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    Improving P170EM 7970M GPU cooling performance (foiled)

    Discussion in 'Sager and Clevo' started by bn880, Jul 3, 2012.

  1. Meaker@Sager

    Meaker@Sager Company Representative

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    Not that different to be honest.
     
    Meaker@Sager, Jul 4, 2012
    #51
  2. fantomasz

    fantomasz Notebook Deity

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    i think it's not possible to get acces to other side to apply tape
    maybe a foam pad/stripe on bottom?
     
    fantomasz, Jul 4, 2012
    #52
  3. bn880

    bn880 Notebook Consultant

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    Just top and sides, but bottom would help a little too.

    Yep that might work, although it's probably less of a concern as it's that much harder for the fan to recirculate from all the way on the other side.
     
    bn880, Jul 4, 2012
    #53
  4. gcrain

    gcrain Notebook Consultant

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    I'm thinking some kind of spongy pad applying pressure from the case might be the way to go here.
     
    gcrain, Jul 4, 2012
    #54
  5. Mark121

    Mark121 Notebook Consultant

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    Has anyone thought of putting a copper shim in between the core and heatsink?
    to reduce the gap.
    I did this to my old MSI GT627 and dropped a couple degrees.
     
    Mark121, Jul 5, 2012
    #55
  6. iaTa

    iaTa Do Not Feed

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    There's really no need when you can just bend the heatsink arms very slightly.

    Has the same effect as a shim or adding very slight extra pressure.
     
    iaTa, Jul 5, 2012
    #56
  7. mahalsk

    mahalsk Notebook Consultant

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    Ok, today It's realy hot. I'm on my dorm room an It's like 35C here , I' m melting and going out to the swiming poll. :)
    But I was just curious on what the temperatures will be after yesterdays foil upgrade. So I ran msi kombuster and heres the result
    [​IMG]

    I ran it for five minutes , but It was quite a long time on 82-83C so I dont think It'll go higher
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 6, 2015
    mahalsk, Jul 5, 2012
    #57
  8. icehot

    icehot Notebook Geek

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    ignore this
     
    icehot, Jul 5, 2012
    #58
  9. Exposed88

    Exposed88 Notebook Consultant

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    This won't void the warranty will it?
     
    Exposed88, Jul 5, 2012
    #59
  10. Zymphad

    Zymphad Zymphad

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    It's just tape. It's not ruining any hardware.
     
    Zymphad, Jul 5, 2012
    #60
  11. phill1978

    phill1978 Notebook Consultant

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    so if you send the laptop back with the tape on they wont care

    :eek:


    this mod looks great but given the price of this laptop having to shove tape inside to fix it!? well i suppose it works so why knock it :cool:
     
    phill1978, Jul 5, 2012
    #61
  12. Zymphad

    Zymphad Zymphad

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    As others have said, I have done this on other laptops before also. Did it on my G73JH. And as also stated, AW and some other brands do it themselves, but like Asus, some use really cheap material.

    Clevo allows you to do some modification without voiding warranty, so why not do it? Use good material and do it right to your satisfaction.
     
    Zymphad, Jul 5, 2012
    #62
  13. phill1978

    phill1978 Notebook Consultant

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    fair enough

    begs the question how far can one take laptop cooling mods on a cheap budget? perhaps there are other simple things that could shave a few degrees off ?
     
    phill1978, Jul 5, 2012
    #63
  14. Exposed88

    Exposed88 Notebook Consultant

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    So the foil is recommended then?
     
    Exposed88, Jul 5, 2012
    #64
  15. Zymphad

    Zymphad Zymphad

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    I would think so. Foil tape costs about $2.
     
    Zymphad, Jul 5, 2012
    #65
  16. bn880

    bn880 Notebook Consultant

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    :) Just be careful where you stick it, and that you don't leave loose pieces inside. hehe
     
    bn880, Jul 5, 2012
    #66
  17. icehot

    icehot Notebook Geek

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    If you're worried about shorting something cos of the foil, use electrical insulation tape, seems to do the same thing... can anyone think of why using foil tape might work better??
     
    icehot, Jul 6, 2012
    #67
  18. cr0bar

    cr0bar Notebook Geek

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    The first thing that comes to mind is heat acting on the tape itself and the glue, but the temperatures may not get high enough to cause issues.
     
    cr0bar, Jul 6, 2012
    #68
  19. bn880

    bn880 Notebook Consultant

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    Aluminum tape will stay sealed much longer than (99% of) electrical tape and it's easier to form an airtight seal. Also it conducts heat hundreds of times better itself. Electrical tape is more of an insulator, whereas Al tape is a radiator or heatsink. Al tape also transfers heat from one cpomonent to the other better, so from the hotter GPU heatsink to VRAM heatsink. But of course it's not a substantial amount.
     
