Replacing laptop fans, and general cooling tips for d830

I'd like to replace the fan in my laptop (Dell's Latitude d830) with a faster/better one. From what I've seen, most people seem to think that this is impossible. I, however, find this hard to believe that Dell would have included the only possible fan that's compatible with this laptop, or that this particular fan is the best possible cooling option. Why is it so hard to upgrade in the first place? I'm sure it can be done, I've opened up my laptop a few times in the past and it's not exactly rocket science. Has anyone successfully done this before? Any links to attempts would be appreciated.

I'd also like to do whatever modifications have been deemed successful for enhanced cooling. This includes updating to the latest bios/drivers, undervolting, removing the plastic vents that cover the exhaust heatsink on the back of the laptop, cleaning out the fans on a regular basis, performing a copper sheet mod, possibly installing copper heatsinks on various internal parts that get hot (I'd like opinions on this, personal experiences and such, because I've heard that it's counter-productive and potentially dangerous but benchmarks have also shown otherwise), and keeping my laptop on a cooling pad. Does anyone have any extra suggestions for further laptop modifications or cooling tips?

I'm also trying to find what the community considers to be the #1 cooling pad for my particular laptop configuration. I've heard that the Cryo LX and the NC1000/2000 were pretty good offerings, but I'm only interested in what would be considered the undeniable king of laptop coolers. I'll probably replace the fans with betters ones anyways to get maximum performance, but it'd be nice to find the best solid base construction.

 

With the mods You've already mentioned, I think You are on the right track. The exhaust vent grille is metal, I believe, as it is on my D630.
I think a better bet would be to get a Penryn-cored C2D processor (T8100, T8300, T9300, T9500), which runs much cooler and does not need a faster running (read: noisier) fan.
With the copper mod, your GPU temps should already have dropped 10-20C, so lets say a T9300 should drop it some more degrees.

I swapped the T7300 processor in my D630 for a T8300. Idle temps dropped to 28C from 48C and full load temps rarely exceed 60C. Non-copper modded idle GPU temps are 59-60C.

 

Dang, that thing's upgradeable?! I thought that laptop CPU's were soldered in there for good, I must've not noticed when I looked inside. Thanks for the heads-up, I suppose it's the GPU that's non-upgradeable.

 

Concerning the fan, have you tried using i8kfangui to speed it up or to run it more often? I don't remember if i8kfangui runs on the Dx30 series, but I'd say it's worth a try. I think the problem with a replacement fan isn't that faster fans don't exist, but that faster fans with the same housing don't exist. I'm fairly certain most laptops use model specific casings for their fans.

Concerning the processor and GPU, Dell's service manual shows you how to change the processor, and the GPU is indeed soldered to the motherboard and not replaceable.

Aside from moving to a 45nm CPU, you can also try moving to a good SSD to further reduce your heat and noise footprint.

 

Are you saying that it's possible that if I upgrade to a faster processor (I'm using the T7250) using 45nm tech, that it'll run cooler than my current fan setup?

BTW yes I do use Ik8fan and I keep it at high most of the time.

I'm also concerned how much more battery life that'll take up? I like to keep alot of battery life on my computer, and the d830's done a great job so far. I know that upgrading from a 7200rpm mech drive to an SSD would save me some power (and also be awesomely-fast).

 

how about adding a small 6mm thick 5V fan and connecting it directly to usb power (usb can supply 5V).

Or even better would be a blower fan.

 

Yes, I am telling you that if you upgrade to a 45nm processor, you will get better performance with lower power consumption.

But if you have i8kfangui running your fan at full speed all the time, and that's still not keeping your processor cool, you should look at dusting the machine out or other causes of heat buildup. I had the fan running at a moderate speed most of the time on my D830 (with a T7300) and it didn't really get that hot...

 

What's the best processor that I can upgrade my laptop to at the moment? I'm not sure what the socket type is on this laptop, so I'm not sure how to go about shopping for one. Are these special CPU's built just for laptops or are these CPU's the same type that I would buy for a desktop computer?

 

sounds like you have a socket P CPU with an 800mhz FSB.

The CPU is special, you cant use a desktop cpu.
You must use a mobile CPU. more specifically, one that is a socket P CPU with an 800mhz FSB.

 

In that case, it looks like these are my options.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...reType=1&ActiveSearchResult=True&Order=PRICED

I'm trying to decide between the Core 2 Duo T9500 or the Core 2 Quad Q9000. From what I've read, the Core 2 Duo will work better with older applications and the Core 2 Quad will be written better for newer applications and games. I have a ton of older applications and games and I plan on rocking Windows XP for a while, but Aion and Modern Warfare 2 are coming out later this year and I might try out Windows 7 eventually. I think I'd want the Quad then, right? But the T9500 is more expensive for some reason, I wonder why.

I cant wait until I make this upgrade and do all the mods and clean-up on my laptop. It's going to be like having a brand-new laptop computer that is more powerful, runs cooler, and has longer battery life!!! I truly do not regret purchasing the Latitude d830, this laptop is GREAT!!!