Dell XPS M1330 - nVidia GeForce 8400M GS - Copper Mod

Dell XPS M1330 - nVidia GeForce 8400M GS - Copper Mod - Step by Step Guide

Dell XPS M1330 Notebook with nVidia GeForce 8400M GS GPU has an inadequate Thermal Cooling Assembly. It uses a Thermal Cooling Pad between the GPU and the GPU Thermal Cooling Assembly instead of a direct contact between the two with a Thermal Compound. This leads to overheating the GPU and damaging it along with other components. The solution is to replace the existing Thermal Cooling Pad with a Copper Sheet and a Thermal Compound.

Note: This Copper Mod does not solve problems arising from a weak die/packaging material set in certain versions of GPU. Their failure appears related to the combination of the interaction between the chip material set and the system design. The combination of limited thermal management and frequent power cycling is particularly challenging for the GPU. Dell is offering a 12 Month Limited Warranty Enhancement specific to this issue. However, this Copper Mod might help delay the failure by improving the thermal management.

Materials:

01. Copper Sheet. Recommended: Gauge 16 & Grade C106 - 14x14x1.5mm.
02. Thermal Compound. Recommended: Arctic Silver 5.
03. Thermal Compound Cleaner ( Isopropyl Alcohol or Acetone).
04. Cotton Swabs.
05. Paper Napkins.

Tools:

01. Phillips Screwdriver - #0.
02. Utility Knife.
03. Thermal Compound Spreader.

Drivers & Utilities: (for Microsoft Windows Vista 32 Bit)

01. Dell XPS M1330 A15 - 1.02MB. (BIOS Firmware). Recommended.
02. Dell nVidia GeForce 8400M GS 176.44 A10 - 52.70MB. (Video Driver). Recommended.
03. HWMonitor 1.18 - 518.00KB. (Monitor GPU, CPU, Chipset and HDD Temperatures).
04. GPU-Z 0.5.5 - 922.00KB. (Monitor GPU Clocks).
05. I8kfanGUI 3.1 - 1.61MB. (Monitor Fan Status and Speed).
06. RivaTuner 2.24C - 2.70MB. (Monitor GPU Status on OSD).
07. 3DMark06 Basic Edition 1.2.0 - 584.00MB. (Benchmark GPU).
08. Intel Thermal Analysis Tool 2.05 - 3.31MB. (Benchmark CPU).

Procedures:

Before You Begin!

01. Disassemble the Module Cover by loosening the four Screws.



| 1 - M2.5x5mm Screw (1) | 2 - Captive Screws (3) | 3 - Module Cover (1) | Image: Dell Service Manual |



| Existing Thermal Cooling Assembly and System Board |



| Existing GPU Thermal Cooling Assembly with Thermal Cooling Pad |



| Existing GPU Thermal Cooling Assembly with Thermal Cooling Pad |

02. Disassemble the existing Thermal Cooling Assembly by loosening the five Screws and disconnecting the Fan Connector.



| 1 - Fan Connector (1) | 2 - Thermal Cooling Assembly (1) | 3 - Captive Screws (5) | Image: Dell Service Manual |



| Existing System Board |



| Existing Thermal Cooling Assembly |

03. Clean the existing Thermal Compound on the CPU and its Thermal Cooling Assembly.



| Existing CPU Thermal Compound |



| Cleaned CPU |



| Existing CPU Thermal Cooling Assembly Thermal Compound |



| Cleaned CPU Thermal Cooling Assembly |

04. Peel the existing GPU Thermal Cooling Pad and clean the existing Adhesive on the GPU and its Thermal Cooling Assembly.



| Existing GPU Adhesive |



| Cleaned GPU |



| Existing GPU Thermal Cooling Pad |



| Existing GPU Thermal Cooling Assembly Adhesive |



| Cleaned GPU Thermal Cooling Assembly |

05. Spread the Thermal Compound evenly on the CPU and its Thermal Cooling Assembly.



| CPU with Thermal Compound |



| CPU Thermal Cooling Assembly with Thermal Compound |

06. Spread Thermal Compound evenly on the GPU and its Thermal Cooling Assembly.



| GPU with Thermal Compound |



| GPU Thermal Cooling Assembly with Thermal Compound |

07. Place the Copper Sheet on the GPU.



| GPU with Copper Sheet |

08. Reassemble the modified Thermal Cooling Assembly by tightening the five Screws and reconnecting the Fan Connector.



| Modified Thermal Cooling Assembly |



| Modified System Board |



| 1 - Fan Connector (1) | 2 - Thermal Cooling Assembly (1) | 3 - Captive Screws (5) | Image: Dell Service Manual |

