Dell XPS M1330 - nVidia GeForce 8400M GS - Copper Mod

Hi guys I have the exact same problem with my cousin's XPS 1330 laptop. My problem is that before i going doing the cooper mod i wanted to make sure if my laptop is still working. Currently the laptop is not displaying the bios or anything anymore, i have installed windows xp on the system not know the problem was the GPU not the OS. My question is it worth it to do the mod right now even though i haven't seen anything on the display since i installed xp. I am not sure if the gpu or motherboard is died but did anyone report of display working right after the mod or was it working before modding it. thanks in advance sorry for my bad english.

 

okay, say i went ahead with the copper mod and im well within my warranty period. If later i wanted to send it back, how difficult would it be to reattach the thermal pad?

That is to say, How is it originally stuck on? is it a special adhesive, or is it something easily available?

 

there is no adhesive, just the thermal pad. Just be careful as it is very easy to destroy it when removing it.

 

Eh, I had my motherboard replaced again, after doing the copper mod due to a charging issue, the dell tech didn't look twice at the AS5 I had on the heatsinks and chipsets. I just removed the copper piece before he arrived.

 

I've heard M1330's GPU will get some proplem after runing few months.
I wonder do copper mod will prevent GPU failure?

 

READ POST ONE.
WILL NOT PREVENT FAILURE.
Should prolong life, but GPU failure IS INEVITABLE.

 

Thanks a lot for the detailed 'copper mod' guide ...

It seems i'll have to do it as my lappy has started flickering, showing all sorts of color as soon as it reaches beyond 71 - 74 deg Cel (, using Speedfan 4.37). Until 5 days ago I was able to run the machine quite nicely up to 90+ ( iirc, the highest I saw was 93 deg Cel). But generally it used to be stable with a temperature range of 60-75, depending on my work load (a peak load example: matlab, browsing, music, h264, bbc hd stream, video encoding, etc all running together)

I was wondering, should I pursue copper mod BEFORE sending it to Dell for a replacement or later, if and when fails completely?.. I have 3 yrs service warranty (only 5-6 months passed).

FYI: T9300, GPU 128 MB, RAM 4GB, 320 WDC*

* WDC = is that western digital?

 

Don't do the copper mod - it's already dying.

Try your hardest to nuke it, get Dell to replace it, then do the copper mod.

 

any idea how to nuke it 'properly'?

 

Block the vents on the back, I would use a blanket. Then run 3dmark06 constantly until the computer crashes. Doing this once a day for a week or so should kill the GPU.

 

after taking the hit 6 weeks out of warranty and having the mobo replaced by Dell (with an A00 mobo), I've now installed the mod.

I'm now down about 18 degrees C on the GPU temps; CPU cores appear the same or lower.

I used John from the Metal cutoffs - excellent guy, good price, quick delivery!!

 

Here is my story... I get artifacts on my computer after sometime turning it on.
My fan stopped working, does anyone know if i can swap it with a different kind of Fan?

I ordered the copper from ebay already should be here anytime soon.

I am guessing I'm getting these artifacts because my fan stopped working.

By the way I have the integration Intel Graphics.

How many degrees should I be looking at for core 1 core 2 and cpu temp.

Thanks.

 

If your fan stopped working, you might need to get a new one. Either that, or the fan's power stopped working. Might have come loose.

Return your copper. If you have integrated, you aren't going to need it or use it. The copper mod is only for the Nvidia 8400 GPU. If you have integrated, there won't even be a chip for you to put the copper sheet on.

If you're within warranty, it'd be best just to call and ask for a new fan to install. If you're out of warranty, check ebay for a new XPS m1330 fan assembly.

 

I'm a new user here, brought by this thread. I want to say "Thanks!" to everyone involved.
I purchased a Dell Vostro 1510 recently off of eBay from a Dell Certified Refurb. seller. I'm getting GPU temps of 105C+ (seen as high as 111C!). The laptop came with a 90-day warranty, so I'm going to look into utilizing it, but if what I'm reading is correct, there's nothing they can do.
So I'm thinking this mod is the way to go. With that being said, has anyone settled on a thickness for the copper plate for the Vostro series? I've been looking at eBay for copper shim stock, but can't seem to find anything useful. Could someone please provide some links for applicable stock? I don't mind testing sizes, but if someone already has an answer, I'd prefer it
Also, if I'm measuring, do I want the copper plate to be the exact thickness as the thermal pad, or a little smaller (to allow for expansion upon heating)?
Thanks for the answers in advance, and thanks again for all the good info so far! I'm a desktop enthusiast (love my watercooled rigs, etc.), but this is a whole new world for me! I'm excited to delve in... (and get my laptop running properly!)

 

Just as a heads up to this community, it appears that on the Vostro 1500, there isn't a blue thermal pad, but rather just a think bit of the pink bubble gum type thermal crud... So just TIM should be fine. Here's a link to a thread I started, with some good info that comes up in response:
http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.asp?m=100529205&mpage=1&key=�

 

Interesting update from Nvidia ...

