M35x Graphics Chip Overheats because of heatsink

Hi there,

I've been battling with this M35x for over a week now. The original symptoms were that it would power down after a period of use. I assumed that it was a DC jack problem, re-soldered the jack and thought it was fixed.

The problem worsened....now instead of running at all, the fan would blow for 5 seconds when pressing the start button and then stop, yet the blue LED indicating power would stay on. I thought maybe I had shorted something, blew a fuse, or that all was lost.

So I open it back up, and realize the embedded graphics chip has the most poorly designed heat sink I have ever seen. It cannot be secured until the case is on, and by that point it has already been jostled from the position you set it in.

After tampering with it for a while, I notice that my thermal paste is not making a full contact with the heat sink.

So my question is: Does anyone know how to get around this issue? Any ways to make a homemade heat sink that will be able to fit under the WiFi card?

I know the problem is the heat sink because when I take a piece of copper and press it to the chip; the computer will start. The copper heats up very quickly, and then the computer turns off again.

The original heat sink is made of aluminum and has some sort of black coating on half of it. If that helps.

Thanks for any input. I know this is a very common problem, many people just junk the laptop or spend $$$ on a new MB...if it's just an overheating problem, this could save a lot of people time and money if solved.

 

Hi.

Have you tried using a TIM-PAD to bridge the gap? , your supposed to be able to buy them in various thickness's

http://www.modsynergy.com/review32.htm

 

Yes, I use thermal compound.

Arctic Silver V

There is nothing physically securing the heatsink to the chip until the case is reassembled, so to test if the heatsink is making full contact is very difficult.

If I need to take a picture of it for better explanation I will. Essentially the heatsink only covers about 50% of the chip to begin with (retarded), and for some reason the one in this specific laptop only makes contact with about 5% of the chip surface.

It can be bent in different directions to allow for more contact, but the process for doing and testing this is very annoying. Even still at peak performance the heatsink only covers 50% of the chip, I would like a heatsink that covers the whole thing...

 

Hi.

I found a M35X dissemble guide.

Can you show us you problem with these pictures?

http://www.irisvista.com/tech/laptops/ToshibaM35X/satM35X_1.htm

 

Check out http://ampedwebdesign.com/old/images/lala.html

The first image I have there shows the three circles where the heatsink sits. The second image shows the heatsink(black/aluminum flat thing) on top of the chip. The circles don't lock or snap, the heatsink is positioned over those circles, then the case is put back on, and then screws are put through those circles.

That might even work if it weren't for the fact that the heat sink is not a flat surface. Instead, the heatsink looks like a flat surface from above, but underneath there is a small lip that juts out right above the chip. This small lip is the only thing that makes contact with the chip.

It's as if they took a hole puncher and punched a hole through the heatsink. Instead of punching a hole completely out, one side stayed connected. And the resulting piece of hanging metal is what touches the chip. Unfortunately this piece of hanging metal only touches 10% of the chip on my board. It is **** near impossible to bend it to make a flat surface against the chip.

Keep in mind that even if I do manage to get it to sit flush with the chip, by the time I get the case and screws in place it will have moved.

Please help, this poorly machined heatsink is driving me insane!

 

By the way, the green writing on the images is my doing, ignore the red writing.

 

Have you tried contacting other M35x owners, and see if they have the same problem as you!, Hi temps?

 

I just added an illustration (excuse my ms paint skills, they are horrible) to help show the metal protrusion(whatchamacallit)

 

I have scoured the internet for solutions to this problem. Many people have the same issue, but have not made the connection that this crappy heat sink is causing the overheating issue. 9 out of 10 people I have seen write about it come to the conclusion that it is a bad MB and junk the whole thing....what a waste.

There is actually a guide which I followed completely and got the same result at the end...what he calls "a completely dead board"...I won't give up so easily

Click here for that guide

 

Have you tried improvising some sort of copper shim, eg thin sheet to give better contact.

What about thermal epoxy, once it is set it will not move?

 

I'm going to try that tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes. Didn't even know they made thermal epoxy, thanks!

 

Ok, so I just put in a new heatsink for the graphics chip, that seems to be running cooler now. But the system will still only switch on for 4 seconds before the cpu fan turns off.

I think there is some progress since the graphx chip is cooler; The LCD backlight lights up(it used to stay black, now it's all white) and will remain on even after the cpu fan turns off.

I tryed swapping out ram, that's not the issue. It feels like I made progress....but it's still not fixed =(

Could this problem be a broken/shorted out processor? I bought a mulitmeter, is there any way to find out?

How do I find out if there is a problem with the circuit board, fuses, individual components, etc.

It's more of an issue that I want to figure this thing out, then junk it and move along...

 

bump in the night

 

This ended up being a burnt video chip. I purchased a new motherboard with case for a little under $150 on ebay...not quite ready to de-solder a chip just yet - but considering it as a future tool.

Any pointers on how to learn, and getting the equipment cheap would be stellar!

-Alex