09. Reassemble the Module Cover by tightening the four Screws.



| Modified GPU Thermal Cooling Assembly with Copper Sheet |



| Modified GPU Thermal Cooling Assembly with Copper Sheet |



| Modified Thermal Cooling Assembly and System Board |



| 1 - M2.5x5mm Screw (1) | 2 - Captive Screws (3) | 3 - Module Cover (1) | Image: Dell Service Manual |

Frequently Asked Questions:

01. How about using an Acetone based Nail Enamel/Polish Remover for cleaning the Thermal Compound?
A: Acetone based Nail Enamel/Polish Removers must be avoided as they contain Fragrance Oils and other contaminants that may reduce Thermal Conductivity.

02. How about using a better Thermal Compound than Arctic Silver 5?
A: Any Thermal Compound better than Arctic Silver 5 may be used. However, they may not be easily available and reasonably priced as Arctic Silver 5.

03. How about using Arctic Ceramique instead of Arctic Silver 5?
A: The Thermal Conductivity of Arctic Ceramique which is >200,000W/m sq °C @0.001in is lower than that of Arctic Silver 5 which is >350,000W/m sq °C @0.001in.

04. How about the System Board circuits getting shorted due to Arctic Silver 5 spillage?
A: Arctic Silver 5 is Electrically Capacitive only at high pressures and any spills can be easily cleaned up with Isopropyl Alcohol. There is no need to use Arctic Ceramique only because it is a pure Electrical Insulator.

05. How about using the Thermal Compound ideally?
A: The ideal amount of the Thermal Compound is equal to about half the size of an uncooked short grain of White Rice. It should be applied directly only on top of mating surface of the actual core and its Thermal Cooling Assembly and then spread evenly using a Thermal Compound Spreader. Increasing the amount of Thermal Compound may decrease its Thermal Conductivity.

06. How about reusing the existing Thermal Compound on the CPU and its Thermal Cooling Assembly?
A: The existing Thermal Compound on the CPU and its Thermal Cooling Assembly may be reused as long as the original CPU and its original Thermal Cooling Assembly are reassembled together. However, it is not recommended.

07. How about using Aluminium instead of Copper?
A: The Thermal Conductivity of Aluminium which is ~ 237 W/(m·K) @300K is lower than that of Copper which is ~ 401W/(m·K) @300K and the Thermal Expansion of Aluminium which is 23.1 µm/(m·K) @25°C is higher than that of Copper which is 16.5 µm/(m·K) @25°C.

08. How about using Bronze, Brass, Gold, Silver or Diamond instead of Copper?
A: Bronze and Brass have poor thermal properties and Gold, Silver and Diamond are not cost effective when compared to Copper. Refer to the List of Thermal Conductivities for more information.

09. How about using the Copper Mod on the Northbridge Chipset?
A: The Copper Mod may be used on the Northbridge Chipset. However, it is not recommended as the Thermal Cooling Pad is more than adequate for the Northbridge Chipset.

10. How about the Thermal Cooling Pad positions?
A: The Thermal Cooling Pad is usually on the Thermal Cooling Assembly. However, in some cases, it is on the Chipset. The position is immaterial as long as it makes a perfect contact between the Chipset and its Thermal Cooling Assembly.

11. How about the Thermal Cooling Assembly variations?
A: All variations of the Thermal Cooling Assembly can use this Copper Mod. However, in some Thermal Cooling Assemblies, the Copper Sheet must be placed under the GPU Thermal Cooling Assembly, between the raised boundaries, for a proper fit.

12. How about the Copper Sheet fit?
A: The ideal size of the Copper Sheet is 14x14x1.5mm for all variations of the Thermal Cooling Assembly. However, it is recommended to place the Copper Sheet without the Thermal Compound to check the fit. It should fit perfectly in the gap between the GPU and its Thermal Cooling Assembly. It should not be loose enough to fall off or tight enough for no expansion.

13. How about tightening the Screws ideally?
A: The Screws are tightened ideally when they cannot be turned any further without applying pressure. Overtightening the Thermal Cooling Assembly Screws may damage the GPU as the Copper Sheet slightly expands due to heat during the normal use of the Notebook.

