XPS M1530 Temperature Comparison Survey

XPS M1530 GPU/CPU/HDD Temperature Survey/Benchmark​

Please use this thread to post your XPS M1530 temperatures according to the guidelines of this survey - thanks.

I take no responsibility for any damaged caused to equipment, as far as I know, this process is fairly safe with faultless components - please take care not to overheat your computers components needlessly - exit the stress test applications immediately if you are worried about strange readings.

Introduction

It seems that everybody who owns an XPS M1530 has an extremely varied set of temperatures for their GPU and CPU. Now, I am a complete freak about my temps, constantly checking them and always worried they are too high. I scour the notebook review pages looking for a benchmark set of temps, but everyone either has overheating problems warranting a nice replacement (CPU 80+ GPU 90+), or they have chilled out systems that seem rediculously very cool (CPU< 69 GPU <72).

It seems that anyone who knows about these variables will have a much tougher time being reassured by someone else's temperature readings, because they could be different or the same for so many reasons.

I have therefore created this thread so everyone who owns this notebook can clearly state what their temps are and how their system is set up. This will act as a far more effective gauge as most of the variables will be covered.

Things You Will Need
There are a few free applications everyone will need, so we can compare the temperature readings accurately. These include:

ORTHOS - An application that will put your CPU under load, so we can see the temperatures of a stressed CPU.
It can be downloaded from this link: http://www.overclock.net/attachments/downloads/36840d1165737486-orthos-orthos_exe_20060420.zip

RTHDRIBL - An application that will put your GPU under load, so we can see the temperatures of a stressed GPU.
It can be downloaded from this link: http://www.daionet.gr.jp/~masa/archives/rthdribl_1_2.zip

HWMonitor - A temperature monitoring program. It seems to be the simplest and most highly used temp program by members of this forum.
It can be downloaded from this webpage: http://www.cpuid.com/hwmonitor.php

The Survey!
I will explain each section of the survey in this section of the post. I will then place my own completed survey as an example of the format required at the bottom of this post.

1. TEMPERATURES
- CPU Min/Max Idle
- GPU Min/Max Idle
- HDD Min/Max Idle

To eliminate all variables, please close all programs (including web browsers and folders) and leave the computer to idle for 1 minute. Then open HWmonitor and leave to idle for another 5 minutes to record min/max temps. Then type the minimums and maximums into the survey.

- CPU Min/Max Load
- GPU Min/Max Load
- HDD Min/Max

To record an even set of results for load temps, we must use ORTHOS and RTHDRIBL to stress the components of the laptop. Please follow this step by step process to eliminate all variables:

1. Close all programs
2. Open ORTHOS windowed, click start (do not adjust settings but it should be on "Test: Blend - Stress CPU and RAM" and "Priority: 1" )
3. Open RTHDRIBL windowed
4. Run the applications simultaneously for 1 minute (use ORTHOS' timer)
5. After 1 minute, open HWmonitor
6. Allow all three applications to run for another 2 minutes
7. Record HWmonitor's min/max temps for the CPU, GPU and HDD

longer test (optional)
- Longer CPU Min/Max Load
- Longer GPU Min/Max Load
- Longer HDD Min/Max

This is an optional reading for anyone who is interested to see how their components fair under load for longer periods of time. Essentially follow the same instructions as above, but run ORTHOS and RTHDRIBL for 2 minutes before opening HWMonitor, then run all three applications for a further 6 minutes. Please be careful though, if your temperatures seem to be overheating in the first test, DO NOT do this test. PLEASE do not leave your computer unattended during these tests

2. SOFTWARE

- Power Setting in Vista

It is important to tell everyone what power setting you were using in VISTA, i suggest everyone uses HIGH PERFORMANCE. To change the power setting left click on the battery icon on the bottom riht of the screen in the system tray

- Bios Revision

Different revisions have different fan settings. To check your bios revision, look below the DELL logo at computer start up. I suggest people download the latest revision

- Video Driver Version

To find this, open control panel > Nvidia Control Panel and click the System Information link at the bottom left of the window

- Official DELL driver or not?

State wether you got the driver from the DELL website, or wether you got it from another site, like latpopvideo2go and modified the inf. file

3. SYSTEM INFORMATION

- CPU Model and Speed

At the least supply the model and speed (Txxxx, xGHz)

- Hard Drive Speed

Check your DELL invoice or look up your hard drive model to discover it's speed (5600RPM or 7200RPM)

- GPU Clock

State whether you are using the "stock" speed ( if you have not overclocked) or your clocks if you have overclocked.

