** XPS M1330 A04 motherboard exchange thread **

yes, the whine will always be there (as I said above, its even there on my HP and my mates Sony), BUT some of them are so quiet that you can only hear it if you put your ear right next to it (like my HP and my mates Sony) which is acceptable!

But the ones that you can hear from the other side of the room are totally unacceptable!

 

Well, I got the replacement motherboard yesterday. Dell sent me two packages and I only got the first one yesterday and the second one I should get on Monday. The first package seemed to have everything I need to do the swap now. It included the REV A04 system board with A06 Bios, A new thermal-cooling assembly, and a new media panel. I proceeded to do the swap myself and I was done within 2 hours or so. I was trying to be as careful as possible. The system booted up fine and everything works well. I ran the dell diagnostics too and no issues.

When I looked up the contents of what I think is in the second package, it says part number UP755 "Pad,Cooling,Powerstrate Extreme,18X18X0.2,Central Processor Unit,Portable $10.99".. What the heck is this? The new thermal assembly already had the thermal pad on it. Any ideas?

 

Dell is sending me a new laptop. After talking to who knows how many different people at Dell regarding the Whine and pointing them to forums here, they admitted there was an issue and at first they wanted to just send a tech to replace the MB but I've had no luck with the techs so far, so they were nice enough to say they would just build me a new system. And they are also sending it to the tech I've been working with to double check to make sure its whine free before shipping to me. Will see what happens.

 

This has probably been said before in this thread..I skipped to page 21 of this thread..but there's also the southbridge whine problem.
I just learned about it and realized that I've never had cpu whine with either of my m1330s. It was the southbridge whine since boht m1330s' whining came from around the expresslot region

 

So it's Southbridge if the whine comes from the area around the express card? Would the mobo replacement do anything to fix that? Still waiting on some bios update to give the option to get rid of C4...

 

the only option to get rid of the Intel 82801HBM southbridge whine is to change the mobo, and hope you get a quiet one.

If you have whine, please vote in my thread here

 

Does anybody have a video or Dell's instructions on how to perform the mobo replacement yourself? I think I may do it now, I just don't want a tech doing it.

 

http://support.euro.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/xpsm1330/en/SM/html/sysboard.htm#wp1000473

 

Is the MB Revision whats listed on that copper wire that looks like a backwards L in the memory slot area? If so this brand new one they sent me is Revision 1 and it still making a noise from what I can tell. Or is it the holder under ram slot 1? Either way they both list Revision 1 on both Tags. The Dell rep I was talking to for the last day specifically said he requested they build a laptop with the newer MB.

 

Technically it's the sticker under the RAM slot. But I haven't heard yet that it's any different than the sitcker on the copper. Either way, as you said, you have the AO1 version.

What country are you located in?? Just 5 days ago I was assured by two different reps at Dell that in the US all m1330 notebooks are shipping with the A04 MB version. That, of course, could have simply been because they both knew that is what I wanted to here.

 

I'm in the US, I'll be giving Dell a call tomorrow to figure out whats going on. At this point I'm working with their Customer Resolution Tech Specialists.

 

I got the replacement m1330 today, it has the A01 motherboard so it's a step backwards after having the mobo swapped out on the other one and everything. However, everything else is perfect, the keyboard, the screen, the battery. No lose or mal-aligned plastic parts.

The whine is there, it won't go away no matter what. I have the option of returning the laptop and getting my money back still, but I love everything else about this notebook so I'm just going to live with it.

 

@MarkoDaGeek

I have the same situation here...second xps and still got the whine but everything else is perfect...i just don't know what to do. what if the whine drives me crazy after 2 months? this is so not fair

 

I just returned my m1330 after two motherboard replacements since it was whining louder than ever and actually giving me a headache to use. Loved the size, the screen, and the performance, but the noise was a deal breaker.

 

Can anyone explain why my warranty by ID Tag is only one year and its from shipping date to Europe.
When i bought m1330 they told that the factory gives 3year warranty.

I had mine already 3 times to service to remove the noise. They change my motherboard (i dont know with which one) and my LED(they change Toshiba to Chi Mi or smt. - is it very bad?) but nothing went better.

 

hey guys, please excuse this ques, but the thread is a bit long...

so i recently purchased the xps 1330 and it does have a high pitched noise to it.

i tried and skimmed through as much as i could and it seems like there is two possibilities for the cause of the noise?

one from the southbridge mobo chip and one from the cpu?

how can i tell which is which so i can troubleshoot this?

i will def.ly the laptop and check for the mobo version later tonight when i get off work. i will also report the bio's version.

the whine is a bit on the low side as of right now. i do not know if i would be able to live with it, but if exchanging the laptop is not a sure way of solving the problem i might just keep this since i scored a deal on it.

-albert.

 

Removing the battery, I saw an A00 label on the base of the mobo.. Everything on this notebook is perfect apart from a whine, which sounds like it comes from the right hand side by the finger print reader. Reading abpve, this seems like it is not the CPU but a chip on the mobo.

Here is the weird thing, the whine (which is annoying) only occurs when I set the notebook on a wooden surface. I ran my setup on a glass table and am writing this with the notebook on my lap and no whine. When I place the notebook on my coffee table or my desk, the whine comes back. This is very strange, but Dell's ambition to remove the word laptop and use notebook will fail with me, as this baby is silent when on my lap!

 

My new M1330 has the A07 revsion BIOS on it.. It's not even avilable on the dell support site yet.