14. How about curing the Thermal Compound ideally?
A: The Thermal Compound will take several hours (around 200 hours for Arctic Silver 5) and several thermal cycles to cure as long as the Notebook is turned off from time to time and allowed to cool to room temperature. Once the curing is complete the Notebook can be left turned on if desired.

15. How about the benefits of this Copper Mod?
A: This Copper Mod reduces the GPU temperature by a few degrees when idle and several degrees when loaded, CPU and Chipset temperatures by a few degrees. The Notebook will run comparitively cooler and quieter with the Fan on slow speed.

16. How about reversing this Copper Mod?
A: This copper Mod can be reversed completely. The existing GPU Thermal Cooling Pad may be reused to reverse this Copper Mod. It is recommended to reverse this Copper Mod before sending your Notebook back to Dell.

Polls:

01. Mod Guide Statistics.
02. GPU Idle Temperature.

Sources & Credits:

01. NotebookReview Forum Members.

• flipfire - Thermal Conductivity FAQ.
• Hep! - Original Guide - Using liquid Thermal Compound Cleaner idea - Helpful suggestions.
• johnny13oi - Using liquid Thermal Compound Cleaner idea.
• KenHT - Actual Store Link.
• Kreeeee - eBay Store Link.
• Lao - Temporary Photographs.
• MexicanSnake - Using an Utility Knife for peeling off the GPU Thermal Cooling Pad idea.
• mxlars - Placing the Copper Sheet without any Thermal Compound to check the fit idea.
• shelleyevans - Using an expired Credit Card as a Thermal Compound Spreader idea.
• traveller - eBay Store Link - Using RivaTuner for monitoring GPU status on OSD idea - Helpful hints and links.
• zeg - Mod idea.

02. nVidia - Notebook Field Failures.
03. Direct2Dell - nVidia GPU Update: Limited Warranty Enhancement Details.
04. Dell - Dell XPS M1330 Service Manual.
05. Arctic Silver - Arctic Silver 5 Instructions.
06. Wikipedia - Various Links.

Updates:

July 8, 2009: Celebrating 1st Anniversary of Dell XPS M1330 - nVidia GeForce 8400M GS - Copper Mod. My notebook is running great without any spares, service or repair!

December 21, 2009: My Dell XPS M1330 notebook's LED backlight switches off and replacement screen or cable does not correct the problem although external monitor (via VGA or HDMI port) displays video flawlessly. Dell's technician suspects heat from the wireless card breaking up the circuit and suggests replacing the motherboard for correcting the problem. With this my first Copper Mod has lasted me for 531 days (1 year, 5 months, 1 week and 6 days).

December 28, 2009: The motherboard was replaced by Dell's technician today and I have redone the Copper Mod.

January 11, 2011: A year has passed by since I redid the Copper Mod on the last replaced motherboard. My notebook runs hot but I am able to manage it with the Logitech Cooling Pad N120. Unfortunately, the original battery is almost dead and lasts only for 15 minutes.

The 3 year notebook warranty and service contract expires today, and my note book is on its last leg with 1 processor and 2 motherboard replacements, Copper Mods and cooler pad, and 3 years of regular use.

Disclaimer:

This mod will void your Dell XPS M1330 Notebook's warranty and may result in future problems. You are responsible for all risks and consequences arising out of this mod or the attempt to try this mod. This guide is provided for educational purposes only.

 

Damn man, you put my guide to shame! Nice job.

Rep sinstoic for this, but don't forget to give me credit too
http://forum.notebookreview.com/reputation.php?p=3357081

 

Thank you.

Arctic Silver 5 vs Arctic Ceramique:

Thermal Conductance (0.001 inch layer):
>350,000W/m sq °C vs >200,000W/m sq °C.

Thermal Resistance (0.001 inch layer):
<0.0045°C-in sq/Watt vs <0.007°C-in sq/Watt.

Peak Extended Temperature Limits:
–50°C to >180°C vs –150°C to >180°C

Long Term Extended Temperature Limits:
–50°C to 130°C vs –150°C to 125°C

Performance (CPU Full Load Core Temperatures):
3°C to 12°C Lower vs 2°C to 10°C Lower

Arctic Silver 5 Cons:

Electrical Insulator:
Electrically Capacitive vs Pure Electrical Insulator

Curing Period:
200 Hours vs 25 Hours

How is Arctic Ceramique better than Arctic Silver 5?

