** XPS M1330 A04 motherboard exchange thread **

Please report whether you have ordered a replacement for your whining CPU. When was order placed ? When was it received ? Did the technician replace it properly ? How is the new A04 revision ? Whining problem solved ?

 

I don't even think it's out yet.

 

Well according to Flemenko's sources and this thread on the DELL forums...it is.

 

I guess they are and people have started ordering replacements !!

 

Just confirmed with Dell. All new M1330 systems manufactured in Malaysia will now have the new A04 Revision motherboard.

 

Got mine replace yesterday....and cpu whine was history! the bios version came with this A04 mobo is A05.

 

Don't update your BIOS to A06, you might lose battery life!

 

I just got my 1330 today and it is silent

 

How do I identify which mobo I have? I received my m1330 last week. I bought it certified refurbished from the dell outlet. It has the A05 bios on it.

 

I received my replacement notebook on Tues. so far it does not have the whine. I was speaking with Dell tech support last night and she assured me that my notebook came with the new motherboard. My has the A06 bios on it.

 

The new A04 motherboards are coming with A05 BIOS (this update is known for increased battery life). As far as replacement motherboards are concerned, my friends have got A04 board with A05 BIOS.

 

How many days does it take for dell send u the replacement mobo ?

 

I spoke to them on Wednesday and they are sending me a whole new system. They didn't even ask any questions. New one better have the new motherboard and a proper screen or i'm gonna die :'(.

 

my BIOS is A06

 

How is the install process for the replacement motherboard? I'm afraid these tech's are going to screw something up. If the noise goes aways, I'm completely down though!

 

I have the A04 motherboard on it's way to me as we speak. The representative from Dell told me again, that this new motherboard will get rid of the whine for good and that it's a pretty simple replacement. How does one go about changing a motherboard in a M1330 anyways? Through the keyboard, the back panel?

 

Does this apply to Dell UK too? Its manufactured in Ireland.

 

You need to call Dell and confirm!

 

This is for an M1210, but I'm assuming that the M1330 and all other laptops would be quite similar...

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wFUWeLk7Amk

 

My motherboard is rev A00 =(

 

Spydc, how did you check what version your mobo is?

 

Really, the new motherboard fixes cpu whine?
Dang, I just got my m1330 this monday and it has the old motherboard with cpu whine but other than the whine, the build quality is good.
And I've spent more than 10 hours installing stuff/changing settings/etc.

What should I do? Should I call for a new m1330?
Or can I get a dell technician to switch the motherboard out?
What do you guys recommend?

 

get the tech guy to come to your house

 

XPS chat didn't know what I was talking about, so I called tech support. They quickly looked up the issue and are sending me a new motherboard, revision A04. I am performing the replacement myself, but they require a tech to be on the phone with me. Won't be my first time inside it.

Can't wait to see ( hear) if this works! Will keep you posted...

Hey does anyone have any documentation about this from Dell's website besides tech postings in the forums? I just realized that I kind of told the guy I needed the revision rather than letting him come to that conclusion. Is this update definitely supposed to fix this issue?

 

I just spoke with the tech and she got the parts. She will be replace my A01 MB with A04 tomorrow.

 

To check to see what mobo version you have, just pull out the battery and it will be clearly labeled on the sticker attached to the underside of the system. I don't know if I want to have the mobo swapped and risk the tech scratching and dinging up the system.

 

Are u sure that label is for mobo and not for the battery.....I hv A00

 

That looked kinda scary! Maybe I should do this myself!

 

mine says A00 too

 

How exactly has Dell fixed the CPU whine with this new revision? Did they just deactivate the C4 state or did they really find a solution (crappy capacitors)?

 

anyone have a link of a utility to deactivate C4 state?

 

according to the DELL tech in this thread (2nd post), the only way to check which mobo you have is by taking out the stick of RAM underneath the lappy, and it will tell you there.

 

sounds good, but I'll wait till people get results with the new motherboard first, then'll I'll call dell to come and switch out my mobo

thanks guys

 

why u want to do that mate? You getting CPU whine from your new machine? The utility is called RMClock, google it.

 

I just chekced my laptop. Built in ireland. it has the a04 motherboard but a6 bios.

 

ooo!! I'm getting mine on Monday (UK model, so built in Ireland as well), when did you order yours? And when did you recieve it?

Cheers!

 

Just checked mine , Its A01 and is Bios06.
Just to make sure, there are a few codings just the bottom of the laptop, eg "Dell LBL P/N : X5033 A01" . Does that means i have A01?

Got mine last friday.
I will call Dell UK on Monday to ask for a replacement.

 

No, the only 100% way to tell what mobo you have is to remove the stick of RAM underneath the laptop, then it will say "A0x" (where x is 1, 2, 3...). That is your mobo revision!

So check under the RAM before you call DELL. And if you have no CPU whine, then dont bother calling them and getting a techy to completely dismantle your new lappy for no reason! I've heard that the techies can also create a bunch of new problems...so as they saying goes, if it aint broke, dont fix it!

 

lol mine is quiet I just want to know if it gets quieter with c4 off

 

doubt it would mate! and disabling C4 state will reduce battery life, and put a bit more strain on the CPU, cos it will never be able to go into "sleep" mode (C4 state).

 

I was already planning to call Dell UK because i have the CPU whining problem with my XPS M1330.
Anyway thx for the info, I will try to check the motherboard version of my laptop.

 

Anybody else got their cpu whine fixed after switching out the mobo?
I'm thinking of calling dell tomorrow.

 

Make sure dell tech send you the right motherboard if you have Nvidia GPU. Dell sent me the board without one. I wil have a new board install next week.

 

Tech did it for you, or did you do it yourself? Did it seem like an overly involved process?

 

The service-call tech did it for me. There are many screws to remove. It's quite easy to do if you have done it once. The tech put everything back but there were some parts that did not work or fit correctly. I ended up fixed everything back to the way it was. So next week we check the new motherboard before we install it.

 

Ugh... The Dell tech I'm chatting with claims that A04 refers to the BIOS revision.

 

This woman really doesn't want to give me this stupid motherboard, haha. She's now insisting that it's the fan, and also that I'm not allowed to replace the parts myself.

 

Probably the same girl I talked to at dell. I don't think she has any idea on the product she supports. I kept telling her Nividia GPU is integrated onto the motherboard but she insisted it is not. She said the problem is the motherboard and a battery.

 

has there been any whining with the T5250 chips?

 

Clock speed? Sorry, I don't have the model numbers committed to memory. <_<