- Undervolt

State wether you have undervolted your CPU and to what voltage at your maximum multiplier

- 9v or 6v battery

The 9v battery props the laptop up, while the 6v battery allows it to lie flat

4. Physical Adjustments

- Notebook Cooler

If yes, then write the model

- Thermal Paste

If yes, what type?

- Airflow and Surface

What type of surface is the laptop on? Have you propped it up to simulate a 9v battery? How high?

- Ambient Room Temperature

If you can report these in degrees C, otherwise state your location and time of year with a general statement whether it is cold or hot.

Conclusion

So, What do you think?

even if the survey has a hundred separate setups and results, at least people can search the thread for a similar setup and can compare their temps.

EXAMPLE

1. TEMPERATURES
- CPU Min/Max Idle - 47/60
- GPU Min/Max Idle - 57/62
- HDD Min/Max Idle - 36

- CPU Min/Max Load - 72/84
- GPU Min/Max Load - 76/83
- HDD Min/Max Load - 35

- CPU Min/Max Load Longer Test
- GPU Min/Max Load Longer Test
- HDD Min/Max Load Longer Test

2. SOFTWARE
- Power Setting in Vista - High Performance
- Bios Revision - A12
- Video Driver Version - 176.44

3. SYSTEM INFORMATION
- CPU Model and Speed - T7800 2.6GHz
- Hard Drive Speed - 5600RPM
- GPU Clock - Stock
- CPU Undervolt 13X @ 1.175v
- 9v or 6v battery - 6v

4. PHYSICAL ADJUSTMENTS
- Notebook Cooler - No
- Thermal Paste - Stock
- Airflow and Surface - On a book
- Ambient Room Temperature - 21C

 

Oopps, thats a long post. Appreciate the effort though.

By the way, isn't there a couple of threads already on this temperature thing?

 

It's a survey to eliminate all variables to discover normal temps on this notebook for different configurations.

 

TEMPERATURES

- CPU Min/Max Idle : 39ºC/45ºC
- GPU Min/Max Idle : 56ºC/62ºC

- CPU Min/Max Load (playing a system intensive game crysis, fallout 3 etc.) : 77ºC
- GPU Min/Max Load ( '' '' ) : 83ºC

- Whether you were watching your temperatures in real time, or relied on a temperature report. (I suggest everyone does both and reports both results) : Realtime

SOFTWARE

- The program you used to get these readings (I suggest everyone uses the latest version of HWMoniter) : HWMonitor
- Power Setting in Vista (I suggest everyone uses High Performance) : High Performance
- Bios Revision (I suggest people use the latest revision) : A12

SYSTEM:

- CPU Model and Speed (Txxxx, xGHz) : T7500 2.2Ghz
- Hard Drive Speed : 7200RPM
- GPU Clock ("stock" otherwise write your clock speeds) : Stock
- 9v or 6v battery : 9V

Physical Adjustments

- Notebook Cooler (if yes, then write the model) : No
- Thermal Paste (if yes, what type?) : No
- Airflow and Surface (What type of surface is the laptop on? Have you propped it up to simulate a 9v battery? How high?) : Wooden Table / Bed
- Ambient Room Temperature (If you can report these in degrees C, otherwise state your location and time of year with a general statement whether it is cold or hot) : 14-26ºC

so this is the follow up of this thread :wink:

 

hi vinumsv, yeh it is, this is the thread for the survey discussed in the previous thread.

I noticed though, you have used the old questions. If you could please use the updated survey introduced at the top of the page, that would be excellent.

 

oh , I will do that once i get back to my home mate :wink:

 

I don't think either of your links to ORTHOS or RTHDRIBL are correct

 

I don't think either of your links to ORTHOS or RTHDRIBL are correct

Right, sorry - don't know what happened there. The links are now fixed and linking to the downloads properly.