 

Hmm, you might be right. I remember reading a review of a whole slew of thermal compounds and ceramique came out number 2, next to some hard to find expensive stuff.

Shame I already just ordered my tube of AS Ceramique not 5 minutes ago. Sighhhh.

You know leave it to me to go and do something like that too, I bought the 22 gram tube since I build about 3 computers daily.
Oh well, this can still go in them v_v

 

There are several places selling this and I was wondering if we could set up a group buy. I remember one place in the US was selling this for 50c each but the shipping was $12. So a group buy would probably drop the price of each total down to just several bucks. Anyone with a respectable account on here willing to do this?

 

Awesome guide but would be even better with some pics for n00bz. Ill buy some copper now .

 

Great guide and well written.

If anyone is after thermal paste, I suggest Arctic Cooling MX-2. It is non electrically conductive. Its much easier to apply than ceramique and you can easily get a thin layer, in tests it has been proven to be on par or beat AS5.

I m tempted to finally do the copper mod because of the hot summer weather my M1330 is running even hotter. But I personally dont see why I should do Dell's job for them. Dell will just have to keep changing my motherboard at their expense until they decide to do something proper about it.

 

I was the one to find that: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3355818&postcount=63

 

Thanks for pointing it out. You have been included in the credits.

 

Thank you. Photographs have been uploaded.

 

I'd like to point out that it's easier to do this if you put the copper sheet on the cooling assembly, then put that back on. Then you don't have to worry about mis-aligning the sheet with the two raised "L's". Also, why no liquids for cleaning the thermal paste?

 

Placing the Copper Sheet either way works. Trust me there won't be any misalignment. Liquids can corrode or cause pits in the metals. Further, accidental spillage of liquids on the circuits can lead to new problems. It is better to clean using a few paper napkins although it will take some time.

 

Regarding the liquids thing, using paper towels alone could leave behind pieces of it or particles of it on the heatsink and cpu making the contact much worse. People typically use alcohol to get them really clean.

 

Yeah that's a misconception that paper is a good thing to clean with for the reason johnny said. A cotton cloth or cotton ball with some acetone or isopropyl alcohol is the safest way to clean thermal grease, as they are both non conductive liquids.

 

All right. I am including your ideas in the guide with due credits.

 

What about using carefully a sharp blade to help remove the gpu thermal pad?.

 

The GPU thermal pad is easily removed with just your fingers (or it was for me), putting a razor underneath would probably work fine.

 

Hey Sinstoic,

good guide! But what's this obsession of yours to add polls to every other thread, lol

Please add RivaTuner to your list of tools. Among other reasons, it's the only one that has an OSD feature

 

Alcohol (or similar) is the best, but for the record, you can never get out the original thermal paste that has found it's way into the micro-porous surface of heatsinks, particularly after it has gone through a heating-cooling cycle.

That's why it's best to remove the supplied thermal grease prior to using one of Intel's stock heat sinks (when buying a so-called "boxed" CPU).

 

There is no obsession but just collecting data.

I have added RivaTuner to the list of utilities. Thanks.

 

Hey sinstoic, you should put those pics I took in your first message under the proper step. There is no point in doing another guide just to add some pictures, so you might as well improve yours:

This one is for the Procedures, step 03:



This one is for the Procedures, step 07:



This one is for the Procedures, step 11 (I spread the thermal compound on the copper sheet, not on the GPU, after step number 12):



This one is for the Procedures, step 12:



As some of you know, I did the copper modd a few weeks ago with great results. Today I just wanted to take some pictures for you, specially with the removing of the purple thermal pad. As I was trying to remove the copper sheet I realized that the sheet was well in place by the Arctic Silver used before. I put quite an effort to remove it from the HSF unit. Conclusion? There is no way the copper sheet will move. IF you have the 14 x 14 x 1.5 mm thick copper sheet.

I'm sure those pics will help a lot of forum friends.

Good luck!

Sinstoic, just press Quote button and get the pictures links.

 

Good to know & thx for the great pics, too!

rrrrrrrrepped!

 

Just wondering what making a copper modification does? Is it to treat a problem or just to improve the performance of the NB? thanks.

