Dell SXPS 13 : Cooling solutions?

Hello!
I'm thinking of buying a SXPS 13, but I read that it is very warm compared to other 13" laptops, and it is not really pleasant for a "lap" usage.

Did any of you try advanced methods to improve the cooling system, such as adding a thermal compound, replacing the fan, changing the voltage in the BIOS?

Did it work? Did it avoid the warranty?

I also have one unrelated question, but I don't want to create a new topic for this: Does the display port allow us to use a Dual Screen?

Thank you!

Nathan

 

If you are just doing light stuff like surfing the web, the Studio XPS 13 runs very cool. But when gaming, the notebook does get fairly hot. It's not that bad actually, I dont think extra cooling is necessary.

 

Just have a read of this. SXPS 1340 Over Heating

 

Hmm... The 1340 doesn't look like a smart choice at the moment I guess!
I hope they will fix their mobo/vent cover problem soon! I will definitely ask about it before buying!
I'll also pick a G210M graphic chipset, that seems to produce less heat.

I already own an Inspiron 1720 powered by a T7500 and a 8600GT and I have similar issues... I guess Dell's engineers have to improve their heatsinks designs!

Nathan

 

There is other issues with the 1340 which you can find on the same forum and noted by Dell.

 

Well, nobody knows exactly how much heat that G210 will produce, so it's still a guess at best. Also, since BIOS A11, I've had no issues (actually, A07 was great for heat) and had more power management options. When gaming, I use a Zalman laptop cooler anyway, so no issues.

 

Do you have a link for the laptop cooler? I might be interested by this.

Speaking of the 1340 graphics, I heard that what Dell sells as a GeForce 9500 is in fact a GeForce9400 + GeForce9200 SLI (When the computer is on battery it uses only the 9400 and when you plug it in it activates the 9200 too.) I don't really like that, because the performance are not as good as it should be:

3D Mark 06 Benchmarks:
Measured on a Dell SXPS 13 powered by what they call "GeForce 9500M":
- On battery (9400, no SLI) : 2112
- Plugged in (9400+9200): 3288
Notebookcheck.net benchmarks:
- 9500M GS: 3627
- 9500M G: 3435
- G210M: 3310
...

You're right, I don't know if the G210 is less warm, I just assumed it would be, because the power consumption is lower, and based on my previous experiences, it is usually linked.

 

You just change your power profile, and that will enable SLI on demand. Also, I haven't seen confirmation that the 210 is NOT an SLI product. Have you? The 210 is a smaller fab, but clocked considerably higher from what I read, and increased clock speed usually means more voltage, and then more heat. The 210 should be better than what I have, but what I have plays the few games I bother with just fine (GTR Evolution, UT3, Metal Drift). For me, it seems like the whole SLI thing is hindering performance more than helping, and I'd rather just see it commit completely to the other adapter (I think Sony did this with Intel embedded and NVIDIA graphics for gaming) as some games just don't "get it" and gain nothing or go slower while generating a lot more heat.

 

I had some heat issues with my XPS 1340 and bought the Belkin cooler. I updated the BIOS to A11 and I havent used the cooler since. Thinking about just giving the cooler to my brother. I have the 9500M card and am perfectly happy with it.

 

Here's the Zalman cooler I use:

http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-NC1000...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1258258052&sr=8-2

You can get it in black, too.

 

Ok, so I read more articles about the G210M and here is what I learned:

The SXPS 13 "G210M" uses SLI with a 9400M, and the performances are there!!! Source

So, to sum up:
- On battery it uses only 9400M, it is the same as the 9500/9400 version, so you got the exact same battery life.
- Plugged in it uses a 9400M/G210M SLI, ==> 4751 points at 3DMark06, average ==> Almost as good as a 9600M GT

If I got it right, it really looks interesting!


Last thing, according to notebookcheck.net, "As its predecessor, it features 16 shaders but the clock rates have been greatly increased. Because of the 40nm process the maximum power consumption stays the same."

Nathan