Remove the dust filer from fan intake - who did it?

Hey guys, please vote if u removed the dust filter from the fan intake and if u have any experience with this.

Are there any statistics as in how much cooler the laptop runs?

 

I did, it was easy, took like 2 seconds to do, and increased airflow. I removed the filter and changed the thermal paste at the same time, so I can't tell you how much exactly it dropped my temps. I can tell you that I idle with CPU at around 50-53 and my GPU around 48-50. I can also say that my 5730 never exceeds 80c even under FurMark + Prime95, overclocked, without external cooling.

 

The vent filter trick was the thing that fixed my throttling. I no longer throttle when playing games (prime+fur still throttles due to power AND heat).

The laptop idle temp remained unchanged for me (43C min CPU, 46C min GPU), but load temps were greatly improved. 3C to 10C of a difference based on the game or program. Please note that prior to doing this, I was hitting 98C GPU playing games, and 84C for the CPU, so if your laptop is not reaching a VERY high temp, you will probably see a smaller, but noticeable change. The average game I'd say now runs 5C cooler for me for the GPU, and maybe 3-4 on the CPU.

The one place where I saw the full 10C difference was when running Furmark by itself. 20 mins of running it used to give me a 100C GPU temp, now "only" 90C.

There are 3 vent covers. One by the fan, and then a very big one by the CPU area, and a very small one by the memory. I first just removed the fan one and did some testing. Greatly impressed with the results, I decided to remove the big one, but this didn't seem to change anything at all. So you should probably only bother to remove the one by the fan.

Important: I'm sure some people are worried that Dell might bother them about the filters if the laptop ever needs a repair or something, but I'm positive I could but the filters back on "good as new" in about 5-10 minutes. Also, I have not noticed an increase in dust inside of the laptop.

 

Can someone post a picture? I keep hearing about this but have yet to do so.

 

^would you guys recommend a newbie to do the thermal paste thing? chance of ruining the chips high?

 

Don't really need a picture. Remove the bottom cover of your laptop. There will be very thin pieces of black plastic mesh covering the air holes. Take the smallest square piece (the one that lines up with the fan) and peel it off. Replace bottom cover. Finished.

 

The consensus on the forums seems to be that the vent filter trick is just as effective if you're only going to do one thing, plus it's free, ridiculously easy and fast, and seemingly impossible to screw anything up.

And don't worry about the screws falling out when you flip the "catcher" (the catcher is the name of the cover with 10 screws you have to take off to get to anything inside of your laptop). They have a locking mechanism.

 

how was it attached in the first place? If i feel i want to put it back on will it go on easy?

 

i didnt really notice anything diffferent after taking it out. maybe a little extra dust. but owell.

 

It's slightly sticky, like with a weak glue. If you want to put it back on, just stick it back on.

 

It's worth taking off, but note that the fan vacuums all the dust and dirt from underneath the laptop and blows it over your screen. Might want to buy a microfiber cloth before you remove the vent-- every two days or so the dust on the screen accumulates to a ridiculous amount. It's not a big deal, just irritating.

 

Thats great if it reduces throtteling. So its easy to take off, it wont break?

I have also seen this modding of the vent plastic cover:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...dio-xps-1645-heat-exhaust-mod-throttling.html

I would do it if I had another plastic cover to replace in case of warranty issues. Is there no way to get one somewhere?


About throtteling:

I have noticed throtteling playing counterstrike source. I will do a test, posting temps later this afternoon as im backing up my whole machine. and then remove the dust filters after having tested the temps.

I also just updated to latest A12 Bioas even tho i Know A09 was best bt im just gonna give it a try.

 

How did you overclock?

 

I've done it with both software and BIOS modding. Temps were about the same either way.

 

Please stick to teh topic. It would be great if people were showing pics or showing stats of much much really was reduced. i doubt u should be overclocking with 4670 ati

 

seeker_moc, you said that it's easy to re-attach/re-apply the dust filters if you've previously removed them. have you done this yourself? or would a little bit of epoxy do the trick just the same?

for obvious reasons, my fan kicks in more often at work now that i leave my notebook cooler at home. i'm considering taking off the dust filters to help ease the airflow a bit.

 

The dust filter makes a lot of noise. I would take it off just for the decibel reduction

 

The glue on the filters remain sticky even after you remove it, as long as you keep it clean you should just be able to stick it right back on as it is. If not, a dab or two of superglue should do the trick.

 

ur saying the dust filters itself make the noise because air is going through them?

 

i think he might mean that the air filters reduce airflow, forcing the fans to activate more often? that's my guess at least...

@seeker_moc, thanks for clarifying. i know what i'll be doing this weekend (air filters and BIOS update)

 

They don't make all the noise, but they do contribute to it. After removing the filter you'll notice a drop in noise level, and a change in the tone of the fan noise, as the airflow is less restricted.

 

Ok I guess im gonna remove it now

 

What do u think about this vent mod
http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...dio-xps-1645-heat-exhaust-mod-throttling.html ?