 

Sinstoic,

please add the following "step" to your guide - I think it is absolutely indispensable

It comes from member mxlars:

Dry Run:

Since we cannot guarantee that all HSF are exactly the same size and "bent" exactly the same, you should perform a "dry run" by mounting the shim without any paste, screwing all screws (to the appropriate tightness as described in this guide) and verify that the shim is not loose (by tilting the Notebook, etc.).

WARNING: *** DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TURN ON / USE YOUR NOTEBOOK AT THIS STAGE!!! ***

In the unlikely event that the standard 1.5mm shim is too loose (and literally falls out), you may consider ordering a shim in the next available commercial thickness of 2.0mm. Please keep in mind that a minute amount of play is ok and will allow for possible expansion of the shim when heated.

----

Well, at least I think it's a great idea. Personally, I'm not too worried about expansion of the shim because we are talking about going from 20C (ambient) to 70C (load) and not 170C.... I find it hard to believe that a piece of Cu (or AL, for that matter) is going to "expand" in thickness more than a few 100ths of a mm... . If anyone has proof of the contrary, please, by all means, do post that info here!

After all, better to play it safe...

 

Both. For the prior, refer to this thread:

M1330 Display Issue (Vertical Lines on Reboot & Crash & Vertical Lines)

 

I tried tilting the laptop over on one side with just the copper sheet, no thermal compound on any side, and IT DID NOT move at all.

 

See I have good ideas but I am glad that so many people have things to contribute that I hadn't even thought of, like a "dry run"

Also, who measured the distance between the GPU/Cooling assembly, and how?

 

I think no one is gonna answer that.

 

Thanks for the photographs.

 

Ah so this is the laptop model + the nvidia GPU that has the significant defectiveness.

At the Apple community people were starting to fear that all nvidia gpu's were affected but seems to me that its the dell m1330 and the m1530 that are plagued with the nvidia 8400m GS cards with overheating issues.

All the pieces fit the puzzle as I see this copper mod which nvidia does say that "Certain notebook configurations with GPUs and MCPs manufactured with a certain die/packaging material set are failing in the field at higher than normal rates."

 

This is because of statistic, you see more GPU issue with Dell because Dell sold more laptop with nvidia GPU than Apple. I recently got M1530 and the GPU is running cooler than the M1330. I used Artic Silver on my M1330 since I got a board replaced. There has not been any issue since.

 

And maybe Apple found a better way of cooling the nVidia chipset, not like Dell did.

 

I just added copper mod. I used copper pipe coupling which costs $0.67. I split the coupling to flaten it then cut to the size per your guide. The copper pipe thickness is about 1.5mm. Indeed, the GPU temperature is running lower. This is a good mod to keep GPU temperature low.

 

Hey guys, I have been sanding down an aluminum piece I found with 400 grit wet sandpaper and for the past couple of hours now. Do you think that sanding with 400 grit is good enough to not scratch the gpu or anything? I really wish I had copper but couldn't find anywhere near me that had it. And don't wanna spend $15 on a little piece of copper about the size of a penny. And is there anything around the household that one can use to compare the thickness? A ruler does not seem very accurate down to these sizes.

 

If you have Dremel Tool, you can go to Home Depot and get copper pipe coupling. It costs less than a dollar.

 

Yeah I thought about it, but you can't really get it to be perfectly flat which the GPU really needs. The contact point of the GPU is extremely small so the piece of copper must be perfectly flat to transfer the heat most efficiently. Hammering it wouldn't work either. And thermal paste does a really bad job at transferring heat if it is thick. It acts as an insulator instead of it is thick (if the piece of copper is not flat).

 

I finished off with a sand paper on a glass surface to make sure it perfectly flat. The thickness is about 1mm after it's all done. The thermal paste will be very thin once you tighten all the screws on the Heat/Fan Assembly. Before the copper mod the GPU was in 70's C during normal usage. After the mod, the GPU temperature is in low 60's C under normal usage. I use Nvidia System Monitor to monitor the GPU temparature.

 

Ok... Ive read almost all of the million entries on this and kudos to all; I am going to move forward and follow it.

Questions...

1. Do you apply the thermal paste to both the GPU/copper sheet and then to the copper sheet/heatsink? Is it poss to avoid gluing it to the gpu so it can be easily removed if necessary in the future?

2. Has anyone found any Canada/US distributors for the precut sheet?

I understand I can get Arctic Silver from Radio Shack so I have no prob there...

oh also... why hasent anyone also replaced that foam with the copper on top of the cpu as well?