So far, everything is as it should be, other than a stuck pixel on my LCD. I am having a tech come out to replace the LED LCD.

 

I looked at my mobo version under the battery and it was A00, but it doesn't appear accurate cuz on another sticker on the bottom it
says ao4 mobo and it is running the a07 bios.

if i put my ear up to the computer and listen real real hard I hear a noise
which I suppose could be a whine. But I'm thinking mine's fine.
I wouldn't even think to check it unless I read it here.

 

mobo is A04.
bios is A07.

i have the mobo high pitched squeal/whine. i do not believe i have the cpu whine.

i have requested an exchange from dell and ill report back on what i get and if it has the problem. sigh.

i will see how the exchange laptop they have sent is when i receive it. maybe this is as quiet as it can get.

p/s.: disabling the fingerprint reader from powering down has reduced the whine by a little bit. and also having RMclock with C4 state disabled has also reduced it a little bit. it is not good enough for me though. it is still annoying.

p/s.: the noise is coming from the bottom right hand corner of the palm rest. i suppose it is the intel chip. although it does not explain why the rmclock has affected it.

 

Few days back my M1330 went out cold all of a sudden when I was surfing net….I receive no response frm my unit when I press the power button…..the adapter light goes off when connected to the notebook….and not even the wifi catcher works…my mobo Rev is A01.….had a talk with Dell Tech through email and he said my mobo was faulty, and it had to be replaced…I bought my unit back in sept….and during the time of purchase Dell didn’t released the M1530.…so I had to go on with the M1330.…but now that they seems to hav it…….is there anyway of convincing dell to exchange the M1330 for a M1530 with some additional money…….or give me a full refund…..anyone with any views pls

sorry this had been posted somewhere else…..but just thought I wld do it here too…….thanks in advance

 

A full refund after 5 months + and yon have not had a replacement unit yet come on now. The way I see it you have a few option open replacement mobo or replacement unit. How do you know something else is not faulty on your current unit? If you go for the unit replacement just swap out the hdd to the new one.
Still you can do but try for the 1530...

 

Hi Everyone, I'm new here but not new to computers. I have been tracking the various threads here on the M1330 and noticed this one about the 'whine/buzz' sound. I just received a M1330 with the A04 motherboard revision and it too has the whining sound. As has been confirmed by Dell, this happens when the system goes into a power saving mode.

I'll tell you that my 7 year old Inspiron 4000 (P3 850) makes this exact same noise. It is unfortunate but I wanted to note that a lot of you are swapping out motherboards with hope that something will be fixed. In all honesty, I think you are wasting your time. I know there are other brands that have this noise and others that don't. I'm not suggesting it's NOT a problem, it is a nuisance, however I just don't see it going away.

Having a tech take your notebook entirely apart is a risky proposition that has its own potential set of problems.

I know I've probably repeated what everyone has said, but for the benefit of newcomers I thought I would state what I've learned about this noise.

NOTE: For those looking for the motherboard revision, open the memory/CPU slotcover on the bottom (removing the phillips head screws -- use a small screwdriver as to not to strip them!) and then remove the top memory module. You will see the revision on the white sticker.

Chris

 

Just had an A04 fitted in London after my m1330 GPU burned after six months (vertical lines on boot). Dell XPS support said it would be brand new, but it turns out to be a refurb Polish engineer said 'they'll all refurbs'. Hmm.

He stripped down, fitted and reassembled it in 20 mins flat. Amazing to watch. Everything appears to be back together fine and no whine yet. Deliverd with A08 bios.

 

Can you guys help me find which Mobo I have?

Thanks

 

Just open your memory door....

It's on a sticker attached to one of the memory sockets.

 

Wrong forum. Post your question in dell customer service sub-forum.

 

Ok... what's the status on the mobo revs? I just got a refurb unit that has the southbridge whine and talked to a dell tech who said mobo rev A04 and lower have the problem and everything above are OK. He doesn't know waht they're up to now or what came out when... it sounds a bit fishy to me as I seem to keep reading reports of people getting whining mobos even up into April.

Also, I thought rev A04 came out last november? Anyone know what rev they're up to now? (this system was originally shipped end of Feb, so likely built sometime during Feb)

If I get a new (post-A04 or current, whatever the number is) motherboard are they confirmed to properly get rid of the problem or is it still luck of the draw?

 

Hello there..

I have bought my xps 1330 laptop in Feb 2008. It came with the A04 revision motherboard. In March I had to replace the DVD-RW. In April I had to replace the Hard Drive. In May, the CPU started to whine, the system heats too much, the screen started to freez with those longitudinal lines and the story finished with a motherboard failure.

Dell Has sent me a new system for replacement. It actually seemed like a refurbished one, very loud hard disk, very noisy DVD-RW drive..And I am suspecious that the new motherboard will stand for another 2-3 months.

I am sure it is not only a motherboard issue, there is a big thermal problem in that specific brand, that will not be simply resolved by a motherboard exchange.

Notice that the power supply socket is exactly adjacent to the video card, it makes it heat and all graphic problem start then!!

To confirm my theory, please review the design of the new Dell Vastro 1310:

http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/p...aspx/vostronb_1310?c=uk&l=en&s=bsd&cs=ukbsdt1

Dell has put the power supply socket to the right side, away from the video card.

If you need an advice, do not go for Dell, especially xps 1330. You will really suffer.