 

TEMPERATURES

- CPU Min/Max Idle : 27ºC/38ºC
- GPU Min/Max Idle : 48ºC/53ºC

- CPU Min/Max Load : 57ºC
- GPU Min/Max Load : 70ºC

- Whether you were watching your temperatures in real time, or relied on a temperature report. (I suggest everyone does both and reports both results) : Realtime

SOFTWARE

- The program you used to get these readings : HWMonitor
- Power Setting in Vista : High Performance
- Bios Revision (I suggest people use the latest revision) : A12

SYSTEM:

- CPU Model and Speed (Txxxx, xGHz) : T8300 2.4Ghz
- Hard Drive Speed : 7200RPM
- GPU Clock ("stock" otherwise write your clock speeds) : Stock
- 9v or 6v battery : 9V

Physical Adjustments

- Notebook Cooler (if yes, then write the model) : No
- Thermal Paste (if yes, what type?) : Arctic Silver 5
- Airflow and Surface : 9-cell battery on wooden desk
- Ambient Room Temperature (If you can report these in degrees C, otherwise state your location and time of year with a general statement whether it is cold or hot) : 14-16ºC

 

thanks guys, hopefully the trend will start :], already this has helped me ease worries about temps - more data the more confidence though!

 

bump. ? Come on, its easy guys, if you get a big enough list you can refer dell to the website.

 

TEMPERATURES

- CPU Min/Max Idle : 45ºC/58ºC
- GPU Min/Max Idle : 55ºC/68ºC

- CPU Min/Max Load : 78ºC
- GPU Min/Max Load : 90ºC

- Realtime

SOFTWARE

- The program you used to get these readings : HWMonitor
- Power Setting in Vista : High Performance
- Bios Revision (I suggest people use the latest revision) : A12

SYSTEM:

- T9300 2.5Ghz
- 256 Nvidia driver: 7928
- 320 7200RPM
- Stock (non overclock)
- 6V

Physical Adjustments

- Notebook Cooler (if yes, then write the model) : none
- Thermal Paste (if yes, what type?) : none
- Airflow and Surface :wooden table
- Ambient Room Temperature : 16-19ºC...??? I don't know


Also, I'm wondering if the screen resolution can do any change to the temps.

 

yes screen resolution probably can, but not if you run the stress tests.

I would talk to dell about your temps too ^^^ 90 seems too high mine only hits 80-85

 

Bump. ! come on, people were interested before...

 

Deserves a bump

 

Do a heatsink mod or just apply AS5, your temperatures will surely drop.

 

thanks but this is about SHOWING your temps... not actually talking about them.

Cheers.

 

Joeytav, I would kill for those temps.. was it the AS5 that made all the difference? I ordered some from newegg a couple days ago, hopefully my temps will drop to yours.

1. TEMPERATURES
- CPU Min/Max Idle - 42/54 (temps rose for some strange reason)
- GPU Min/Max Idle - 58/66
- HDD Min/Max Idle - 42

- CPU Min/Max Load - 65/70
- GPU Min/Max Load - 72/76
- HDD Min/Max Load - 43

2. SOFTWARE
- Power Setting in W7 - High Performance
- Bios Revision - A12
- Video Driver Version - 185.20

3. SYSTEM INFORMATION
- CPU Model and Speed - T7500 2.2GHz
- Hard Drive Speed - 5600RPM
- GPU Clock - Stock
- CPU Undervolt 11X @ 1.00v
- 9v or 6v battery - 6v

4. PHYSICAL ADJUSTMENTS
- Notebook Cooler - No
- Thermal Paste - Stock
- Airflow and Surface - On my thigh (vents unblocked)
- Ambient Room Temperature - Dunno, feels cozy though

A couple of notes.. I bought my laptop last year in January and I was seeing temps similar to what the OP has. I heard Dell had a new revision in August 2008 that fixed the faulty 8000 series cards, so I basically BSed my way into getting my motherboard replaced (just recently). Since then, the laptop has ran much cooler and after undervolting the CPU, this laptop finally feels like what it should have always been. One more thing, I'm running Windows 7 so I'm not sure how much of an impact that has. Believe the W7 hype, everything loads in a snap and the performance is real smooth.

 

Yeah, the AC5 and also cleaning the insides out with compressed air :]

 

1. TEMPERATURES
- CPU Min/Max Idle - 32/53
- GPU Min/Max Idle - 53/59

- CPU Min/Max Load - 62/68
- GPU Min/Max Load - 71/72

2. SOFTWARE
- Power Setting in Vista - High Performance
- Bios Revision - A12
- Video Driver Version - 176.44

3. SYSTEM INFORMATION
- T9300 2.5GHz
- 128 GB SSD
- Stock GPU Clock
- 9V

4. PHYSICAL ADJUSTMENTS
- Airflow and Surface - On a book
- Ambient Room Temperature - 20C

 

Ok so I ran these, and had some wierd things happen. Here is my data first.

