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

After we do this mod, should we revert back to a previous bios so that the fan is not constantly always on? Which bios? Thank you very much.

 

You should stick with A11, at least when my new mobo and materials come, that's what I'll be using.

 

Be careful with A11.... I upgraded to it and had to figure out why my system went dead. For some reason, it would not accept 2 sticks of RAM. Had to remove, go to safe mode with one stick, go down to 09 and alls fine again..

Was the freakiest thing so...tried it again...same same..

 

Hey Les, was that 4GB (or 2) in total? [EDIT] Nevermind, I just saw the 4GB in your sig (hard to miss, but I managed... lol).

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@Johnny13oi: My theory's that A11 shouldn't make a difference with a post Cu-Modded 1330 as the trigger value's something like 65C instead of 70C (for the GPU, in any case). At least this is what one member implied. I'm still on A09 and so I have no personal experience with A11.

Since your GPU shouldn't hit 65C @idle (w/CuMod), there should be no difference between the various BIOS versions. Like I wrote elsewhere, my 1330 now goes much longer before triggering the fan and the trigger temp(s) seem to be one of either 48C/50C/64C for the core 0/1 and GPU, respectively.

I'm guessing it's the 50C Core1 that triggers my fan now, but it used to be the GPU when it hit ~67C (and core1 was only @46C).

Please feel free to post your own observations with A11 and let us know at what temp the fan starts to spin at. You can use 18kfangui to monitor all three temps (as long as you calibrate the GPU temp which is usually 10C too low). I define "idle" as no foreground activity (not even surfing).

Thx & cheers m8

 

Dell is only allowing Dell branded Hynix Memories with A11 BIOS revision

My colleague tried 2x2GB generic memory sticks and it works. I wonder why it didn't work for you.

 

Got my mobo and copper today. Didn't get my AS5 yet but I still had a tiny bit left. Did the mod, my idle temps are 51CPU/62GPU.

Don't have much room for comparison though. Didn't even fire up this board on the original cooling.

Of course, my AS5 still needs to cure.

 

question, has anyone tried not using a copper sheet?
i mean, apply as5 directly to the heatsink (attached to the copper tubing) and the GPU/CPU?

 

there is about a 1.7mm gap between the heatpipe and gpu - using that much thermal paste wouldn't being efficient.

 

Sounds reasonable enough. A bit more info would be cool, though:
Ambient temp, idle temp "range" (is 62GPU max @idle, etc.)? Lastly, the results are only truly appreciated during a full load (i.e. 3DMark06 - Freeze).

fwiw, my own current stats:

C0 @36-48/ C1@38-50/ GPU@54-64 @idle,
C0 @57/ C1@60/ GPU@71 @3DM06-Freeze
C0 @58/ C1@60/ GPU@73 @3DM06-Freeze, 450/650 mild OC.
Amb = 24C, Mobo = A04, BIOS = A09.

 

I plan on not using my laptop for a few days until the AS5 cures. I'll be doing more extensive testing then. Those temps are from a cold boot running it for maybe 30-45 mins, then taking temps.

 

Wow, Sinstoic, great job with the pics :yes:

Just one question, though - I personally don't apply paste to both the chip and heatsink (as depicted for the CPU).

Was that a recommendation that you read somewhere?

 

It is optional. It all depends on how much Thermal Compound you used in the first place.

 

The guide has been updated with new content and reorganized for better readability. Also added some real photographs.

 

I believe someone asked before why copper instead of alumium. Heres is an FYI.

Copper (Cu) has better thermal conductivity and smaller thermal expansion than aluminium (Al). This is why copper is best suited for notebook heatsinks.

Copper
Thermal conductivity (300 K) 401 W·m−1·K−1
Thermal expansion (25 °C) 16.5 µm·m−1·K−1

Aluminium
Thermal conductivity (300 K) 237 W·m−1·K−1
Thermal expansion (25 °C) 23.1 µm·m−1·K−1

Glass
Thermal conductivity 1.1 W·m−1·K−1

Diamond
Thermal conductivity 900 – 2320 W.m K-1

Now who wants to use diamond as the material???

 

hahah diamond would be crazy. And I would think that it would scar the hell out of the GPU core causing damage to it.

 

lol I would use a gold sheet instead of the copper one, but that could be expensibe .

 

Seriously, does anyone really use metals other than Aluminium and Copper for thermal cooling?

 

Indeed gold is better than copper for thermal cooling, but as you know its expensive.

