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

I think its best if you used proper CPU thermal paste. That white goop might freeze up and harden overtime.

 

Well it is thermal paste. Just not any exotic kind. I used it on my Inspiron 9300 CPU that is pinmodded for over a year and it works great. Temps on that CPU never see anything over 45C max.

 

I just did the copper mod and I'm surprised nobody really posts their load temps, only idle temps.

GPU is now idling at 48 C. When I was playing WoW for about 15 minutes with all the graphics settings at their highest values, the max GPU temp was 70 C.

CPU is now idling at 47/42 C and during an Orthos test, they shot up to about 85/90 C. The GPU also increased in temperature, but of course this is expected because they're on the same heatpipe. Playing WoW, it got to about 75/78 C.

Overall, I'm quite satisfied with the GPU temps but the CPU temps raise a bit of concern considering that the Tjunction is 105 C and Orthos came within 10 degrees of that. I know in real-world usage it won't get this high, but I'm used to not seeing anything higher than 65 C, albeit that was on a desktop.

 

How were your Load temps before?

search for an CPU undervolting guide in this forum and it should give you another 10°C off. If you've done that already, buy a notebook stand like the Zalman NC-1000.

Don't say you won't reacht those temps in real-world usage: Transcoding using x264 for your iPhone, PSP, ... comes quite close to those temps.

 

A lot of load temps were posted on other forums. Mine's at 75C max, but my CPU can get over 85 now if I don't up the fan or downclock it. You should keep the CPU under 80 as 80 is the max recommended before life starts dropping off.

 

My load temps are maximum 74C for the GPU and 64C for the CPU. This was using multiple instances of orthos and graphics benchmarking utilities. And to Ranma, which drivers are you using for the GPU? I have found many drivers display 10C less than actual and I think you have one of those. I don't think I have seen any temps under 50C idle for the GPU. With one of the drivers I got 45C idle but with different drivers I get 55C idle.

 

@trebuin - other forums? has this mod reached other forums? could you provide some links (PM is fine) if so?

 

LaptopVideo2Go 169.09.

So I guess my CPU temps are a bit high? I checked the heatsink, there's a nice, thin even spread of AS5 on it. Maybe it'll go down after it cures a bit more or something, since I did do the testing immediately after I applied it.

 

Yeah I believe those are the drivers that report 10C less than actual for GPU. Try other drivers than the 169 series and see if you have different temps.

 

I am running the latest drivers (177.16) and have done the copper mod.
I used arctic cooling MX-2 as the thermal paste as it is non conductive ( Thank God I used it instead of AS5, I accidentally spilled some all over the MB )

My temps Under full load :

CPU : 61, GPU 78 with fan turned off
CPU : 56, GPU 72 with fan managed by the bios
CPU : 52, GPU 71 with fan at high

My idle temps are :

CPU : 39~41 GPU : 57~61 ( Default fan management )
CPU : ~46 GPU :63~65 ( Fan settings managed by 18kgui . Fan starts when
CPU reaches 48 or GPU reaches 68 )
So, usually, My notebook is completely silent. The ambient temperature is ~26

 

You should be cautious that the copper mod and heatsink lay flat. I think if the copper is too thick, it causes the CPU heatsink to angle upwards and no longer makes good contact with the CPU. As a result the mod gives great GPU temps but the CPU temps go well into the 70's and 80's. That's too high and I'd suspect you're heatsink may not be making perfect contact with the GPU. Granted I have an "n = 1" so this isn't scientific and just a theory. I think Hep or someone saw this. You're CPU temps really shouldn't change much post-copper mod I don't think. If you stress GPU (furbar) and CPU (orthos) at the same time you're CPU my get a bit hotter than pre-mod, but I don't think you should break low 70's. Either way, I'd definitely use RMclock to downclock the voltage to the CPU a bit.

 

What bigdaddycadillac said is EXACTLY why I am seeking out slightly thinner copper. Which by the way hasn't come yet
You mailed it out, right?

 

1.5mm did NOT work for me, i had to go to 2.0mm in order for the copper to not slide out from under the thermal cooling assembly. So going thinner might not be a good idea.

 

Question: Would this mod work beneficially on the M1530?

 

No because it doesnt utilize a thermal pad and there is no gap. You will just crack your gpu.

 

Yep. Should be there any day now.

 

Sweet, thanks again!

 

Well, it looks like the copper mod has had no effect for me (or, at least, the effect is negligible.) It was at 57C - 63C during normal usage before, and it still is now.