1. TEMPERATURES
- CPU Min/Max Idle - 42/47
- GPU Min/Max Idle - 58/60
- HDD 38/39
- ACPI around 50

- CPU Min/Max Load - 68/89 (It started at around 74, then climbed to 89 and then dropped to 74 and then down to 68, then started climbing again)
- GPU Min/Max Load - 80/90
- HDD 40/40
- ACPI 73/95 (A similar thing happened here as happened with the CPU. I don't know what ACPI is)

2. SOFTWARE
- Power Setting in Vista - High Performance
- Bios Revision - A12
- Video Driver Version - 176.44

3. SYSTEM INFORMATION
- T9300 2.5GHz
- 250 GB 7200 RPM
- Stock GPU Clock
- 9V

4. PHYSICAL ADJUSTMENTS
- Airflow and Surface - On desk, lid closed, hooked into external monitor/mouse/keyboard
- Ambient Room Temperature - 70 F

Now, this is what happened. I followed the original directions, but the first time I was running ORTHOS and RTHDRIBL together, I got a fatal error in orthos after about 1.5 mins. It was in CPU 0 and this is what it said:

FATAL ERROR: Rounding was 0.4980546212, expected less than 0.4
Hardware failure detected, consult stress.txt file.
Torture Test ran 2 minutes 18 seconds - 1 errors, 0 warnings.
Execution halted.

It was running about 77 on startup and then 82 when I got the fatal error. I closed both orthos and rthdribl and hwmonitor, then I restarted the under load directions. I was able to get a 3 minute test with this, at which point the initial temp was 80, and it maxed about 89-90 on both CPU and GPU. GPU tended to level off, but the CPU dropped down to 68 at this time then began climbing. The ACPI did this as well, but I don't know what this is. Any help would be nice as to what is going on. My comp continues to overheat and some times shut itself down because of this.

Should I not be running with the lid closed with my laptop hooked up to an external monitor and mouse/keyboard?

 

You should ask dell, neither of the programs do anything bad to your system, they just put the components under load - this is what i got told.

 

Testing procedures were as specified in Post #1
1. TEMPERATURES
- CPU Min/Max Idle - 46/47
- GPU Min/Max Idle - 63/65
- HDD Min/Max Idle - 36/36

- CPU Max Load - 70
- GPU Max Load - 76
- HDD Max Load - 37

Sorry, didn't catch min temps, they dropped down to idle temps too quick before I got a chance to record them

2. SOFTWARE
- Power Setting in Vista - High Performance
- Bios Revision - A12
- Video Driver Version - 179.28

3. SYSTEM INFORMATION
- T7500 2.25GHz
- 5400RPM 320Gb WD
- GPU Clock - Stock
- CPU Undervolt Yes (11x 1.1025v, auto-intermediates)
- 6v

4. PHYSICAL ADJUSTMENTS
- Notebook Cooler - Yes Revoltec
- Thermal Paste - AS5 on GPU and CPU
- Airflow and Surface - On Aluminium Cooler, fans (3X) on.
- Ambient Room Temperature - 14-16C (guess)

 

TEMPERATURES

- CPU Min/Max Idle : 57ºC/61-62ºC (1 core being 61, other 62)
- GPU Min/Max Idle : 67ºC/68ºC
- HDD Min/Max Idle : 34ºC/35ºC

- CPU Min/Max Load : 82ºC/87ºC
- GPU Min/Max Load : 80ºC/86ºC
- HDD Min/Max Load : 35ºC/39ºC

- Whether you were watching your temperatures in real time, or relied on a temperature report : Realtime

SOFTWARE

- The program you used to get these readings : HWMonitor
- Power Setting in Vista : High Performance (although must be said i usually run Dell Recommended with the brightness only 1 or 2 settings above the lowest setting)
- Bios Revision : A09
- Video Driver Version : 176.44

SYSTEM:

- CPU Model and Speed : T7500 2.20Ghz
- Hard Drive Speed : 5400RPM
- GPU Clock : Stock
- 9v or 6v battery : 6V

Physical Adjustments

- Notebook Cooler (if yes, then write the model) : No
- Thermal Paste (if yes, what type?) : Stock
- Airflow and Surface : Wooden Surface with plenty of air space behind
- Ambient Room Temperature (If you can report these in degrees C, otherwise state your location and time of year with a general statement whether it is cold or hot) : 20-23ºC

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

so it seems to me, i have something to be worried about my temperatures seem to be fairly higher than most of you others who have posted. maybe i should invest in some thermal paste or some sort of cooler otherwise would it be wise to contact dell? i've had my m1530 since the 1st of March 08

 

^Invest in some thermal paste and definitely do an undervolt, also use your warranty and get a new motherboard - the newer ones run a bit cooler apparently.