Btw I could use a silver plate since the silver is CHEAP in Mexico, I guess no more than 20USD for that little square.

 

you honestly wouldn't see much improvement using silver, because the cooling assembly itself is made out of copper and aluminum. You'd see it if you replaced the whole cooling assembly, but there is plenty of heat transfer with copper, or even aluminum.

 

Real quick anyone since Im now getting it off ebay...whats better Arctic Silver Ceramique or AS5?

 

Diamond... made me chuckle! May be someone will introduce a limited edition with diamonds for the rich nutters

AFAIK, copper is the most efficient solution. I'm thinking of it myself (if &) when I get my XPS_m1330. Out of curiosity, do you guys think i'll need to is though? - because I'll be using for largely video encoding (1080p, H264) and for math & statistical simulation (MATLAB) and analysis (STATA). I generally keep my laptop open 24x7, only off 10-20 mins in every 7 days.

 

Arctic Silver 5. Check out the FAQs in the updated post.

 

The problem is in the Thermal Cooling Assembly and it is a ticking time bomb. Even if nVidia provides the rectified Chips to Dell to replace with the System Boards, Dell will still have to improve the cooling system. Till then, this Copper Mod is your only solution.

PS: This is my 1000th post. Looking back, it has been a wonderful journey.

 

Well I just ordered the silver plate from a local jewelry store 14mmX14mmX1.5mm, and wasnt that expensive at all... I paid like 4USD. Im waiting for the next Wednesday to look at it.

Btw the gold plate was like 23USD but you know...

 

Looks like you were born with a Silver Spoon!

 

Gold isnt as good of a conductor as you think. Silver slightly is better than copper but more expensive. Remember it needs to be 99% pure for it to be truly conductive.

Copper would still be the best choice for heat conductor. It is also the best for electrical conductors, thats why we use it for wires.

Gold
Thermal conductivity (300 K) 318  W·m−1·K−1
Thermal expansion (25 °C) 14.2

Silver
Thermal conductivity (300 K) 429  W·m−1·K−1
Thermal diffusivity (300 K) 174 mm²/s

So it goes from Aluminium > Gold > Copper > Silver > Diamond

 

I guess a lot of you guys are trying to be more catholic than the Pope!

Copper and Aluminum are enough.

 

I wanted to add a few observations having modded my 1330 and being a noob to the world of modding/thermal paste/etc (this was my first time).

1) The "L" shaped brackets on my HS assembly (HSA) protrude, unlike those in the picture, which appear to be recessed. In this case its critical to position the copper mod (CM) on the HSA first since putting it on the chip first will most likely result in improper orientation.

2) I used AC MX-2 in an effort to be different It was easy to spread on (I only put it on each chip's face, then on the 1 side of the CM which contacts the HSA. It was "sticky" enough that I could position the copper in between the L's, then lay the assembly on the chip. Must have worked perfectly the first time since my temp drops have been great. Take care with the copper shavings since they will F up your machine if they get inside and don't breathe them in.

3) I lapped my copper with 1000, 1500, then 2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper using mineral spirits as my sanding lube. Then cleaned with pure acetic acid, followed by laboratory grade 100% ethanol. My copper came out all shinny, but man, what a pain in the ass. My fingers still hurt. Can't say if it was worth it or not, but I thought I'd share.

4) When you benchmark and/or if you're temped to overclock (I was!), make sure you stress your GPU with something like ATItool or Furbar AND with a CPU stresser like Orthos (you should be able to google each of these). Since the both chips share that one dinky heatpipe, the temp of one will increase the other and if both are stressed there will be an additive thermal effect. My GPU won't break low 70's even overclocked to around 550/750, but will go up to about 81 if both CPU and GPU are concurrently max stressed.

5) Thermal pad is easy to remove using a razor blade. Be safe and use one.

6) Just an aside: Dell used WAYYYY too much thermal paste on the stock CPU

7) onlinemetals.com has various thicknesses of copper in both 101 and 110 varieties. Copper is very cheap at 0.55" x 0.55" (less than a dollar) but shipping is about 7 bucks. They shipped within 36 hours. Your copper won't be less than 0.55x0.55 but might be a tad bigger, so you might need about 2 minutes of filing on the sides to get it to fit within the L brackets (assuming yours protrude like mine). One side is fairly polished, the other eh. I'd recommend a minute of 400 and 800 grit on each side just to be sure its flat and lets be honest, we want to do this once then forget about it, right? But don't waste your time with serious lapping, since as Traveller pointed out astutely, the HSA where the copper goes isn't lapped. Again, careful with the copper grit. It gets everywhere. Wear gloves.