 

Personally, I wouldn't do it. It's quite ugly. Also, that part that you're supposed to cut out actually guides the air through the entire heatsink. By letting the air escape early, the air doesn't have a chance to pass by the entire heatsink, and I would think that would actually lessen the amount of heat that the air takes away. We won't know for sure until more people test it out, but I don't think we'll find many volunteers to try.

 

It's fun joking about things that void warranties because most things things you can do are 'undetectable'... but I think that particular vent mod is obvious and Dell would give you a hard time from hell if they needed to repair that laptop. I doubt that they would honor your warranty if you did that vent mod.

 

Well I wouldnt open it completely as he did, maybe do a grid kinda thing. like a lot of 2-3 mm slots.... hope u can get what i mean?

I dont find it too ugly, but I wouldnt open it completely as shown in the picture.

 

Exactly like this, picture attached.

I love that! How do I do it, dell should have these available for order.

 

Hardly would make a difference. I've tested removing that piece of plastic entirely and it makes a 1-2C difference.

 

ok, well..... any other modon that helps. i heard removing all filters wont make a difference. only the main one where the fan sits?

 

You can remove them all if you want, no harm done, but the one under the fan intake is the only one that will really matter.

 

i just removed (only) the filter from the vent directly below the fan intake.

with my notebook cooler (NotePal U2) and my lid closed, i got a max temp (from GPU-Z) of 68.5C. based on GPU-Z's readings, that is about 4C cooler than my previous max temps.

 

Guys after i removed this my laptop started to throttle recently. i think its been over a month. so i removed everything to find a big chunk of dust in my heatsink. I by no means live in a dirty place or anything and my laptop is either on a table in the living room or in the class room. So be careful and check up on the dust build up after a while.

 

Of course you need to dust out the laptop. Even with the filter in place, it will still get clogged up with dust eventually. I think overheating due to dust clogged heatsinks contributes to a significant amount of computer problems, lol.

 

I took the airfilter off on my Studio XPS 13. Honestly, I can't see any difference in temperatures nor do I hear any sort of audible difference.

 

i must have lied. today i hit 70C with GPU-Z.

i guess the previous day must have been cooler in general (i always have an open window).

even so, it still seems to be ever slightly cooler than before. not really noticeable, but i would say a 1-2C difference is difference enough.

 

Did you re-paste the heatsink? I thought it was bad to remove and not re-paste.

 

I wouldn't say it's bad, but for max effectiveness, the two do compliment each other.

 

I dont really see any improvement. my laptop still throttles even tho i removed the dust filter from teh fan intake and used the modded A12 bios.

Im confused, at what temperature does the CPU/GPU throttle.

Please check my post and throttlestop stats here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/6809530-post4218.html

 

CPU throttles at 84C, and GPU throttles at 100C with the A09 vBIOS. What temp is your CPU at when throttling begins??

Throttling is not always temps though, your system might just be drawing too much power. No way to fix that except upgrade your GPU to 5730, or downgrade your CPU or RGBLED.

 

dont u see the temp in the throttlestop log?

 

Didn't notice it at first. 93C, that's.... crazy. Call Dell and have them send a technician out, it shouldn't be getting that high.

 

mhh i even tried left 4 dead 2 now, at 1024 res... still throtteling. i just bought this game and cant play it at all? but what could be wrong causing this temp?

btw, are u sure ur modded bios will have nothing to do with it? and should i reinstall their original bios prior to calling dell?

i heard the 5730 will only arrive next june in europe, which sucks... but i cant play a game at all... i hope some other people can give their opinion having the same config as mine...

 

Try reinstalling the original and see what happens. I doubt it will do much, as I only modified the GPU portion, and it's your CPU that's throttling. I probably would reinstall the original before the Dell tech came though, in case they want to use it as an excuse not to service you. You never know.

 

ok installing a09... but what would a mobo replace do? not much either no? guess ill have to wait till i get 5730 on my hands in germany...

 

It's strange that you don't have the 5730s in Europe yet, with the 6xxx series GPUs already ready for release. However, even if they don't sell the 5730, it may be possible for a Dell technician to order you one, if you're having problems with the 4670. The least you could do is call and ask.

 

Good lord, it's the Black Speech

 

haha, cheers mate. so i guess ill call dell and report the problem to them, at least ill start getting my first replacements so later on it will be easier to ask for a refund or upgrade haha...

even dell uk doesnt have it yet... sucks!!!

 

haha, cheers mate. so i guess ill call dell and report the problem to them, at least ill start getting my first replacements so later on it will be easier to ask for a refund or upgrade haha...

even dell uk doesnt have it yet... sucks!!!

One thing that surprises me is that Alienware's have the 5730 in germany, not so the xps 1645...

 

93C is certainly a high number, but it seems normal for the 4670 card. Seems like they all go at least a few degrees above 84C when allowed to with some a little more than others, and a certain range of it (maybe 7-8C) depends on ambient temps.

 

but u cant tell me that i cat play games like left 4 dead 2 for more than 20 minutes and it throttles, that shouldnt happen with any laptop.

So, should I call up dell or wait for them to get the 5730? Or like seeker_mc said hope they could ship over a 5730 from some other country? did they ever do that?