XPS 15 Repaste, step-by-step and temps

Just finished doing an Arctic Silver 5 repasting job on my i7, GT 435m XPS 15 following the Dell service manual.

You will want to go here and access the Dell HTML service manual, and print off the portions pertinent to accessing the heatsink: XPS 15 Guide

One thing Dell does not tell you, before you remove your top assembly, you have to remove the optical drive by removing a single black screw holding it in by the rear, once the optical drive is removed you can access three more screws required to remove the plastic.

Parts needed before proceeding:

• #00 Phillips head screwdriver
• Small flathead screwdriver or pocketknife to insert under some plastic parts to pry gently
• Arctic Silver cleaner and grease (this is the best deal I found on it): Amazon.com: ArctiClean 60ml Kit (includes 30ml ArctiClean 1 and 30ml ArctiClean 2) and 3.5grams Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound: Electronics
• Lots of Q-tips
• Microfiber cloth for final buffing of all fibers and dust off the GPU/CPU and heatsink

EDIT: After deciding that Arctic Silver 5 wasn't giving me much of a cooling change (in regards to max GPU temps that still hit 96 C), I decided to follow mrl0ser's recommendations from his XPS 15 paste job using Coollabs Liquid Ultra. I have new temps posted on this thread and my Chillmat review thread (where I compare OC'ed 435m with no 9-cell, with 9-cell, and then on the Chillmat) after Liquid Ultra is applied.
You can get Liquid Ultra for about $19 shipped from FrozenCPU. FrozenCPU Liquid Ultra


All temps taken in a 72 F room.
Pre-pasting temps are:
Idle:


Prime95 running all 8 threads:


HL2: EP2 maxed out playing long enough to get the engines going:



Just know that Dell's manual is fully sufficient to completely take this machine apart (aside from the optical drive, they forgot to include that, so remove it to access those 3 screws I told you about).
If you have a shred of sense you can do this with that Dell guide, otherwise, you shouldn't be taking your laptop apart or overclocking it once done pasting, enjoy your computer stock as it is. If this doesn't apply to you, read on!
(but I'm not responsible if you fry your new machine and the above DID apply to you)

 

First step is to remove the bottom panel and RAM, and remove the top plastic covering w/ the touchpad built into it. You can see both steps completed here.


Here is the information stamped onto the back of the backlit XPS 15 America/English keyboard (I know a lot of people have been looking for this):


Keyboard has been removed:


Alright, lets stop playing around and start getting our hands dirty, remove the LCD panel. This has like 6 screws or so that have to be removed, 2 on the bottom and 4 on top, as well as the WiFi cable removal and the display cable connector. The the display just lifts right off, don't drop it!


Overview of where we are right now:

 

Underneath the machine, this is a pretty simple shot:


Here we have removed the bottom plastic covering, enjoy removing the what was it? Like 24+ screws holding the "sandwich" of the top and bottom layer plastics together?


Here is our XPS 15 motherboard still attached to the upper portion of the assembly:

 

Here is the i7 processor with a mound of cheap thermal compound:


Here is the GT 435m GPU with a mound of compound:


Copper heatsink with compound on it as well as thermal pads for video RAM and northbridge:


Ya'll ready??

 

Before we go any further, go onto Arctic Cooling's website and view their guide on cleaning CPUs/GPUs and reapplying AS5, they have a PDF detailed specifically to laptop chips and tinting your heatsink, read it, especially if you've never done this before.

Moving on...

They really caked this stuff on, it was coming off in chunks:


Dang I'm good, shiny mirror surface of the i7:


GT 435m GPU all nice and clean:


Here, both CPU and GPU have tiny, smaller than a grain of rice, dots of AS5 applied, before spreading with a credit card. If you want to tempt fate, put large globs of it on there, otherwise follow Arctic Cooling's advice and apply the correct amount. You can see the Intel northbridge to the right of the i7 CPU.

 

Alright, thats it for disassembly. Just spread your thermal paste like you normally would and follow your directions in reverse to put it back together again. Hopefully you don't have any screws left over at the end of things...

Alright, AS5 has only been "curing" for <2 hrs, but I'm impatient.

I ran 3DMark06 at:
1280x1024
AA: none
Filtering: optimal
HLSL VS: 30
HLSL PS: 30
Repeat tests: off

GT 435m at stock clocks.

3DMark06 Score: 7378
SM 2.0 Score: 3040
HDR/SMR 3.0 Score: 2780
CPU Score: 3209

Temps were higher than prior during 3dmark06, so its apparent AS5 needs its 200hrs, but the system cooled down almost immediately after the test was done.




Alright, so here the AS5 had been curing for about 6 hours, decided to do an OC graphics test.

I ran 3DMark06 at:
1280x1024
AA: none
Filtering: optimal
HLSL VS: 30
HLSL PS: 30
Repeat tests: off

GT 435m overclocked to core freq. of 720mhz, memory clock to 850mhz. I was being conservative, didn't test any higher than that. Will probably see how far I can go in the future, once I have a Zalman cooling pad I can probably get higher stable clocks.