 

The CPU has direct contact with the heatsink via thermal paste already.

sorry I havent done the mod so I cant help you with the other questions!

 

1. You apply thermal compound between copper sheet & HSF and copper sheet & GPU. It's best to apply AS5 between copper sheet and HSF unit so you can easily undo the process in case you'll be needing the warranty. NEVER use a thermal adhesive compound or you will never be able to undo the "copper modd".

2. Don't know.

 

But even the AS5 is a compound is it not? If you use the compound between the GPU and the copper, it seals it does it not?

And then if you use the as5 from the copper to the heatsink..it again seals it as one piece eliminating the possibility of removing the heatsink does it not?

OKOK I may be totally naive at this and enjoy the laugh; I just want to ensure I do everything right.

Also, I know change the thermal pad on the end. There is another thermal pad just up from it; what does that cover?

 

1) You sandwich the copper sheet with AS5 on both sides to make sure theres no mini-gaps on both sides.

2) metalcutoffs on ebay ship worldwide for $13. It is linked in the first page.

This mod was definately worth it. My GPU maxes out at 73c OC'd idles at 48c. I used an oversize copper piece on mine to act as a mini-heatsink

AS5 isnt a glue type of paste. Its just silver. When it cures, it kinda glues in a little.

Word of caution: Make sure you remove the stock thermal blue pad carefully as it falls apart easily. You might need to put this back on if it needs warranty repairs.

Probably Video RAM

 

There are two thermal pads on the cooling assembly. The first, closest to the fan is for the CHIPSET (not video memory). The second is for the GPU. You only need to remove the GPU pad, the chipset produces a negligible amount of heat compared to the other components it is surrounded by.

 

K we r getting there....gonna go to ebay and check out the copper pieces...then maybe the company.

 

Also, I never said it before but I wanted to. No offense to imzomnia, but ABSOLUTELY, DO NOT HEED HIS ADVICE to buy copper pipe coupling and flatten it. As others said, it will NOT BE FLAT ENOUGH and in the end could possibly make your cooling assembly LESS EFFECTIVE.

Trying to make a metal perfectly flat on your own is near impossible, and when you really need it to be as flat as possible... well...

Piece of copper - 14 shipped
New XPS M1330 Motherboard - 140 shipped

Don't cheap out, this mod is worth going all out on!


I had poor luck finding copper the right thickness on US ebay, but UK ebay is FULL of it. So just buy the linked piece, even if it is a rip off.

 

I just sent an email for the uk to simply send me a paypal req to include shipping. Tx all...Off to Rad Shack for AS5

 

It is better to apply Thermal Compound on the GPU and the GPU Thermal Cooling Assembly and then place the Copper Sheet between them. Arctic Silver 5 does not have any adhesive properties and therefore will easily separate. If at all there is any difficulty, a little Isopropyl Alcohol or Acetone should make the separation easier.

The eBay store delivers worldwide. There are some US distributors, but there is no cost advantage in using them.

No. Arctic Silver 5 does not have any adhesive properties and therefore will easily separate. If at all there is any difficulty, a little Isopropyl Alcohol or Acetone should make the separation easier.

The other Thermal Cooling Pad is for the Northbridge Chipset. The Thermal Cooling Pad is more than adequate to transfer the heat it generates.

 

Tx...ordered the sheet from GB and it came to 11 bucks shipped. Cant go wrong with that.

 

Holy Moly!!!!

Go away for a few days and look what happens! This is terrific. I tried to rep you (again) and was blocked (again). Sigh. Frustrating because the truth is, I am really only interested in this topic (at least at the moment) and in this area its hard to find more than a few people to truly appreciate.

Anyway, THANKS to you and Lao and Traveller and Hep and mysterious guy from China and KenHT and excuse me if I have left anyone out.

One thought, for those who might be reading this-- I recommend doing thermal testing of both CPUs and GPU before the mod. I became quite paranoid after doing the mod, afraid that I had put on too much or too little AS on the CPU. It was comforting to dig through my old posts and see that in fact my CPU temps had NOT changed.

 

No offense at all. It cost me less than a dollar. My M1330 GPU temperature drops on an average of 10c at normal usage. It's not hard to flaten the copper pipe and make it perfectly flat if you have a proper surface to do it.