Idle Temp

jamieh

Hi all,

I have a Dell XPS M1330 - the fan seems to be running constantly.

I just checked my cpu temp - each core is ~67 degrees on idle.

Does this seem a bit high?

Voodu Child

Make sure you are using the most recent bios for that laptop, as Dell put out some important bios updates to control the temperatures better (as a safeguard against GPU failure).

67C is very high for an idle CPU temp, but it depends on plenty of factors. What app are you using to read the temps? What wattage processor are you using (the T7xxx will run hotter than the T8xxx etc), what kind of background stuff is running ('idle' in Vista may not be idle, there may be tonnes of junk running, indexing etc). Where is the laptop, on a clean flat surface?

When is the last time you cleaned the fan and vents? That should be done every now and then, dust will clog it up and degrade the cooling abilities.

Also note that the GPU on that laptop (assuming its the 8400M) runs very hot. That will put a lot of heat on the heatpipe, which will affect the amount of heat that can be drawn away from the CPU. I'd recommend undervolting the CPU as a matter of course.

jamieh

Voodu Child wrote: »

Make sure you are using the most recent bios for that laptop, as Dell put out some important bios updates to control the temperatures better (as a safeguard against GPU failure).

67C is very high for an idle CPU temp, but it depends on plenty of factors. What app are you using to read the temps? What wattage processor are you using (the T7xxx will run hotter than the T8xxx etc), what kind of background stuff is running ('idle' in Vista may not be idle, there may be tonnes of junk running, indexing etc). Where is the laptop, on a clean flat surface?

When is the last time you cleaned the fan and vents? That should be done every now and then, dust will clog it up and degrade the cooling abilities.

Also note that the GPU on that laptop (assuming its the 8400M) runs very hot. That will put a lot of heat on the heatpipe, which will affect the amount of heat that can be drawn away from the CPU. I'd recommend undervolting the CPU as a matter of course.

Hey,

I have the latest BIOS, it's a T7xxx CPU, I have the minimum running in the background and I clean the fan and vents every so often.

Could you tell me how to you undervolt/clock the GPU? I don't use the system for games or anything so only need minimum GPU power

Voodu Child

jamieh wrote: »

Hey,

I have the latest BIOS, it's a T7xxx CPU, I have the minimum running in the background and I clean the fan and vents every so often.

Could you tell me how to you undervolt/clock the GPU? I don't use the system for games or anything so only need minimum GPU power

Unfortunately you can't undervolt the GPU (without some kind of risky bios mod).

But you can undervolt the CPU handy enough. Here's a guide. It should reduce your CPU temps a decent amount, especially the load temps.

If your laptop is out of warranty, it might be worth re-doing the thermal paste on the CPU and northbridge, as the Dell factory job will usually be rushed and cruddy. Some M1330 owners have also done something they call the Copper Mod, which replaces the thermal pad on the GPU with a copper sheet of the same thickness - effectively it justs conducts heat to the heatsink better than the pad that Dell used. But like I say, you would only want to consider those measures if you were out of warranty, and knew what you were doing.

Overheal

Voodu Child wrote: »

Also note that the GPU on that laptop (assuming its the 8400M) runs very hot. That will put a lot of heat on the heatpipe, which will affect the amount of heat that can be drawn away from the CPU. I'd recommend undervolting the CPU as a matter of course.

That GPU is also an extended warranty issue. If you haven't already, and its been >2 years (iirc) you can get the motherboard swapped out, which ought to solve the problem. If you're not very far out of that period im sure with enough persistence you could get them to do the repair anyway. for instance, google EECB

Gypo

Sorry to hear that OP, but fair play to everyone on this thread. Really good advice.

First though, does the OP actually have the infamous nVidia 8400M in his machine?

Also, I'm wondering what was used to measure the temp?

leninbenjamin

Gypo wrote: »

First though, does the OP actually have the infamous nVidia 8400M in his machine?

could be well wrong, but i was of thought that all XPS M1330 shipped with this GPU? AFAIK it's form is too slim for the 256MB cards, and i didn't think Dell would want to be seen selling integrated graphics in one of their flagship performance ranges?

edit: nm, quick google told me i was wrong.

Overheal

realtemp works fine for me. I have the nefarious GPU and am cruising 54 degrees atm. Before the warranty repairs it was well into the 60s and 70s and easily topped 90 when gaming. If it gets above 85 now im pushing it too hard.

jamieh

Gypo wrote: »

Sorry to hear that OP, but fair play to everyone on this thread. Really good advice.

First though, does the OP actually have the infamous nVidia 8400M in his machine?

Also, I'm wondering what was used to measure the temp?

Hi lads,

Thanks for all the advice.

Yes I have the infamous 8400M.

I used an app called CoreTemp to measure the temp.

I'm actually only my 3rd mobo - disaster!

I might give the copper sheet a lash - I'd be confident enough about doing it if I had a guide to use.

Overheal

there was a guide linked to on this forum sometime last year that dealt with the copper solution. use the forum search tool and look for 8400m threads. also could be in the graphics forum.

Voodu Child

There is a guide linked in my post above. Basically what you are doing is getting rid of the squidgy thermal pad that Dell use, because it is pretty crappy at conducting heat from the GPU to the heatsink. But you can't just reef it out, you have to use a sheet of copper to account for the height of the pad (or the heatsink won't sit flush). It is all fairly easy once you know your way around computers and how to use thermal paste etc.

jamieh

Hi all,

Just rang dell .....told them about the overheating.

They argued that the system is out of warranty but I said that its the gpu causing the problem and that there's an extended warranty on the gpu therefore it's up to them to fix it.

Technician with new mobo coming tomorrow

Result!! ...thanks for all the advice!

Overheal

victory!