PICS of my new, cooler running E6400 (internals)

I just so happen to still have my earlier Latitude which will be going back to DELL on Monday.

Here are the pics for both the new and old Latitudes (the first two are the new one, second two the old):









I know ive said it before but I will say it again: the temp differences between these two machines is UNBELIEVABLE. I ran both machines side by side under the EXACT same stresses and in the same environments. My old machine averaged 5-8 degrees higher temps. My new one barely gets above 40 no matter what I do.
There is a substantial difference just in temps of the housings themselves.

As a result, the noise differential is huge and the fan on the new machine is all but non-existent.

What a pleasure...

 

The heatsink looks the same on those two.

 

Jordan, this is NOT normal.
It should not take the fan/machine 10+ minutes to cool the system down to a point where the fans drops from the highest speed (4K+rpm) to its middle or lowest settings.
The room temp is no doubt contributing to your lowered threshold, but we are talking about a quality dedicated GPU here housed by a quality computer. The thermal environment should allow for proper heat dissipation/cooling to allow for your system usage plus two external monitors, let alone one.

The fan noise for me was unbearable, hence my decision to return my second unit. I hope this doesn't happen to you but my guess is the problem will only get worse (an increased inability to handle the temps resulting in an increased high speed fan usage and ultimately hardware degradation/malfunction).
I would call DELL and at a minimum, begin documenting your complaints/problems with them over the phone. That way, you will have more going in your favor if the machine does actually deteriorate.

 

@ akwit: It would also be useful to compare with CPU voltages and temperatures for the new and old computers.

The focus of our discussion so far has been on the cooling system, but it might also be that the CPU in your new E6400 may be running at a lower voltage (=less heat) than the old E6400.

John

 

How would I go about doing that?

 

Run RMClock and see what voltages show up on the profiles page under no load and full load. Select mobile CPU on the advanced settings page to make sure the voltages are reported properly.

John

 

I concede that my original hypothesis about faulty coolers was wrong.

I can't seem to make out any difference whatsoever between Akwit's 2 systems. Perhaps they're using better grade copper? Maybe they're using better thermal paste, better thermal pads, or have eliminated the thermal pads completely? Hard to say from just a surface shot.

Personally, I don't see the voltages idea as bearing any fruit. I would guess that since his problem occurred when docked (right?), the graphics was under more stress. I don't see Dell underclocking the CPU from the factory - I'm sure Intel has some specifications that manufacturers have to adhere to. I don't think that they could have done anything to the GPU either...

 

The CPU shares the same cooling system so it could contribute to the problem. There is a wide range of allowable voltages and power consumption for what are nominally the same CPUs. The specs indicate the maximum values (eg the 25W TDP for the P series) but most use less power. A cool-running CPU would mean a cooler heat pipe better able to dispose of the heat from the GPU.

Voltage is one indicator of CPU power consumption but the temperatures of the two cores, but for idle and full load are another clue. My P8600 has one core that is noticeably cooler than the other (about 4C difference when idle, 8C under load).

John

 

As a side note, $2 could make a huge difference on a high volume system like the E6400. My guess is Dell has likely shipped more than a million of these systems andif over half of those are the Intel integrated GPU that could make for over a ~$1 million savings. In that perspective it makes a lot of sense.

 

My guess is that akwit's new E6400 has a better thermal contact between the GPU and the heatsink, whether it is a better thermal pad, a copper pad or a better thermal grease.

I am currently gathering evidence for Dell Finland regarding this issue. All of you that have or had the issue are cordially invited to post on this thread.