Getting Motherboard+Heatsink replaced on XPS 1530

Hi , my whole system has been getting heated up a lot recently. Under mild stress of playing Civilisation 4 for 40 minutes, I got the following temps: GPU 97, CPU 83 & 87, HDD 49, ACPI 79.

So I called up tech support, told them my problem and had a lot of time wasted as they made me do a 2.5 hr diagnostic test saying they couldn't trust 3rd party software (HW Monitor). The test said everything is fine, but i insisted that I was having lag during even this mild gaming and that the palmrest was exceptionally hot and a diagnostic test giving the all clear didn't solve my problem. They have agreed to replace the motherboard and heatsink and the tech guy is coming over tomorrow.

But what I want to know is, how competent are Dell's service guys in handling such things ? Can they properly reapply thermal grease and stuff ? I ask because the last guy who came to replace my media button bar did not inspire any confidence and handled my laptop very roughly. Actually the repair guys aren't even Dell guys but from a company to whom Dell has outsourced this task. I worry that an incorrect replacement , without due care , would cause me more grief in the long run.

My second major worry is will Dell try and "cut costs' on me by sending an inferior quality motherboard+heatsink ? Will it have the same graphics card as my current one which is a 8600m GT with 256 MB of GDDR3 vRAM ? Would they try and stick in an 8400m GS or 8600m GT with DDR2 or only 128MB vRAM ? The latter two instances would be especially a problem as from my experience with Dell, they will try and insist it is not even a real difference and basically the same thing with slightly different nomenclature.

What is your understanding and experience of this issue ?

 

I've had my motherboard and optical drive replaced twice by a technician that Dell sent to me. He was very careful and thorough. He knew what he was doing. If, by some chance, yours does anything wrong, get back in touch with Dell and let them know. Also, there is a survey that the repair contractors ask you to complete after every repair, so you could leave negative feedback.

They will replace it with exactly the same thing you have. If you have an 8800M GT, they will replace your motherboard with one that has an 8800M GT, with exact same amount of memory. If they try to replace it with anything less, use the Unresolved Issues form, or file a complaint with the BBB.

In my experiences dealing with the technicians, though, they're good people. They know what they're doing, and generally have the right parts.

 

ive had 2 experiences that bugged me a lot and i saw just how inexperienced these techs are:

1- they replaced my mobo for a refurbished *dirty as crud* mobo with the 8400 instead of the 8600gt, how can you tell you got the same motherboard? check that the core has the EXACT same capacitor arrangement in the core ( the little bits around the silver core in the green part ) if its different, its most likely the wrong one...

2- the tech tried to refit the heatsink without thermal paste, thats where i gently said *i think your supposed to put paste on that...* and he replied *i dont think i have any* * then you cant put in that heatsink* fortunately he found some left over cpu goo, he put it on and voila, problem solved.
altho the heatsink comes with little squares of thermal paste, always check everything is put in accordingly, if you notice something wrong, say it, and insist on what you believe is right.

hope everything goes well

 

I've had a tech come out to my house once and it was a nice experience. He installed a new screen on my M1210 and did a very careful and thorough job.

Now, my best Dell story (and I have several) is when I sent my 700m in to have the mobo replaced and they forgot to reconnect my hard drive. In fact, they had actually used the wrong mobo and the HD COULD NOT be connected

At least with a tech coming out to your house, you are in control of the situation. Don't be afraid to jump in if he's doing something wrong like Koer says. The parts you receive will most likely be refurbished, but should be of the exact same quality and specs (or better) as what you had before.

 

They changed the motherboard and heatsink all right, but they did not apply any thermal paste. I don't think thats correct ? I asked him, but he said there was no need of any such thing. He didn't have any thermal paste with him, and said that it wasn't used anywhere, all paste and stuff would be already applied. According to him they never used thermal paste in any repair, and that he had been doing this kind of thing (repairing laptops including motherboard changes) for a long time and never done any such thing ?

 

I dont think it "needs" thermal paste as it should have a pad on it but yes a high quality thermal paste would be ideal.