    bn880, Jul 6, 2012
    #69
  20. icehot

    icehot Notebook Geek

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    Ok fair enough, I've ordered some foil tape now, so I'll see if that fairs any better temperature wise to my insulation tape! :)
     
    icehot, Jul 6, 2012
    #70
  21. Ngetal

    Ngetal Notebook Enthusiast

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    Can you maybe post a link to the one you ordered? I'm in Ireland and might need it soon :)
     
    Ngetal, Jul 6, 2012
    #71
  22. icehot

    icehot Notebook Geek

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    Tesa Aluminium Foil Tape, 50 mm x 25 m: Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

    That one, it seems quite hard to find in this country, it's not in any shops that i can see, so luckily Amazon had that - they've got some other sellers on amazon selling it, but not sure I trust that as much as amazon selling the stuff direct so paid a bit more for it..
     
    icehot, Jul 6, 2012
    #72
  23. fantomasz

    fantomasz Notebook Deity

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    furmak

    stock 90C
    with tape 87C

    my fan kick is into max speed at 89C
     
    fantomasz, Jul 6, 2012
    #73
  24. icehot

    icehot Notebook Geek

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    have u tried with kombuster?? furmark doesn't stress the gpu in this particular model as much as kombuster
     
    icehot, Jul 6, 2012
    #74
  25. fantomasz

    fantomasz Notebook Deity

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    no
    now I dont want to remove that tape to make before and after test
     
    fantomasz, Jul 6, 2012
    #75
  26. TrantaLocked

    TrantaLocked Notebook Deity

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    Test Kombuster and see your temps anyways I guess. If you can stay around 90-95C max that would be a success.
     
    TrantaLocked, Jul 6, 2012
    #76
  27. bn880

    bn880 Notebook Consultant

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    Hmm, so that's actually a big difference, since you're operating at 1 fan speed lower. If the fan was to stay at 1 speed higher as with before, you'd probably be at 80C
     
    bn880, Jul 6, 2012
    #77
  28. Meaker@Sager

    Meaker@Sager Company Representative

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    Running while on my lap :p
     

    Attached Files:

    • cool.jpg
      cool.jpg
      File size:
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    Meaker@Sager, Jul 6, 2012
    #78
  29. smokinokie

    smokinokie Notebook Consultant

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    This took me from 90c to 85c on Furmark. Thanks for the easy, effective mod!
     
    smokinokie, Jul 6, 2012
    #79
  30. fenryr423

    fenryr423 Notebook Evangelist

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    fenryr423, Jul 6, 2012
    #80
  31. bn880

    bn880 Notebook Consultant

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    I hope so (that it can be optimized)

    For now we can counteract it with tricks like pressure, airflow, repaste. :) All those things never go to waste Enduro or not.
     
    bn880, Jul 6, 2012
    #81
  32. Exposed88

    Exposed88 Notebook Consultant

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    so do we take off the heatsink and do underneath as well?
     
    Exposed88, Jul 6, 2012
    #82
  33. keifox

    keifox Newbie

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    Thanks, it helps a lot.
    I am going to try it tonite.
     
    keifox, Jul 7, 2012
    #83
  34. aduy

    aduy Keeping it cool since 93'

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    i think you could do that if you wanted. btw i just did this and i think its working really well, my machine used to idle at 36 with max fans and artic silver 5, then with ic diamond at 32 and now at 30 with the tape mod. thanks a bunch i will tell you the difference in bf3.
     
    aduy, Jul 7, 2012
    #84
  35. aduy

    aduy Keeping it cool since 93'

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    wowowowow overclocked it to 735 on the core and was getting minor minor artifacting, and then decide to go to 750 and it crashed, but still with maxed fans and overvolted to 1.03v at 735mhz core it was sitting at 70 degrees!!!!!!!!!!!!! holy crap!
     
    aduy, Jul 7, 2012
    #85
  36. MeNtAl_DaRkNeSs

    MeNtAl_DaRkNeSs Notebook Consultant

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    Hi ppl,
    I just finished this modding on my GPU and CPU, here are my tests:

    3DMark Vantage:
    Before:
    http://3dmark.com/3dmv/4174601
    Room temp: 22-25ºC
    GPU - 85ºC (900/1400)
    CPU - 79ºC

    After:
    http://3dmark.com/3dmv/4177485
    Room temp: 22-25ºC
    GPU - 82ºC (900/1400)
    CPU - 76ºC

    http://3dmark.com/3dmv/4177514
    Room temp: 22-25ºC
    GPU - 83ºC (1005/1200)
    CPU - 76ºC

    3DMark 11
    After:
    http://3dmark.com/3dm11/3830009
    Room temp: 22-25ºC
    GPU - 73ºC (1005/1200)
    CPU - 71ºC