 

alright, seeing as i'm fairly new at replacing hardware on laptops, with only changing RAM sticks is the most i've done from opening my laptop up, do you have a guide as to how to apply thermal paste, and if so, which paste do you recommend? i have read about the undervolting and i was a bit nervous about trying it out but now that it is one of my only options, i might do so. and are you saying to get dell to replace my motherboard before or after i do the other 2 things? final thing, if i were to get my mobo replaced, would i get my whole system back with just a new mobo or a completely new system? and what would i say to dell if i were to do so? just say something like my temperatures are running too hot?

(sorry for all the questions, as i said above i haven't touched anything on the inside but change ram so i like to make sure of things before i stuff something up)

 

UPDATE!!!

From above, I was running CPU and GPU max of 90 under load yesterday. Since, I have done an undervolt and replaced the stock thermal pads with thermal paste (Arctic Silver 5). New temps:

Idle
-CPU: 42
-GPU: 58
-HDD: 41

CPU/GPU stress load at 0.9875 V - 12.0x
-CPU: 71
-GPU: 82
-HDD: 41

SOFTWARE
- Power Setting in Vista - High Performance
- Bios Revision - A12
- Video Driver Version - 176.44

SYSTEM INFORMATION
- T9300 2.5GHz
- 250 GB 7200 RPM
- 12.0x 0.9875 V
- 9 cell battery

PHYSICAL ADJUSTMENTS
- Airflow and Surface - On desk, lid propped open, hooked into external monitor/mouse/keyboard
- Ambient Room Temperature - 70 F

 

Check out this post: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=340692

I made it yesterday concerning my high temps. There is very good discussion in the pages there on cooling along with links to undervolting and a replacing the thermal paste step by step guide. You can also follow my temps as they progressed from CPU 90 to 71 and GPU 90 to 82.

If you call dell, tell them it is too hot to touch and you can't leave it on your lap because of the heat. They will usually send a tech out and they can replace the mobo for you. I guess they usually replace the old thermal pads that don't conduct well with actual paste which is much better. Most of the temp improvement is attributed to this change rather than the mobo itself, but there may also be cooler mobos out there. I heard after August they made some that run cooler. You may also get stuck with an older revision of a mobo than you already have and you will DEFINITELY get a refurbished mobo regardless.

This would be a judgement call on your part and also depend on if you feel comfortable opening up your computer and adjusting the paste. If you have done it on a desktop its similar, but a bit tougher because cleaning the old thermal pads on is difficult. If you have never done it on a mobo, it would be your call and you can probably do it, but there is nothing wrong with calling dell to get a tech to replace your board and put paste on (I would sit and watch to be sure he used paste and not heating pads).

 

Thanks for that. What would be so bad about a refurbished mobo though? Obviously its not new, but if it works well i see no problem.
I guess i'm fine with opening up my laptop, but i'm just nervous about cleaning and reapplying some new paste. Also especially since there aren't too many good PC stores around near where i live. So i think i might just call up Dell sometime soon and may aswell get someone in and i probably will watch him/her while they do their work. But finally i must ask, if they do use heating pads instead of paste, what would i say (as i don't know of the reasoning as to why one is better than the other, then they might make up some bs, when i don't have anything in reply to counter the bs)?

Then once the i get a "new" mobo no matter what the temps get to, i'll try out Undervolting to achieve even better results.

edit: final (potential stupid) question, as i just wanna make sure, when i call up Dell, and a guy comes to replace my mobo, it will be free? (as i'm still under the 1yr warranty)?

 

Nothing really bad about a refurb mobo, other than the fact it's not explicitly new. It is tested and such though, so it should act new.

If you are nervous about applying paste, then I would call Dell and have them replace it. You could try ordering some high quality thermal paste (Arctic silver 5 is common, but there are others) and then see if the Dell tech is willing to put your paste on instead of his (but he might not be depending on his knowledge and coolness).

Usually when they come, I believe they always use the paste since their parts don't come preinstalled with heating pads on them (as far as I know). If it has the pads, maybe you could just say, "hey I heard those pads are what causes the heat can you use some paste instead?" Or something like "hey those pads on the old heatsink look really cruddy maybe you can use something else?"

If you are still under warranty, it will be free.