3DMark06 Score: 7724
SM 2.0 Score: 3146
HDR/SMR 3.0 Score: 3020
CPU Score: 3130

 

Looking forward to this.

Thanks for taking the time to do this sprtnbsblplya.

 

Good job man, cheers for the pics!

Did you need any special screw drivers like Torx screwdrivers? Or were they all just phillips screws?

 

Thanks.

Good idea, I'll put a parts needed list in the top.

 

Just saw the lowest temps I've seen since I bought the laptop, 45 C.
Running in "Balanced Mode", just surfing the net on the couch, downloading BF:BC2 over Steam.

A couple days ago when I was doing this identical thing (except downloading some other game over Steam), temps hovered in low 50s with fan running in low the whole time. Now the fan is inaudible. Score!

Edit: Just saw down to 43 C on light use for CPU. So far repasting is worth it.

 

@sprtnbsblplya,
Very nicely done! : ) This will be really helpful to XPS 15 Owners. Plus 1 to you!


Cin...

 

That's a lot more work than with the XPS16, that is for sure.

 

Wow, we need to dismantle the whole laptop!!

XPS M1530 and Studio XPS 16 heatsinks are very easy to access.
Why Dell omitted this user friendly design?

 

Oh, forgot to tell you guys, I bet it is a real surprise...
Dell really cheaped out on the heatsink copper. Back when I built desktops the copper surface was always nice and smooth, not so in the XPS 15, had quite a few imperfections on the surface that conducts heat from the CPU & GPU. I wouldn't be surprised if this plays a minor role in poor thermal conduction.

Green, I would have to agree, unless one has experience in building desktops in the past.

 

More OC'ing results and temps:

I ran 3DMark06 at:
1280x1024
AA: none
Filtering: optimal
HLSL VS: 30
HLSL PS: 30
Repeat tests: off

GT 435m overclocked to core freq. of 740mhz, memory clock to 960mhz.

3DMark06 Score: 8115
SM 2.0 Score: 3316
HDR/SMR 3.0 Score: 3217
CPU Score: 3133

Max temps:
CPU: 73 C
GPU: 90 C

 

Nice! What about sanding down the heatsink a little with some high grit sandpaper? And thanks for the Amazon link, that combo is cheaper than ordering them separately on Newegg.

 

Not sure lapping would be effective. Prefab laptop parts can't be tightened down as hard as desktop custom coolers, and from looking at the stock paste I wouldn't want to increase the gap between CPU and heatsink any further.

 

Tom's Hardware recently published a guide to fixing and preventing laptop overheating.

How-To: Fix (And Prevent) Laptop Overheating : Identifying an Overheating Laptop and Why You Should Fix it

 

Hey sprtnbsblplya,

Great job with the paint job !

Anyways, I have a brand new Tuniq TX-3 lying around. While waiting for the DELL people to resolve my current issues, I would try and get the thermal job re-done on this machine.

Need your advice if I need to do anything differently WRT the TX-3 (rather than AS5). Thanks!

 

Great job and great photos! Thanks.

 

So I am using my PC this evening to run Powerpoint, Word, and iTunes to review class lectures for finals next week, and up until 10 minutes ago I had my 23" 1080p external monitor plugged into the laptop and had "extend my desktop" enabled so Powerpoint was up on one and Word was up on the other, with iTunes replaying lecture in the background.
Also running HWMonitor in the background.

Get this, unplugged the external monitor as I'm getting ready to be done studying, and running the exact same software doing the same stuff, I mean not a single thing change except unplugging the 23" external monitor, my temps dropped 6 C.
Average temps with monitor plugged in were 53-56 C, average temps with monitor unplugged are now high 40s (48-49) to low 50s (51-52) and the fan is now inaudible (running, but on very lowest setting).
I didn't believe there could possibly be a correlation there so I plugged the monitor back in after a bit and the temps went back up to mid50s, unplugged the monitor and the temps dropped again.
GPU core temps went from 56 C w/ external monitor to 51 C without external monitor.

So, my assumption is that running two 1080p screens with independent operations (extended desktop versus mirror desktop) makes the GPU heat up and increases the overall system temps.
Interesting, never would have made that correlation had I not been running HWMonitor while doing this.

 

Probably not, but I have no experience with TX-3.
Best bet is to probably just get on Google and look up a review on the paste, whoever did a review will probably explain how it was applied.
Most enthusiast cooling compounds are pretty similar in application.

 

hey sprtnbsblplya, i have almost the same specs as you and was wondering how you got ntune to work on your system. i installed the latest one from nvidia and every time i open nvidia control panel, i get the bsod. which driver are you using? which ntune version? (link?)

 

Using the latest video driver from Dell's XPS 15 site and the nTune from nVidia's site, downloaded about 5 days ago.