    Kombustor 2.3
    +-5mins
    Before: 89-91ºC

    After: 85-87ºC

    -4ºC just by applying this tape, it's rly worth the time :D

    Thank you bn880 + rep for you :p
    Best Regards to all
     
    MeNtAl_DaRkNeSs, Jul 7, 2012
    #86
  37. aduy

    aduy Keeping it cool since 93'

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    I just added a heatsink which i had from an old pentium two haha. I chopped it and put it on top of the gpu heat sink using ic diamond. uploadfromtaptalk1341694284524.jpg

    Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
     
    aduy, Jul 7, 2012
    #87
  38. hackness

    hackness Notebook Virtuoso

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    Looks nice lol
     
    hackness, Jul 7, 2012
    #88
  39. aduy

    aduy Keeping it cool since 93'

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    hmm it only reduced it by about 1c i think its because that section is nearly completely enclosed. time to add some vents on the casing!
     
    aduy, Jul 7, 2012
    #89
  40. fantomasz

    fantomasz Notebook Deity

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    what prograam to use to check idle temp?
    HWmonior is working only if I open Kombuster but I think kombuster have ssomething to do with my fan on or off cycle.
     
    fantomasz, Jul 7, 2012
    #90
  41. fenryr423

    fenryr423 Notebook Evangelist

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    open kombustor -> open hwinfo -> close kombuster
    hwinfo will continue to detect 7970m. it may show 0's until it is active again because it completly shuts off when it isnt being used
     
    fenryr423, Jul 7, 2012
    #91
  42. fantomasz

    fantomasz Notebook Deity

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    yes I see 0 but I want to monitor gpu idle temp
    when laptop is at idl,fan stop when I open kombuster,it happen sometimes
     
    fantomasz, Jul 7, 2012
    #92
  43. fenryr423

    fenryr423 Notebook Evangelist

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    Your gpu is off... Its called zerocore... Look it up
     
    fenryr423, Jul 7, 2012
    #93
  44. iaTa

    iaTa Do Not Feed

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    I don't think the 7970M has the zerocore feature.
     
    iaTa, Jul 7, 2012
    #94
  45. aduy

    aduy Keeping it cool since 93'

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    aduy, Jul 7, 2012
    #95
  46. Mark121

    Mark121 Notebook Consultant

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    You guys should experiment with copper shims and add more pressure to the heatsink post before after temps.
     
    Mark121, Jul 7, 2012
    #96
  47. fenryr423

    fenryr423 Notebook Evangelist

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    straight from AMD website :

    AMD ZeroCore Power technology4
    <1W idle for GPUs with inactive displays
    Ultra-low power state support for multi-GPU configurations
    <1W idle for slave GPUs in AMD CrossFire™ configurations

    AMD Radeon™ HD 7900M Series Graphics
     
    fenryr423, Jul 7, 2012
    #97
  48. iaTa

    iaTa Do Not Feed

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    Fair enough. Thought I had read that it didn't actually have it even though it was assumed it would.
     
    iaTa, Jul 7, 2012
    #98
  49. Beefsticks

    Beefsticks Notebook Consultant

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    Man, I paid Malibal $35 to apply IC diamond and my GPU has gone to 91C in 50 seconds. Not happy with this.

    Edit:

    Ran for 21 minutes. I've noticed a +2, -1 pattern of poor fan management:

    Went to 93C, fan sped up a notch, -1C = 92C.

    Fan slows, temp + 2C, fan kicks back in, -1C = 93C

    Fan slows, temp +2C, fan kicks back in, temp -1C = 94C

    Fan slows, temp +2C, fan kicks back in, temp -1C = 95C

    Fan slows, teeters indefinitely at 95/96C

    So after 21 minutes, it is at the 2nd fastest speed and at a scorching 95/96C. Why won't it give it all it has? Its practically on fire! Its way too lax, IMHO. There should be an "I dont care about noise" fan setting for maximum cooling.

    I will be using tape and maybe bending a mount or two. I wonder if I can get a partial refund for the IC diamond since I paid them to do a professional job to set up the thermal management. Oh and uh, I'm using the P150, not the P170. Same story anyway.


    Edit #2: Holy crap the GPU heatstink fin/pipe assemblies are ridiculously out of line in my notebook. Bent upwards and sideways, off about 4mm horizontally and 1-2mm vertically slanted. That equates to .8cm of negative space just on the sides!!! I wonder if this is from Malibal installing the 7970m custom or from the factory? The CPU is perfectly aligned, at least.
     
    Beefsticks, Jul 7, 2012
    #99
  50. fenryr423

    fenryr423 Notebook Evangelist

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    1/2 of this is fan management. i really do not understand why everyones fans are kicking in at different times! mine go full blast at either 89 or 91, while ive seen others kick in at 83 and others seem to never spool up at all. id much rather that happen at 80... thats what my headset is for
     
    fenryr423, Jul 8, 2012
    #100
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