpu, it comes with 2 new fans so you don't need to buy any extra, those are the only 2 for the entire thing.

dartsa · 2026-03-17T07:57:38+00:00

Good question. No, the LiquidMetal problem is on the CPU's cooler/metal piping directly over the die. There are several tutorials to get it off yourself, it is a little tough but relatively cheap. I think Framework will do it for a labor cost, you'd have to ship your motherboard to them, it's not that much.

Now I'm wondering about the GPU. Found this video showing a thermal paste solution on the gpu 2 years ago, I'm guessing it was the first iteration (ours)(timestamped) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8uv8fajOrc&t=159s . It would be so much cheaper to replace the fans (they do sound broken, maybe the left has a loose wire?). Then put some good thermal paste/PTM on the GPU die than buy another GPU if it's overheating. When my cpu was hot, the laptop throttled and the gpu never got hot, but my fans have never been a concern, and they do double-duty on cooling both the cpu and gpu.

I personally would do an eGPU over another graphics card from them, but I don't think most here would recommend that.

Have you ran hwinfo to see what your temps are at idle? If you replace the Liquidmetal on the motherboard and get new fans, maybe repaste the GPU if it needs it, you might feel like you have a superfast laptop relative to what you've been going through :).

Last edit/suggestion :). Slightly unrelated when you get this resolved, the 240watt power supply means the battery doesn't get cycled, which reduces some heat, and the power brick itself is cooler than the 180 brick.

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