 

Alright, thanks heaps for all your help, i'll call up Dell very soon. My only problem now is that all the stores i see online to get Arctic Silver 5 might take too long to deliver as i don't know when the Dell rep will come here, so i'm just asking around iff there is any local stores that have it. Which i know there are other thermal pastes, but i've read heaps on people using Arctic Silver 5. Anyways thanks again, i'll post back here once a Dell Rep has come out and fixed the problem, and after i do some undervolting etc. But if the Dell rep isn't "cool" etc and only puts heating pads on, then i guess i'll put the paste on myself later on.

edit: found a local store with it
edit 2: the store didn't have any in stock , so i'll just phone Dell and hope for the best
edit 3: Called Dell up, the guy on the phone said that a techie would come out and replace my Motherboard and Heatsink (as english said) which is good, so i just have to wait until tomorrow or friday for him/her to come as i phoned after 5pm (the time they last come) so i just have to wait until then

 

more surveys !!!

 

1. TEMPERATURES
- CPU Min/Max Idle - 44/65
- GPU Min/Max Idle - 57/74
- HDD Min/Max Idle - 40

- CPU Min/Max Load - 65/75
- GPU Min/Max Load - 74/86
- HDD Min/Max Load - 41

2. SOFTWARE
- Power Setting in Vista - Balanced
- Bios Revision - A12
- Video Driver Version - 176.44

3. SYSTEM INFORMATION
- CPU Model and Speed - T5450 1.67GHz
- Hard Drive Speed - 7200RPM
- GPU Clock - Stock
- 9v or 6v battery - 6v

4. PHYSICAL ADJUSTMENTS
- Notebook Cooler - No
- Thermal Paste - Stock
- Airflow and Surface - On a desk
- Ambient Room Temperature - 22C


=========

Gonna do the longer load test in a bit. Whenever I'm playing a game for a while, the laptop overheats and shuts itself off, even if I have the game on lowest settings (like L4D, TF2, Fallout 3, etc.).

 

Just a sidenote:

If you don't put " CPU_0_TJMAX=105.0" in the file hwmonitorw.ini, HWMonitor will report wrong temps (5°C too low) for all 45nm Penryn CPUs such as T9500, T9300, T8300, T8100. For all 65nm based Merom CPUs the default CPU_0_TJMAX=100.0 is correct.

That's at least the status for the latest v1.12 of HWMonitor.

 

ow , can please somebody give me an answer!

I've done the tests, but I thought running it for longer time, to see what it gives! Now after 25minutes my temps were 87c and cpu very hot too. When I did the tests for shorter time, I only had 80c max!!!!

Can I've been damaging my GPU? (CPU: T7250, GPU: 8600M GT DDR3)

Please help.

grtz

 

No. Your computer is programmed to shut-off if the temperatures get too hot. You were not even close to the shut-off temperature. And even if you were, the shut-off temperature has a good safety margin, so it is far from a 'damaging' temperature.

No more conversation please, this is a thread for results/survey only.

 

Haven't done the exact tests asked in the first post, but my 1530 while gaming consistently has a max CPU/GPU temp around 90 C, with an ACPI temp even higher than that, though I don't know what that is... Anyway, I have a full 3 year warranty with over 2 and a half years left on it with accidental damage protection and in home service and such, so I figure that as long as my data is backed up, I'll just run it and not worry about it, because if it cooks itself, they'll replace it for me, and if it holds out for a year or two more, they'll replace it with whatever the latest "equivalent" laptop is, or at least they do in my little misguided theory...

 

1. TEMPERATURES
- CPU Min/Max Idle - 37/46
- GPU Min/Max Idle - 56/64
- HDD Min/Max Idle - 36/37

- CPU Min/Max Load - 67/73
- GPU Min/Max Load - 69/75
- HDD Min/Max Load - 36/37

2. SOFTWARE
- Power Setting in Vista - High Performance
- Bios Revision - A12
- Video Driver Version - 174.31

3. SYSTEM INFORMATION
- CPU Model and Speed - T9300 2.5GHz
- Hard Drive Speed - 5600RPM
- GPU Clock - Stock
- CPU Undervolt (@13x 1.100v I can reduce CPU temps by approx 8-10degrees)
- 9v or 6v battery - 6v

4. PHYSICAL ADJUSTMENTS
- Notebook Cooler - No
- Thermal Paste - Stock
- Airflow and Surface - On Flat Surface
- Ambient Room Temperature - 21C


Couple of points:-
1. As mentioned above I can undervolt with good results, only do this when gaming and overclocking GPU, usually just a modest Core550/Mem800.
2. Tried lots of GPU Drivers with mixed sucess. Most recently 185.20 gave excellant results however temps went through the roof, not good.