C'est la vie, I suppose.

 

The LOAD temp's should be much lower around 75c

 

Unfortunately, that isn't too relevant for my purposes; I rariely, if ever, stress the GPU. My usage tends to be limited to office-type activities. I don't do any gaming, nor do I watch movies on the laptop.

I've gone back in and reapplied the AS5 - I was worried I hadn't put quite enough on the first time. I'll post again once I've given it the 200 hours curing time.

 

tabten, you'd have been better off with the GMA X3100 if you don't use the 8400GS. You'd set yourself up for problems at not gain to yourself

 

Sound advice in theory, until you realise that Dell UK do not offer the X3100. It's the 8400GS or nothing.

 

Maybe at the time, when you ordered your M1330. Currently it's available:



N07X3301

 

Yes and no. If you choose any but the least expensive 1330 (£589), and go to customise it, there is no option for the X3100. Only the cheapest version has the choice to upgrade to the 8400GS.

That's not much good if you want other goodies, such as the 64GB SSD (there's no option for that in the cheapest version.)

 

Ahhh, I get it. That sucks man

 

I may have spoken slightly too soon, however. I went back in and reapplied the AS5, and it appears to have taken another couple of degrees off the average temperature during normal usage.

The temperature sits roughly at 55 - 61C; importantly, the fan is hardly ever on (A11 bios).

 

Hey bigdaddy, got the copper today. Thanks again man!

 

WELL AHEM. While trying to get my 1.5mm copper (the .04/.0.5 in is too thin) to not lift my HSF off the CPU, I realized the copper assembly bends easy. and I mean EASY.

I just bent my cooling assembly (took a few tries to get it level) and added only a very thin (.04") copper shim as nothing did not work very well in conjunction with Dell's spring loaded screw. Though I've only just done thing minutes ago, so my AS5 is not nearly cured, my CPU went from 44-45 idle (cured) to 39-40 idle (uncured)

And my GPU is idling at 42-43 (uncured) compared to 45 (cured) before.

I am so freaking happy; once again I've increased my cooling efficiency.


Oh wait, I might not have been undervolting my CPU on those old results. STILL, expecting huge differences from version 1 and even version 2 of my mod.

 

@Hep: 42 - 43C idle for your GPU? That seems to be remarkably, almost unbelievably, good.

 

Well, after being impressed at what this did for temps in my M1330, I performed this feat on my girlfriend's new Inspiron 1420 with 8400. I used the exact same cut of copper as on the M1330, ordered from metaloffcuts.co.uk.
For anyone who's may want to do this, note that the GPU is way harder to get to. The only way to get to it is to remove the motherboard from the notebook, which means complete disassembly. The GPU is on the bottom, between the RAM and the fan assembly. Thankfully Dell provides a service manual with full disassembly details. I will also note that the cooling benefits do not appear to be as drastic as in the M1330, possibly because the 1420 GPU heatsink is seperate from the CPU and seems to be better at cooling than the M1330.
Idle temps dropped from about 65c-70c to 57c-60c. Under load (running all 3DMark06 tests), highest temperature dropped from 85c to 78c. Note that this is with bios A09 and Dell-provided nVidia 175.97 drivers.
Because of my relative comfort with laptop disassembly, I think it was worth doing, especially to see the load temps drop under 80c. My girlfriend sure didn't care to see her laptop splayed across the kitchen table, though. ;-)

 

Well we already know what the problem is, but at least Dell is admitting which lines are affected specifically now

http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2008/07/25/nvidia-gpu-update-for-dell-laptop-owners.aspx

I wonder if their BIOS update is meant to just prolong the GPU's life until most people's warranties are expired. So then they can send out the least amount of replacements.

 

With the latest BIOS (I believe A11, I am going to revert since these run the fan too much) I idle both chips just a few degrees over room temperature. Once I stress, well that's another story... but yeah, I think I've gotten my cooling assembly set up optimally now.

 

where can i find 1.5mm thick copper sheets?

 

I was feeling the HSF today on load, and MY GOD, it gets wayyy too hot. I am not going to make an attempt to replace the bottom panel that covers the memory/cpu/etc with a custom aluminum one, which will rest against the current cooling assembly and act as a heatsink in itself


@lazard - reread the thread. page one links to places to buy the copper.

 

That would be a great idea to replace that panel because I see that it actually insulates the heat from the bottom. I would definitely try and find a way to do that if I had a spare. I really don't wanna lose the warranty on the laptop. But it it were made out of aluminum without any coatings, I would advise against using it on your lap because it would burn your lap.

