Changing the CPU on Studio 1537

I have a Studio 1537 with a P8400 2.26Ghz CPU

I will be getting another Studio laptop for the mrs as we have had a refund for a bust laptop. As the Studios now come with a P8600 2.4Ghz chip as standard now i would like to swap the faster chip to my laptop.

Is this hard to do / possible? How do i remove the chip and will i need to apply any artic silver (my laptop/chip is only 2 months old).... Its been a while since i've installed a chip, last one being a 2.0Ghz Athlon




Thanks!

 

It's not hard at all on the Studio models because the back plate is one piece. Once you take it off you have access to virtually everything. You then just have to remove the processor screws in sequential order and there you have it. =)

 

Pretty much it...detailed guide here:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/studio1537/en/sm/index.htm

You will not likely notice any real change in the "speed"/responsiveness of the laptop unless you do things that stress the CPU(like encoding). Also, remember that warranty on the laptop may not cover the new processor or the warranty in whole may be voided-see warranty for exact terms/conditions.

 

It's not difficult at all. In fact, Dell has a manual for it on their support page.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/studio1537/en/sm/index.htm

EDIT - curse you kdawgca! Beat me to it!

The sections on the Processor Thermal-Cooling Assembly and Processor Module will be particularly helpful in this case.

Basically, you turn the thing upside down (after everything is off, unplugged, and the battery out, of course), and remove the baseplate. The heatsink/fan assembly should have 7 large screws, if I remember correctly. Each one of these has a number next to it. Loosen these screws in sequential order, starting with 1.

A small thing to note...once you undo all those large screws, there will one pretty well hidden screw to remove, way off in the corner, holding the fan in place. According to the online manual, it's step 6, and it's pointed out in the diagram.

Once you have the heatsink/fan assembly completely unscrewed, unplug the fan cable from the motherboard, and the whole thing should come off pretty easily.

The processor is pretty even easier. With a small flat-head screwdriver, just screw the little lock next to the processor socket to the unlocked position. You might see the processor move up slightly when you do this. At this point, just lift it out, and there shouldn't be much resistance.

The heatsink assembly has thermal pads preinstalled over the processor, but if you're putting in a new processor, I recommend re-applying thermal paste. Pick the remains of the old thermal pad off of the bottom surface of the heatsink, and clean it off with a Q-tip or lint-free cloth and some rubbing alcohol.

Once that's all done, put the new processor in the socket. It should fit right in with no force needed. Use the flat-head screwdriver to lock it in place.

Then, apply a thin layer of whatever thermal paste you like (Arctic Silver is excellent, you'll be fine with it).

Then, just position the heatsink/fan back in place, plug in the fan cable, tighten all the screws again (again, sequential order, and don't forget that little fan screw!). Put the baseplate back on and secure it, and you should be good to go.

I just did this last month on my 1535, replacing my T5750 (2.0GHz/667MHz FSB/1MB L2 cache) with my new T9500 (2.6GHz/800MHz FSB/6MB L2 cache).

Hope ya find this helpful.

 

Be careful while installing the cpu though. You do not want to risk damaging a pin.

 

Thanks v.much both

Sounds easy enough - I use my studio when i move around and i do a bit with AVCHD video so i though the slight extra power might benefit me a bit.

I suppose if it voids the warrenty and the extra speed which lets face it isn't that much, might not make it worth bothering. Still will get the laptop tho.


Thanks

2 more replies as i was typing that - thanks for the help everyone, great guide Mastershroom

 

On a somewhat related note...

To anyone who has removed the thermal pad and added AS5 (Arctic Silver)... did you notice a significant difference in CPU temp afterwards? I have the T6400 (2.0ghz), and have been considering doing so, just to give me a little bit more "breathing room" between normal idle temp and the temp at which the fan comes on. I'm curious as to how good (or bad) the standard thermal pads are (in comparison). If I only can shave off 1-2 degrees, its probably not worth it... but if I can shave off 3-5, it might be!

Thx
--Eric

 

I havent taken off the heatsink on my T6400 equipped Studio 1537 yet; however, the Studio 1535 I had with a T5800 only used thermal pads for the GPU and northbridge. The CPU had it's own thermal paste although it was hard as rock only after 2-3 months of use.

 

Hey Raptor, thanks for the heads-up. If you don't mind me asking, what are your usual idle temps on your 1537 with the T6400?

Thanks
--E

 

My 1535 had the piece-of-crap Dell thermal pad on the CPU. When I swapped my old T5750 for the T9500 I have now, I got rid of that pad and applied Arctic Silver. Average idle temps went from the mid 40s to 50s, to mid 30s, to 40 or 41.

It definitely makes a difference.

 

That sounds pretty promising, thanks shroom. I might have to give it a go. Not that my fan comes on very much at all, it really doesnt, but better thermal protection never hurt anyone. Like I said, a couple extra degrees barrier between where I idle and when the fan does come on would also be nice for those times I am doing something that uses a bit more CPU.

I may have to make a trip up to Fry's this afternoon... The AS5 I have in my box-o-spare-parts is old and probably gunked up by now.

Thanks!
--Eric

 

If I remove the thermal pad and apply some thermal paste, would the gap between the processor and the heatsink be too big? Is it possible to apply some thermal paste on the graphic card as well? Does this void the warranty?