 

yeah, that's exactly what i have. 259.51 from dell and ntune v5.05.54.00. but every time launch nvideo cp it bsods

 

You should be able to download Nvidia System Tools 6.06 here:

NVIDIA DRIVERS 6.06

That may solve your problem......

 

CK, did you ever get around to applying the TX-3?
If so let us know the temps.
Will be interesting to see if there is any difference between AS5 and TX-3 in the application of the XPS 15.

 

I just received my XPS 15 12/2/2010 and mainly use it for college classes / Play World of Warcraft. When I am playing WoW my GPU temp hit 75C (MAX) and I was wondering if this is an issue. I have no experience inside of a laptop and dont want to risk messing something up while I go through the thermal paste steps if it is not needed. My laptop idles at around 59-63C and under load from WoW it hits around 68-73C. Another thing i have noticed is when I alt-tab out of WoW the temp can instantly drop about 5C or a little more. Any feedback would be much appreciated! Thanks for your time!


Edit: I forgot to mention that I have had this new laptop on a cooling pad with 2 fans since I received it from the FedEx people. I have yet to test the temperatures without the cooling pad running underneath it.

 

Dude my GPU hits 96 C when playing BF:BC2, 75 isnt bad at all.

 

Only reason I am worried is cause this laptop is replacing an HP that idled at 78-79C with a cooling pad and it died 2 weeks ago. Just didnt want to sink another 1200 into something that will only last 2 more years. Thanks a lot for the response! I have been lurking around these forums for weeks and see you around helping a lot, which i really appreciate. Keep up the good work and i hope everything works out for ya!

 

did you purchase a warranty plan? should be useful if you start having problem with it from overheating.

your temps look fine, my cpu was idling around 55-60C and maxing at 82C and gpu-idle:50-55C, max:84C playing cod:bo, before repasting

with mx-3
cpu: idle 50-54C; max 80C
gpu: idle 48-50C; max 78C

with coollabs liquid ultra
cpu: idle 44-51C; max 77C
gpu: idle 44-46C; max 74C

... yeah i tore it down twice. first time it took me around 45-1hr, second time around only about 20mins (didn't even need the manual ). the palm-rest is the hard part to get remove, i fee like i might break it every time, everything is else is pretty straightforward (if you follow the manual).

 

Hmm, liquid ultra looks like a nice paste.
I might have to give that a try, and demote my AS5...
I have torn mine down twice so far, first time same results for me, took forever, 2nd time, speedy Gonzales, less than 30 min and I was done.

 

that did it! thanks

 

Alright, Coollab's Liquid Ultra is on the way from FrozenCPU.com, should be here by the end of the week. I might add that it was pretty pricey, $19 shipped for a tiny little tube of it. Looks interesting too, 100% metal? One review mentioned a hard time applying it, did you have any troubles applying Liquid Ultra?
Can't apply it until after my biochem final on Thursday, but once that is over I'll put some on there.
Hopefully my results will be similar to yours and we can get some definitive answers to the best thermal compound for people to be using on the XPS 15.

 

Hi I'm new to this forum, but concerned about the temp of my new XPS 15.

When you say Idle temp, does that mean running nothing, just leaving at the desktop? Or does it include doing light tasks, like web browsing.

The reason I ask is when I leave it at the desktop I get temps around 50 degrees, but when I start web browsing it's runs at a much higher 70 degrees.

Is this normal?

 

Your question was answered in another thread.
Since you're new here's a tip, don't double post in 2 threads right next to each other.

 

Yeah sorry about that, posted it in this thread first, then realised the other one is more appropriate.

 

It seems that the Gallium Coollabs liquid ultra is one of the best thermal compounds regarding temperatures.
My only concern is if when the CPU gets really hot the compound liquefy a bit more and if it is just enough to spill some compound to the motherboard causing a short circuit.

 

so this laptop looks like a pain in the to access basic stuff.

 

Was just reading the coollabs manual for liquid ultra and it says that liquid ultra corrodes aluminium, what is the heatsink made of in the XPS?

 

Copper/Aluminum.

 

Then we are screwed with liquid ultra.

 

No you're not.
The interface that the compound touches is all copper.
The only aluminum part is the housing/brackets.

 

Yep, just have to be careful with the paste job.

 

That's a relief, to know that, thank you both !!

 

Sorry, didn't mean to scare you guys!

 

So any one with comparable results with AS5? sprtnbsblplya?

 

hey sorry, haven't check this thread for the past week because of finals. but yup, it costs a pretty penny, but it's well worth it imo. with my gpu clocked at 800/1600/1000, im getting max of around 74-77C while playing cod:bo (720p, high, no shadows) and about the same with bfbc2 (forgot what settings i have for that). cant wait for your results! goodluck on your finals.

just to confirm with sprtnbsblplya, the heatsink is indeed aluminum and copper, with the copper part being the only part that contacts the processor. sorry for not mentioning this in my post.

 

nvm, I can now view the service manual

 

Coollabs Liquid Ultra has been applied, AS5 removed.
Only stress testing for a few minutes, but things are looking good so far.
Will post results after some proper testing.