DIY: Dell XPS 702X Overheating fix and Overclocking physical Modification

Greetings-

This DIY will show you how to keep your Dell XPS 702X running in the 45-50 degree temperature range even when running an upgraded Intel 2960XM processor.

The CPU will be running around 49 degrees and the GPU will be running around 43 degrees after the physical modifications. You will be even be able to overclock the Nvidia 555m graphics card from 590mhz to 810MHZ, and games will be stable.

Facts:
I have owned this laptop since 2011. I have cleaned out the vents every couple of months by spraying the fan with air. However, my laptop started to turn off from overheating last week. I took it apart and saw tons of dust and hair that could not be "blown" out by using compressed air.

This is where to physically cut into the laptop:



Temperatures with the above restrained airflow:




Here is the improved air flow after the physical modifications:



The new lowered temperatures from the above physical modifications:




The overheating of the laptop was caused by blocked cooling fins, so just unplug the fan and clean out the dusty fins with a toothbrush:








All the best.

-M

 

This is very interesting.

to clean the fan

I found this entry, this looks bad:

 

See:

https://www.parts-people.com/blog/2014/01/07/dell-xps-l702x-cooling-fan-removal-and-installation/

 

I am not doing that.

 

Hi Master33,

Quite a while ago, you posted a tutorial on how to remove white pressure marks from a laptop screen with a suction cup ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...ht-spots-on-your-lcd-led-panel-screen.764051/). The images contained in the post, however, are not online anymore. I would have replied on the other thread, but unfortunately, it was closed.

Would you happen to still have the pictures that went with the old post?

Thank you in advance!

Cheers,
Mike

Edit: Master33 sent me a private message with the proper link

 

Wow, this is some hack job on how not to do it! At least buy a cutting wheel and some sanding drums to finish the job

 

If you go through all the trouble to cut out huge holes with sharp edges...why not just take the entire back panel off? With these holes, your laptop isn't going to be terribly portable anyway, so taking off the backside makes no difference. However, the upside is that you can still place that backside back on again and have a fully functional laptop.

 

Urgh, that clogged vent is gross. The last time I saw something like that was when I cleaned out a system that had previously belonged to a seriously heavy smoker - the whole system felt sticky and stank of pipe tobacco. If memory serves, I used neat alcohol and a needle to clean the vent out.

 

Is that radiator green from copper oxidation or is the image not rendering properly? If it is oxidation, how did you clean it? If you did not clean the oxidation replacing with an unoxidized radiator might help.

@GoNz0 has a point on the cutouts. I just did something similar to my old MacBook Pro yesterday. I used a small file to deburr and some sandpaper to smooth the edges. It was easy, only took 5 minutes for two fan holes, and looks professional. Might take you 20 minutes and you can just use sandpaper if you don't have tools but a file helps.

Anything entering your holes can short out the system as I can see grounded items and electrical components in your photos. The principal risk of my mod is damaging the fans. I added some fibreglass from a home screen door for some minor protection and filtering. I measured the fibreglass was not conductive.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/extreme-thermal-mods-2007-macbook-pro-3-1.810471/