 

1. TEMPERATURES
- CPU Min/Max Idle - 35/42
- GPU Min/Max Idle - 54/56
- HDD Min/Max Idle - 31

- CPU Min/Max Load - 56/70
- GPU Min/Max Load - 74/76
- HDD Min/Max Load - 31



2. SOFTWARE
- Power Setting in Vista - High Performance
- Bios Revision - A09
- Video Driver Version - 176.44

3. SYSTEM INFORMATION
- CPU Model and Speed - T9300 2.5GHz
- Hard Drive Speed - 7200RPM
- GPU Clock - Stock
- CPU - stock
- 9v or 6v battery - 9

4. PHYSICAL ADJUSTMENTS
- Notebook Cooler - yes -targus
- Thermal Paste - Stock
- Airflow and Surface - On notebook cooler on carpet
- Ambient Room Temperature - 65F

 

not to hijack this thread, but unless advised i cbf making a new thread.
basically this is what happened when the dell guy came today to replace my mobo and heatsink:

the guy arrived and was a nice bloke, guessing in his late 50's. he took apart my laptop, replaced the mobo and heatsink as expected. after putting it back together he then tried to start up the laptop while on battery. it had the A11 Bios (which i had the A12 before he took it apart) and he made sure a few settings in the bios were ok. he then quit and tried to load up Vista. the laptop would just shutdown after the bios completed its loading screen thing. this happened everytime he tried. we then put the ac adaptor in, and it loaded up more normally. i logged in to my account. then once it loaded up, in the corner it said "device drivers are installing". i noticed in my Nvidia sidebar gadget that my GPU was 90 C!! i thought "" as that has barely been reached when i play games. currently as i type, it is sitting at 87 C. so we know now why it shutdown while on battery.

he then asked for my "drivers and utilities" cd and we put it in and rebooted. it installed all the drivers on it, then we went to testing. he tested most things such as the "system *something*" and "sensors". when we tested sensors, the second or so one came up with an error . i don't know exactly what it is, but he said it was something on the motherboard. so he tried to phone dell, and said to me that he's gonna get another mobo for me and perhaps another CPU. as he said about the CPU "it seems as though because you had heating problems before that its now cooked". something along those lines.

i then asked him if there was any thermal paste on. he said yes about the cpu, and took apart so i could see it. it looked to me like brown blu-tak the way it stuck to the cpu and heatsink. but there was none on the gpu.

so basically now i have to wait for him or dell to phone me, and hopefully they replace: mobo, cpu AND gpu.

heres the HWMonitor from idle that i have:

Before (as shown on pg3)

- CPU Min/Max Idle : 57ºC/61-62ºC (1 core being 61, other 62)
- GPU Min/Max Idle : 67ºC/68ºC
- HDD Min/Max Idle : 34ºC/35ºC

Now

- CPU Min/Max Idle : 73ºC/97ºC
- GPU Min/Max Idle : 80ºC/99ºC
- HDD Min/Max Idle : 44ºC/50ºC

i am scared by these temps. i'm just doing a quick backup to my external hdd then i'm getting off this as this time it really is "too hot to touch"

 

I had this problem after a tech worked on mine, call dell and tell them what happened. After this dell ended up sending me a brand new unit for my trouble.

 

Before I forget, go into the bios and make sure that speed-step is disabled. Computer will run at 1/2 speed, but it will not cause a thermal shut-down, just BE SURE to return that setting to enabled before you send it back!

 

TEMPERATURES

- CPU Min/Max Idle : 39ºC/44ºC
- GPU Min/Max Idle : 59ºC/69ºC

- CPU Min/Max Load (playing WoW) : 60ºC
- GPU Min/Max Load ( '' '' ) : 79ºC

- Whether you were watching your temperatures in real time, or relied on a temperature report : Realtime

SOFTWARE

- The program you used to get these readings : HWMonitor 1.12
- Power Setting in Vista : High Performance
- Bios Revision : A12

SYSTEM:

- CPU Model and Speed : T7700 2.4Ghz
- Hard Drive Speed : 7200RPM
- GPU Clock : Stock
- 9v or 6v battery : 6V

Physical Adjustments

- Notebook Cooler : Coolmaster Infinite
- Thermal Paste : No
- Airflow and Surface : Cooler Pad
- Ambient Room Temperature : 25ºC