8) My temps before were (about) 65 idle/normal tasks to over 100 degrees if I stressed using Furbar alone (until the Dell induced downclocking of the GPU put my temps in the low 90's). This was with a computer bought new in June with the A10/11 bios. Now my temps are about 56/70 idle/stressed and my fan doesn't even kick on to max.

I've been able to over clock to 585/785 and I test for errors/stress with Atitool and Orthos (blend test) running at the same time. So GPU and CPU and RAM are 100% maxed out. My temps never break 82 on the GPU and about 67 on the CPU. Ambient temps in San Francisco are on the cool side, around 20 Celsius. I could probably push my clocks a touch more, but I don't want too and I really don't recommend overclocking anyway. I just wanted to try it. I can play FEAR on medium settings 1028 x 700-something resolution. Before this it was like all low settings at 800x600 and the forced downclock at 100 degrees makes game play nearly impossible (I'm not a gamer, but I wanted to try it)

 

Wow those overclocks sound amazing and temps sound great too.

 

bigdaddy, nice results and good writeup, just want to say though that no, everyone has protruding L's, which is why they were a problem to begin with and getting the correct size for copper was so important.

 

I just got my copper from the uk company today. I'll do the mod tomorrow and post results.

14mm x 14mm x 1.5mm

 

In the audiophile world, silver's king! Being a poor audiophiler myself, I settle for oxygen-free Cu Peanut butter and jelly...

 

anyone with a long warranty doing this mod, and going to switch the copper mod out if they need 2 send to dell?

and how good is dell warranty? my sales text shows

not NBD, but if my laptop goes out on monday, when would they come?


and how good is the chance of dell replacing my m1330 with a new model 3 years into the warranty?

i'll check the temp of my m1330(coming tuesday ) unstressed and stressed, see if i want to try this mod

 

I don't (see my HSF pic if you like - link in my sig).

 

Which screw driver do I need for the heatsink (technical head name and size please)?

 

Its called a non-magnetic philips "screwdriver that fits"

 

I guess a PH0 would do the job .

 

Phillips Screwdriver - #0. It is in the updated post.

 

I was 3 weeks into a 3 year complete care warranty. I don't see how you could get busted doing this mod. Its fully reversible.

 

I'm itching to do this, but I'm way too impatient to order copper online. Does anyone know a place I can go buy it in person? I'll probably go hit up all the craft stores in my area and see what I can find.

 

I don't think I have either Isopropyl Alcohol or Acetone. Is there something around the house I could use instead, or just not use them at all.

does rubbing alcohol work?

 

rubbing alcohol is isopropyl alcohol
make sure it's 80% or higher!

if you read my first (first first) thread, where I just discussed my ideas, before I actually did it or posted a tutorial, I searched my local area to no avail. You might have better luck, but I ordered copper from that UK metal store and got it within just a few days (ordered friday on a holiday weekend, got it monday)

 

Thankyou.

...

 

Thanks! My local craft stores only had rolls of thin, foil-like copper, around 36 gauge. As it turns out, my mother does jewelry crafting and may actually have some thick sheets of copper that she orders online from somewhere. Failling that, I'll just put in an order from that UK place.

 

I just bought some "100% Acetone" nail polish remover

it's only two ingredients are acetone and denatonium benzoate

would this be okay to use?

also I can't get the fan unplugged lol - it is jammed pretty good

 

got the fan, it was jammed in the socket

 

MPC, someone else said not to use nail polish remover. I have no idea why though, it's the acetone I always use, and it's not failed me. Just make sure it's not contaminated with nail polish.

 

it is 100% acetone and works wonders. It worked here. I"ll post temps later.

 

I just got finished playing TF2 for on hour and my gpu temp is...

63C (after screwing in a screw I forgot )

fantastic - I used arctic cooling MX-2 (no conductive!) and put paste on the heat pipe and the gpu, with the copper in between.

My idle temps haven't changed at all, but this mod creates a wall that my gpu just won't go over very easily. Sweetness will ensue.

using hwmonitor btw

 

There is difference between Acetone sold as Acetone and Acetone sold as Nail Enamel/Polish remover.

Acetone based Nail Enamel/Polish Removers must be avoided as they contain Fragrance Oils and other contaminants that may reduce Thermal Conductivity.