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    M1330, fan suddenly constantly on

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by JonnyWeir, Nov 3, 2009.

  1. JonnyWeir

    JonnyWeir Notebook Geek

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    Hey guys,

    About two weeks ago I noticed my Dell M1330 fan was constantly running on the slow speed. Whatever I did, it just wouldn't shut up. Especially when I was running a graphically demanding game, the fan would go nuts, running at maximum power.

    I followed a tutorial to clean the dust out of the fan but it didn't fix anything. Today, I got frustrated with it, followed a tutorial to undervolt my CPU, downgraded my nVidia drivers to 167.45 (which apparently lowers GPU temp) and installed I8Kfan to try and fix it.

    With I8Kfan, it is kind of like it used to be. I've had the computer for a year and six months and before this it was running almost completely silently unless I was watching a long movie/using heaps of tabs in a web browser/etc. Now, if I don't have I8Kfan set to kick the fans in at 60c they go all the time.

    I even tried downgrading my BIOS to A14 because I read here that it could help. Still, no dice.

    Can anybody tell me how I might be able to fix this incredibly irritating problem?

    Cheers,

    Jonny
     
    JonnyWeir, Nov 3, 2009
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  2. JonnyWeir

    JonnyWeir Notebook Geek

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    Just an update to this post - I've noticed that even with I8Kfan the fan still 'hiccups' occasionally. Every five minutes or so it will kick in for 2 or 3 seconds and then cut out again.

    If anything, possibly more annoying than a constant fan noise.
     
    JonnyWeir, Nov 3, 2009
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  3. JonnyWeir

    JonnyWeir Notebook Geek

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    Another update - this is so annoying I am literally about to throw this computer through a wall.
     
    JonnyWeir, Nov 3, 2009
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  4. lordnikon

    lordnikon Notebook Evangelist

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    My fan behaves the same way. Since the nvidia chip is so hot the fan needs to be constantly on. Although not advisable, you can use manual fan control and set it to maintain minimum speed, which is relatively quiet and see whether the temperature stays constant.
     
    lordnikon, Nov 4, 2009
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  5. JonnyWeir

    JonnyWeir Notebook Geek

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    What I don't get, though, is that it didn't do this for a year and a half and suddenly it's started. My friend's XPS m1330 was purchased six months before mine. Comparing the two today, his fan only goes on under maximum stress whereas mine is now constant at slow speed
     
    JonnyWeir, Nov 4, 2009
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  6. glalo042

    glalo042 Notebook Guru

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    my fan sometimes does that but it mostly depends where I use it and if there are lots of things lying around the laptop
     
    glalo042, Nov 4, 2009
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  7. lordnikon

    lordnikon Notebook Evangelist

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    What bios version does he have? I know that before version A12, the fan was relatively quiet but after that, the fan kicked in much earlier. This was Dell's answer for improving thermal control.
     
    lordnikon, Nov 4, 2009
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  8. JonnyWeir

    JonnyWeir Notebook Geek

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    I did have A15 but I downgrade to A9 yesterday to see if that made a difference. It didn't, really - my GPU seems to be idling about 60c (which, from what I have read, is rather normal for the hot unit) but my CPU is constantly sitting in the 60C-70C range. I think I'm going to have to copper mod.
     
    JonnyWeir, Nov 4, 2009
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  9. lordnikon

    lordnikon Notebook Evangelist

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    Are you still under warranty? Doing the copper mod will make it void. The CPU should generally be a lot cooler than the GPU. Either you don't have enough thermal paste or it is not seated properly. The copper mod doesn't do anything to the CPU.
     
    lordnikon, Nov 4, 2009
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  10. JonnyWeir

    JonnyWeir Notebook Geek

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    Ah okay, cheers. No, I'm not under warranty anymore so I figured I may as well just do it anyway because the thing gets incredibly hot. I'll crack it open and see how the cooling system is sitting.

    EDIT: After opening up the L-shaped casing and removing the cooling assembly, it appears to be a thermal paste to CPU issue. From how I understand it, the thermal paste is supposed to provide a heat transferance buffer between the CPU and the coolant line thingy. The paste appears to have mostly melted away and I imagine there'd be something of a gap between CPU and coolant line thingy.

    Should I try and fix it myself or take it to a professional? Where can I buy thermal paste? How much to put on etc?

    Cheers,

    Jonny
     
    JonnyWeir, Nov 4, 2009
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  11. BlackRussian

    BlackRussian Notebook Deity

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    Standard setup CPU= thermal paste! Clean and replace use something line Arctic Cooling MX-2 or MX-3 thermal paste see copper mod guide.

    Standard setup GPU= Will have thermal pad mainly blue in color and this is where we talk about the GAP ;). Pad has to be removed and cleaned etc and cooper plate and thermal paste used here once again see copper mod setup..
    All in all you can do this yourself for less then $20 US :)
     
    BlackRussian, Nov 5, 2009
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  12. JonnyWeir

    JonnyWeir Notebook Geek

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    Cool, thanks. I've ordered the copper pad and thermal paste (arctic silver 5 was recommended) and i'll let you guys know how I go in a few weeks. I don't want to try it while my exams are still on, I might blow up my computer

    Cheers,

    matt
     
    JonnyWeir, Nov 5, 2009
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  13. BlackRussian

    BlackRussian Notebook Deity

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    Yes I hear what your saying but trust me Arctic Cooling MX-2 or MX-3 thermal paste is a better option. While AS5 does lower the temp it is still hotter over the Arctic Cooling MX-2 or MX-3 thermal paste, used AS5 before I switched to AC MX-2...But still a very good option :)
     
    BlackRussian, Nov 6, 2009
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