Also another idea is for those with the heatsinks that does not have those L's rising up can instead and try and use a larger piece of copper and somehow create fins on it to come out the sides to even further increase the cooling capacity, but that would raise the temps of the chips nearby and I don't know how good that would be.

 

My original design for the cooling assembly was going to add copper heat pipes, but we [the people in the topic and myself] decided that it would not be much effect, kind of like making fins. It really needs surface area to lose heat on the outside. What I plan to do it take single side coated black aluminum (one side is painted black, the other side is unfinished) and make a panel similar to the existing one out of it....


But really, I think everything I do from this point on is not going to help much, and the biggest help would be to get/make a cooling pad.

 

http://stores.ebay.com/metaloffcuts

 

Ten Dell models have defective Nvidia GPUs
The Inquirer
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/07/27/dell-models-defective-nvidia

 

Just ordered Arctic Silver and the copper.
My mobo was replaced about a month ago, so I may wait until it fails again before performing this mod. Can't decide.

I'm also curious to see if Dell is actually proactive in fixing this problem.

 

Further update: although it's one of the hottest days of the year in the UK, I'm seeing a further decrease in GPU temperature; the result, I presume, of the AS5 starting to cure.

I now hover between 52C - 57C with Firefox, Outlook 2007 and Word 2007 open.

Looks like the mod was worth it after all! Thanks to everyone for all their hard work in putting this guide together.

 

I think that the poll should be public, this could be more useful for new modders because they can PM those users in order to get tips/advices, ask for their new temperatures etc.

You know like have a "control".

 

Just did the mod with AS5 and 1.5mm copper shim. Used Intel TAT for CPU and DX9 Real-Time High-Dynamic Range Image-Based Lighting (rthdribl) for GPU with 8x multisampling. Temperature measured with rivatuner using the overlay server and hwmonitor (max). The fan seems to run more often but at much slower speed even though the temperatures for both is in the 50s.

Ambient temp 25C

Idle
Before --> 55/65C
After ---> 42/54C
Delta ---> -13/-11C

Full Load
Before --> 82/99C
After ---> 78/78C
Delta ---> -4/-21C

Not sure why the CPU under full load doesn't decrease much at all.

 

Just applied the mod, and so far things are looking good. In some cases, too damn good to be true!



Before mod, A04 Mobo, A12 BIOS:

Idle
CPU 1: 47°C
CPU 2: 48°C
GPU : 58°C

Quicky session of TF2
CPU 1: 73°C
CPU 2: 83°C
GPU : 90°C



After mod, A04 Mobo, A12 BIOS:

Idle
CPU 1: 45°C ( -2°C)
CPU 2: 46°C ( -2°C)
GPU : 49°C ( -9°C)

Quicky session of TF2
CPU 1: 74°C ( +1°C)
CPU 2: 74°C ( -9°C)
GPU : 68°C ( -22°C!!!)

Quicky session of Homeworld2
CPU 1: 79°C
CPU 2: 80°C
GPU : 68°C

3DMark06 stress test
CPU 1: 79°C
CPU 2: 80°C
GPU : 68°C


I wish I had done a 3DMark test before modding the notebook, but I didn't get the chance. In any case, the drastic drop of 22 degrees while gaming had me dumbfounded. The GPU now never goes above 68 degrees. The only thing that worries me is the CPU hitting 80. Is that normal or should I be concerned about that?

I'll run the numbers again in a week or so to see if that changes anything.

 

did u apply fresh TIM on the CPU? if not u might wanna do that to drop your temps i added AC5 on my CPU and it dropped temps to around 36-37C idle and low 60s on load with orthos test

 

I'm assuming that by TIM you mean arctic silver 5 thermal compound?

If so, then yes. Cleaned off the old stuff on the CPU and heat sink, applied a new layer, and put the heat sink back on.

 

Would this mod work with the m1530 also?

 

No, the m1530 doesnt use a thermal pad. Its a direct contact to the heatsink, which is better.

 

Could this mod be adapted to the Vostro 1400?

 

I believe someone wanted to adapt it to the Vostro 1310, but nothing really came of it. Take some pictures of the cooling assembly, who knows. Might be possible.

 

The Vostro 1400 and Inspiron 1420 are essentially the same computer. You should be able to replace the cooling pad with copper, but it will involve complete disassembly.