Improving P170EM 7970M GPU cooling performance (foiled)

Quick question, is this the right tape to use?

1 Roll Aluminum Effect Pedal Foil EMI Shield Tape 20mm x 50M Factory SALE | eBay

 

thatll do.

 

ok guys i got me some copper foil tape! i should have some tests up by this afternoon, no more idle temps though because somehow my fans turn off at 37c, and turn on a t 40c???? anyways everything else functions as normal.

 

yup thats normal, thats how the integrated EC fan table works

im looking forward to ur comparative data on copper vs. aluminum foil!

 

Look what I found 1181 Tape Copper Foil 6MM X 16.5MTR: Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

 

mine was $4.35 shipped and everything, and it comes as a 6yd by 1/4" roll. why did my fan table change then? the fan for the gpu used to always run no mater what and it idled at 32c. also i lapped my heatsinks and it seems like it cools down really quick.

also has anyone noticed theres no cooling for the ram on the bottom of gpu!!!!!! what da f is up with that!!!!

PTFE Cloth Tape by VALUE BRAND - Duct and Cloth Tapes by Zoro Tools Industrial Supplies

 

I ended up getting this for $3:
18mm x 1M Guitar Pickup COPPER Foil EMI Shielding Tape | eBay

 

huh? the 485m doesnt have vram modules on the backside, otherwise it would be 4 gigs instead of two! (like the 680m for example).
@fan table: changed ur bios/ec version recently?ive always idled between 37-40 with alternating spin ups/downs

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

yes, yes it does, take another look. now this is where some extra heatsinks would come in handy this is probably why you cant overclock the vram that much. i bet its like this on the 680m too. , its just the ram modules on the 680m are 256MB, instead of 128MB.

Thanks for reminding me about the bios thing, i have flashed the bios recently although it didnt start doing the fan thing until yesterday. i removed the battery and found a sim card slot, then i found out that the 4g sim card in my droid razr was much smaller than it needed and was very easy to get stuck inside the slot. i think when i removed the battery it must have reset the ec and then the thing that contained the fan table rebooted or reset when i put the battery back in and rebooted. i was scared that i had damaged the chip that powers the fan. anyways im going to flash back to the bios i had before since i would rather have the fan spinning slowly all the time and not just going on and off, its really annoying.

btw everyone these are the heat sinks i used and they are super cheap! 8 Pcs Silver Aluminum Heat Sink HeatsinkFor DDR DDR2 DDR3 RAM Memory | eBay

 

huh, i stand corrected! ud think id know better after using my 485M for one and a half years

so anyways, u just used ram heatsinks for the backside right? id make sure that they dont touch the mainboard beneath, better use some insulation tape or foam to protect the circuitry!

let us know if that really helps OCing the vram

 

i havent done it yet, i need to find some heatsinks with a height of less than 4mm, which i could just sand some of the ones i have used down, and that may be what i have to do. i stuck my old custom heatsink on my power brick and that thing get freakin hot haha, maybe ill stick the extra fans i bought on it.

here these heatsinks are only 4mm tall and i bet they could fit on the bottom side of the card where the uncooled vrams are, at least on nvidia cards. Akasa Thermal Solution

 

I add fan from hp mini.Will run some test.

 

Thought this way the right place to ask..........

 

excellent work good sir, what fan is that?

 

hp mini fan is thinner than those used by the other nbr member
fan connected to usb is running at max speed,its loud.



this piece of plastic is blocking the air flow,no drop in temp

 

fantomasz, why haven't you done the foil tape mod? It also looks like your two GPU heatsinks aren't aligned.

 

I will do it again,I just repaste gpu today again.
I test without foil wihout and with fan.
I will try reposition this small fan,move closer to gpu and maybe remove that plastic

 

fanto do you have a notebook cooler? cuz with those heatsinks on mine + a notepal U3 i no longer break 80c...

 

I dont like coolers

 

if you dont have a cooler then you arent benefitting from the heatsinks. you need the air blowing over them.

 

thats why i want additional fan
if You want benefits from cooler U should drill small holes in bottom cover where the gpu is or remove cover.

 

A cooler benefits you no matter what configuration you're using... its sorta funny you're willing to do everything but the easiest and most proven thing for cooling.

"If I'm hot I will sit in the freezer, I will go to the deepest caves, I will even go to Antarctica... but, I will NOT, I repeat, NEVER, use a desk fan!!!"

 

I was looking for these "large gaping holes" OP was referring to, and only found very small slits on the sides. I still got them covered though. Temps are also 92C indefinitely in Kombustor.

 

Mine had large gaping holes

 

Here are a few pics:

 

So the conclusion to this thread is to

1. Repaste
2. Use the aluminum tape
3. Add heatsinks less than 4mm

Anything else?

 

If you're up to it, mod the cover so it allows better air flow, maybe even add a new fan near GPU/CPU.

