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    M860TU, Help me cool it down

    Discussion in 'Sager and Clevo' started by Skillz, Dec 18, 2008.

  1. Skillz

    Skillz Notebook Consultant

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    Hey all,

    I've just received my XXodd M860tu with the 9800m GTS :)
    After some struggles installing XP and getting the sata to recognized properly it's finally working 100%.

    Yesterday I played some WoW for the first time and it was great to see the game in full detail (I'm coming from an Ati Mobility X1600). But...the noise, oh the noise! I expected more noise because of the hardware but I'm having trouble accepting this level noise so I'm going to try anything to make it run cooler. If I can't get it to make less noise I'm afraid this baby will go on sale very soon...

    After some searching I'm allready running RMClock and managed to lower the voltage quite a bit, but I know there must be ways to cool it even more.

    Another thing I'd like to do is lower the voltage on my Nvidia 9800m GTS and I've allready downloaded GPU-Z, saved the Bios to a .bin file and now I'm trying to use NiBiTor (4.6) but it's not reading to correct values of the GTS. Could anyone point me in the right direction on how to get the correct values (and what to change?)

    One more thing I'd like to do is using Artic Silver 5. I've verified with XXodd and they are NOT using Artic Silver 5, so there's room for improvement. Now this is one thing I've never done before and after examining the M860tu, I will need some pointers on how to remove the heatpipes/sinks.

    Thanks for reading
     
    Skillz, Dec 18, 2008
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  2. Gophn

    Gophn NBR Resident Assistant

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    congrats on the new system.

    you cannot escape the fan noise since it is require to cool the system... especially since all gaming notebook will require the cooling.

    you can use the Silent Mode button to make everything quiet when you are not gaming.

    I usually game with headphones, so I do not even notice any fan noise anymore.
     
    Gophn, Dec 18, 2008
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  3. Skillz

    Skillz Notebook Consultant

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    Won't lowering the voltage on the 9800m GTS help a bit?
    Less voltage --> less heat --> lower fan speed?

    (and thanks! :))
     
    Skillz, Dec 18, 2008
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  4. Gophn

    Gophn NBR Resident Assistant

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    undervolting could work... but not much since its very difficult to mess with the voltage and clocks of the 9800M cards without having to do Powermizer or VBIOS flashes.

    If you get a good notebook cooler like Zalman ZM-NC1000, NZXT Cryo LX, or Cooler Master Infinite, it would help the system stay cooler to prevent the fan from spinning up.

    ... but in the end, when you are playing the latest games, the fans will have to come on.
     
    Gophn, Dec 18, 2008
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  5. scourge18a

    scourge18a Notebook Consultant

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    Build your own cooler
    [​IMG]
    Probly won't help with the noise. :)
     
    scourge18a, Dec 18, 2008
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  6. Skillz

    Skillz Notebook Consultant

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    I'd like to "tweak" the voltage settings on the 9800m GTS, from what I've read it's only possible by using NiBiTor right? There's no software method?

    So how do I get the correct readings?
    When I import the .bin created with GPU-Z, I have to select a geforce series and when I select the Gefore 8xxx series, my 2D core reads: 23140, Shader: 338 and Memory: 100.
     
    Skillz, Dec 18, 2008
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  7. Skillz

    Skillz Notebook Consultant

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    Well after more reading and trial and error I've managed to get some settings in Nibitor that seem accurate.

    Could someone please verify?
    Under "Adv. Info" change "0628" to "0609" and hit "Rescan Bios".

    Thanks

    Edit:

    Well, just went ahead and changed the voltage of the "extra setting" in Nibitor from 1.11 to 0.9v and reflashed the Bios from the command line and behold it actually worked? :)
    Just did some 3DMark2001SE benchmaring/Demo just to see if it would lock up, but the system stayed quiet en more important... running.

    I also managed to lower the voltage of the CPU ( highest multiplier) to 0.9500!

    Later on today I'll do some real testing by playing WoW and I'm still afraid this will go bad at a certain point.
    I'll keep you informed.


    Update2:

    Well played a bit of WoW yesterday and my laptop runs much cooler now.
    This means the fan doesn't have to go in "the perfect storm mode" so I'm actually starting to enjoy the beast (this being the laptop) now.

    I hope someone can explain what exactly the "extra setting" is that you get to see in NiBiTor with the voltage mentioned next to it (1.11v). When does this kick in? The reason for asking is that right under the "extra setting", there's allready 2D with the voltage mentioned and also the 3D with voltage (both on 0.9V).

    Because I'm not sure what the "extra setting" is, I reflashed my 9800m GTS Bios back to the original ROM.
     
    Skillz, Dec 18, 2008
    #7