 

Very interesting indeed.

Doesn't seem like from Nvidia or the article they plan on doing anything other than replacing the motherboards as they have been. Only 22% of the allotted money spent so far.

 

silver 5 and copper sheet ordered on ebay

will make mod after receiveng

 

Sold my M1330 today instead, never a Dell again.

 

Not a bad plan. I ditched out on my M1330s a while ago.
Dell is still a very good brand compared to many others - this is not entirely their fault. Hold it against them, but don't leave Dell because of this [though I myself have left all but the Latitude series for other reasons].

 

Yeah you are right, i remember the old Acer laptops 10 years ago that overheated and broke down.

 

So the thickness for the vostro 1400 is 1mm ? is that ontop of the existing copper plate that dell puts ? thanks.. Do you still have the pieces cut to size? Id gladly take one off your hands

 

Dell putting copper plates in their units now? Dont thinks so some how well not for aiding the heat issue.

 

There was one in my vostro but .... Didnt make contact really . Waiting to hear back on the thickness required

 

I used to do this mod on my Precision M60 about 6 years back using a 99% pure copper penny + AS5; & did several of them for various forum members back then...looks like the good old days are back with these overheating NVidia GPUs

 

Great guide. I decided to do the copper mod myself because of this.

Take a look: Copper Mod Post

I linked back to this page because I felt that it was such a quality guide.

 

should i be worried if i don't play games just watch movies only?

 

Yes, just not as worried.

 

if it dies, could i just replace it with a new card?

 

Dell won't replace it for you, but you can buy the motherboard from ebay with the Intel X3100 and replace the whole motherboard with that, yes.

 

And if you go for the intel make sure you get then heatsink cooling unit n fan for the mobo.

 

guys! i have arctic mx-5. do i still put the paste in replacement of the AS5 as used? even though this one's better, i duno if a ceramic would be able to be spread out as THINLY as a silver compound. advise please!

also, should i coppermod my northbridge too? if so, how? same type of copper? i just ordered 1.5mm 14mmx14mm sheet from ebay for the GPU.

 

It shouldn't be a problem.

 

hmm. i was seeing the past few pages of this thread. was thinking, since AS5 is conductive, there might be a risk of short-circuit if the layer of AS5 is applied too thick and thus causing overflow? coz the setting period is much longer.

 

Yes, if someone applies AS5 like an idiot, there's a risk of that. But if you're an idiot, you shouldn't open up your laptop to begin with
Thermal grease is meant to be applied in a thin layer, and evened out BEFORE applying the heatsink. It is not meant to be globed on, then the pressure of the heatsink flattens it out and you have the risk of overflow.

 

lol k. i've applied MX-5 on my cpu and its down by a few degrees. when you're saying thin layer, do you mean "as thin as there is no unapplied gap"? or a bit thicker than that?

 

Almost as thin as you can get is how thick you want thermal grease to be. It's not meant to be a conduit for heat, it's meant to just fill microscopic gaps between two materials.

 

got it buddy! imma wait for my copper sheet to fly over. haha. oh yea. i edited my first post. shud i do coppermod on my northbridge too? or is there not a necessity? i mean, i dun mind bringing the temps down since it doesn't take much work.

 

Not necessary. People who have done it have posted negative results (raised NB temps).

 

ok. i'll be waiting for my copper sheet then. probably do a report here too. XD

 

Is the blue screen of death in Vista "IRQ_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL" related to the breaking down of the GPU ?

 

Could very well be, but that's an extremely broad BSOD caused by many things.

 

Hep! i've visited ur signature's links. any more tips for m1330 users?

 

You could check out the undervolting guide, but that's good for any laptop user.

 

I'm pretty sure this has been said somewhere before, but I can't find it. What seems to be the average age of a new mobo w/ copper mod? I'm about to reach the 6-month mark with my replacement mobo and I'm a bit worried. I did the copper mod right after I got it replaced, so I'm hoping for it to be a bit longer than 6 months, but how much more? Thanks!

 

People have gone for a year+ no problems, others have witnessed signs of oncoming GPU death within a month. It's really a grab bag, but the way you use your laptop makes a difference.

 

Thanks for the fast reply! I guess I'll keep my fingers crossed then

 

If I had an M1330 I planned on keeping, I would up my warranty to the longest available period. The M1330 will be obsoleted and parts will be scarce in 2 or so years. When it kicks the can (which it undoubtedly will) at that time, Dell will have no choice but you completely replace your unit. This is always an upgrade, so really - considering that? I kinda wish I'd hung onto my M1330 just to get a free replacement in 2 years

 

Because it is happening more frequent around last month than any other past months. I got crashed 3 times just last week, but as you said it is very broad range of causes...
I hope it is not...

 

If you're under warranty, just have Dell fix it. If not, you can at least narrow things down by running a memtest, hard drive test, video memory stress test, GPU burn in test, etc.