 

I was thinking to drill holes in cover where the gpu is
add radiators to gpu heatsink
than place laptop on cooler (fan matching gpu location)

 

Basically all of the above AND no one seems to have mentioned the addition of a thermalpad for the CPU and GPU. It should help a bit
- wanted to purchase some myself, but can't seem to find anyone who wants to ship to Denmark... bummer

 

Nothin like drilling holes in your new $1500+ machine.

...tapatalk...

 

Where can I get heatsinks from a normal store? Shipping from ebay takes too long
And where can I get thermal paste too?

I'm currently in Houston

 

Use shopping.google.com, that's what I always use to find the best internet prices as well as local/online stores with availability.

To anyone that has applied heatsinks to the RAM or anything else on the laptop, can you please post pics? Also, if you have applied thermal paste to any components, pictures would be appreciated too. I am interested in performing both things, including adding thermal tape to the heatsinks as shown in this thread, but would like some visual direction.

 

Just wanted to post my results from a little mod and clean. Pretty huge to be honest. I open up the fans and cleaned them out as they easily get full of dust, repasted with ICD and used Alluminium foil to block all gaps in the heatsink.

A good drop in 10oC across the board overall. Simple and effective. Tests are the same situation, same temperature, same settings and compound.

Before:

After:

Mod:

 

like seriously, who would do that when it cost like 15 bucks plus shipping to replace that particular part, what has the world come to.

 

No images or description of how you accessed the GPU/CPU to apply the paste? I asked about that in my post previous to your recent one.

 

I only came here just to post my results I didn't see your post as I haven't read through the entire thread.

Anyhow the Clevo or Sager is the easiest laptop to repaste the thermal compound you remove the 4 screws from the base cover and slide it off and then remove the four screws holding the GPU outer heatsink in place and repaste the GPU DIE and then reseat the heatsink and screw it back on. Exactly the same for the CPU just the screws do not come off they have washers so you just loosen it and the heatsink comes out with ease repaste and then screw it back on, both heatsink are numbered as to which screws go in first corner to corner. Finally replace the base cover.

Below the screws are marked as blue. The compound and method is your choice, I recommend MX-4 or ICD and use the pea sized blob method in a vertical line along the DIE centre.

 

Will this aluminum tape work?

(BRAND NEW) Aluminum Foil heat Shield Tape 2'' X 8 FT. ONE 8' PIECE | eBay

 

So to those of you that did this mod, do you think that it's worth it to order a thermal compound and some aluminum tape, and repaste and apply the tape to my unit right on arrival? I've read like 6 pages and just blocking off the heatsink gaps seems to make more of a difference than I'd imagine.

By the way, what thermal compound should I use? From what I've read, Arctic Silver 5 and MX-4 should be good. Am I safe choosing one of these?

 

I'd really look at gelid extreme. Its amazing stuff

 

Also, will those heatsinks work?

3.500" NEW and AVAILABLE NOW - HeatsinkUSA, LLC Store

 

One of those three yes, and you'd be cool

Also getting a notebook cooler will do wonders

 

In regards to the will this work comments yes and it is a very simple straight forward mod that will not cause any damage and if you cut the tape straight will not be an eye sore either. I literally just cleaned all the dust out and repasted with ICD as I normally do and once reseated applied the tape over the gaps and halfway down the sides not covering the radiator vents. I saw a 10oC overall drop in Furmark and in Gaming for instance anno 2070 I was sitting at 86oC before now 72oC so the noise is less you can feel more air coming out because the air flow is more compressed just like an exhaust system that is blowing. Win win.

 

Want to make the heatsink flat and apply the foil method?

Place a small strip of foam along the PWM/mem part of the fins, then apply the tape over it. It will make your heatsinks be perfectly flat and give you good alignment.

 

What type of foil do you use? Could I get an external link to a website

What kind of foam would you use?

 

I am using standard (stiff packing) foam and electrical tape lol.

My mods tend to be a bit more.... minmatar than others ^-^

 

Unless you permanently bend the pipes, this just adds unecessary leverage to the GPU and mounts at the GPU. I found out when my assembly was teeter-tautering when I had no paste on that my GPU was really being pressed on wrongly.

 

The fan only covers part of the radiator anyway they are twice the size of the fan opening so it does not really matter if they line up and putting pressure on the pipes is not a good idea as if they break and the gas escapes they are useless. The tape fills the small gaps perfectly well on its own and its such a cheap easy mod for 10oC lower temps especially if you are overclocking.

 

I just took my temperatures after doing this foil tape fix, and I got 5 degrees cooler at idle, about 10 at load! Which was weird. Although I did do the paste as well.

 

Measuring fan RPM before and after the mod would probably help alleviate any weirdness in the outcome.

 

this mod lowered my max load from 90dgc to 85dgc thanks a lot ^.^