 

thanks for replying, i'll disable speed-step in just a moment.
the only reason i'm being decisive on to phone dell is by these things:
a) the techie said he was gonna phone dell and another cpu and mobo, so it sounds fixable, so if i phone they might just say for me to wait it out until the techie comes back to refix it
b) if they do replace it, does it: - return my hdd or clone the hdd so that i keep all my files?
and - give you a replacement that has the exact same parts? or slightly upgraded/(or unfortunately) degraded?

update:
i called dell today, as they hadn't phoned me back (i never expected them to do so). I began by telling him the whole story right from when i called Dell on Tuesday, through til what happened when the techie came yesterday. He then asked for me to do some simple troubleshooting, one of which was asking if i had A12 Bios installed, which i did. Nothing really came from the troubleshooting as i expected.

He then asked me to do a DellConnect, which is where they remotely can view and control your PC (for those who didn't know). Once it was setup, i had HWMonitor running, so he could view the temperatures of the 4 things. At this point the GPU and CPU weren't running too hot, with GPU in mid 70s and CPU low 70s. He then did a bit of troubleshooting on his own, and opened up Task Manager which revealed i had around 110 processes running which he said was higher than normal, but i knew that the amount of processes wouldn't have much to do with the temperature. So the then went to msconfig and disabled most of my services and startup items and asked me to reboot.

I did so and reconnected to DellConnect. I also reopened HWMonitor, and to his and my surprise, the temperature was hotter! The GPU was running at mid to late 80s and the CPU at the low 80s. Clearly the processes did not matter. He then reasked "Does your fan have plenty of air space?", i replied with yes as it does, my laptop sits at the close end of a desk, leaving enough room at the back for easily another M1530. He then asked, "Is the fan spinning?". So i put my hand at the back near the vents, and felt barely anything, so i replied saying how there is barely any air coming out.he then asked for me to look at the bottom of the PC to see if the fan is actually spinning. To me it appeared stationary :S.

After a bit of thinking time, he told me that h would get another techie to come out on Monday (earliest possible time, as tomorrow is Satday in Aus) who would replace the Heatsink (yet again) and the Fan. We then ended the conversation.

I don't know if the fan has too much dust in it or whatever, and i can't check atm as i have to goto work, but i will check soon. Although i think it is related to when the first technician came here and turned on the PC after putting the parts back together. As when that occured, the fans were spinning fast, seeming as if they were going into overdrive. Perhaps thats what killed them. Anyways i will wait til the techie comes on Monday to find out more.

 

TEMPERATURES

- CPU Min/Max Idle : 42ºC/46ºC
- GPU Min/Max Idle : 56ºC/62ºC
- HDD Min/Max Idle : 39ºC/41ºC

- CPU Min/Max Load : 72ºC/75ºC
- GPU Min/Max Load : 75ºC/78ºC
- HDD Min/Max Load : 41ºC/42ºC

- Whether you were watching your temperatures in real time, or relied on a temperature report. : Realtime

SOFTWARE

- The program you used to get these readings : HWMonitor
- Power Setting in Vista : Custom, based off High Performance
- Bios Revision : A12

SYSTEM:

- CPU Model and Speed : T9300 2.5Ghz
- nVIDIA Driver : 179.28
- Hard Drive Speed : 5400RPM
- GPU Clock : Stock
- 9v or 6v battery : 6V

Physical Adjustments

- Notebook Cooler : No
- Thermal Paste : No
- Airflow and Surface : Wooden bench
- Ambient Room Temperature : ~22ºC

After months of load temps in the high-90s, I finally called Dell and got my unit repaired. I'm happy I did

 

nice temps i hope for mine to be like that when i finally get mine fixed

 

Temps still should not get that high... tell me the idle temp with Speed step disabled.

 

This sucks. I just called up Dell (India) and they say that they cant repair my notebook! My max temp's are thru the roof!!! I get temp's of 90ºC for both CPU and GPU while gaming!!! Idle temp's are fine though; within normal range (give a take 1ºC). Those idiots sitting at the customer care didnt even know that there was a BIOS A12!!!

I think i'm gonna try the arctic silver thermal paste, as soon as i can get my hands on them.

 

if you do any altering of the cooling system, they may void your warranty.

 

Why can't they repair it? A gpu at 90c is bad enough, but a CPU is not designed to stand such heat. Are you out of warranty? If ur CPU is at 90c then you have serious heat issues.

Dell extended the warranty on the gpu for an extra year. I got confirmation of this in writing before I purchased my m1530.