 

My idle temps are around mid 40's to lower 50's degrees C. I have a 9 Cell battery which is supposed to help with airflow, and my room temps are around 75 degrees F.

 

Sounds good, thats about where mine sit, as well. I just wanted to check I'm usually lower to mid 40s.

Thanks!
--Eric

 

There is no gap between the processor and heatsink. Thermal paste will work just fine (much better than the pad, anyway).

You can use thermal paste on the GPU, but there is a gap between the GPU and the heatsink surface. If you want, you can do what I did, and place a small square copper shim in that gap, and use Arctic Silver on both sides of it. The shim I used was 16x16mm, 1mm thick, although the GPU die is not large at all, and a smaller shim should work, as long as it's around 1mm thick. For the record, K-TRON is selling some for $1 each in his thread in the NBR Marketplace.

And anything you do that involves tinkering with the heatsink, processor, or GPU will void your warranty if Dell finds out.

 

Thanks a lot for the information! But it is possible to remove the thermal paste and insert the thermal pad again, right? I just need to remove any traces of thermal paste on the processor.

 

Assuming you leave the pad relatively intact when you peel it off, then you can stick it back on easily enough. It gets more difficult if it comes apart as you peel it off, though, so be careful.

Honestly, though, if you're having a tech come over to fix something, they won't notice or care. I had one replace my motherboard today, and he took off the heatsink and saw the thermal paste on my CPU and copper mod for the GPU, and didn't look twice.

 

I see. Last time, a technician came over to my place to replace my motherboard and I think he just took out the heatsink normally, without peeling off the thermal pad or anything. After he finished installing the new motherboard, he just screwed back the heatsink and that was all. Maybe I wasn't observant enough.

 

That's what the technician did today. Didn't bother reapplying paste or pads. It's slightly annoying actually, now my CPU idles around 40 Celsius...before all this after a fresh application of thermal paste, it was damn close to 30.

 

Oh. Just applied Tuniq TX-2 onto the everything except the graphic card. I tried applying some on the graphic card but the gap between it and the heatsink is too big. So, there was not much contact. As a result, my graphic card temperature soared. In the end, I reapplied the thermal pad with some thermal paste. I guess I need a piece of copper. The sad thing is that the graphic card is the hottest component and yet I did not apply any thermal paste.

 

Look in the NBR Marketplace in K-TRON's For Sale thread. He's got plenty of 16x16x1mm copper shims. I've been using one between the GPU and heatsink instead of the pad for about a week now with Arctic Silver.

 

Unfortunately, I live in Malaysia, which is very far from the US. Don't think it is really a good idea to ship a copper shim across half of the globe. I'll try to look around my area for it. Hopefully I'm able to find one soon. The idle temperature for the graphic card is 60 degrees celcius, which is kind of hot to me.

 

Yeah, that's pretty warm. I'm not sure where you would go to buy a copper shim...

I'm sure if you pay for the cost of shipping a tiny envelope, K-TRON would still mail it to Malaysia.

 

Hmm... I suddenly thought of an idea. Why don't I substitute the copper shim with a piece of aluminium foil? I know the a single layer of aluminium foil is too thin. I plan to cut one big piece and fold it into several layers. Then I will try my best to compress it so it will be like a piece of aluminium. Do you think it will work? Of course, I understand that it will not be as good as the copper shim. Thanks.

 

Aluminum is not nearly as thermally conducive as copper. And I forget where it was posted, but JohnByeBye already tried the tin foil method on his Studio 1535, and it didn't do any good at all.

 

Guess you're right. The specific heat capacity of aluminium is kinda high. But I think I'll just try. If it doesn't work, is it possible to apply more thermal paste on the heatsink and the GPU so that both will have contact thermally?

 

You mean, fill the existing gap completely with thermal paste? That won't work. Thermal paste relies on a direct metal-on-metal contact; the paste is really only supposed to fill the microscopic gaps between the two surfaces. Heatsinks are supposed to apply pressure to the CPU/GPU die to maximize direct contact.

You'll need some kind of thermally conducive material to fill that gap and make direct contact between the die surface and heatsink surface. Copper is generally the most widely used heat transfer material, because it has the highest thermal conductivity. That is, unless you want to pay for silver or diamond, since they both have higher conductivity than copper.

 

Yes....for the good of mankind do not use aluminum foil.

 

As expected, it was no-go.

Guess I really need to get a copper shim from K-TRON. The problem is that I've never really bought anything online before. I've got no PayPal account or anything. Wonder how am I going to pay him. Besides that, he said he would like to keep all sales in the USA. I've sent him a message though.

 

You can physically mail him $1 in an envelope and he'll send you the shim. That's what I did, just to avoid the hassle of PayPal.

 

ps98, you might try an International Money Order. I've sent (and received them) to/from Canada and I'm in the US. You might have to send a slight bit more for him to cover the postage to Malaysia, though.

Yes, but he did it wrong I told him that I only put it on the ram!

 

It didn't work. Period.

 

At last, I've finally found myself a piece of copper. I cut the copper piece into three and put one on the GPU's core, two on the GPU's RAMs (I guess). But there is not much change in the temperature. It still idles at 60 degrees celcius. Is it because the copper piece is too thin? The thickness of the copper piece is around 1mm. Should I add another layer of copper piece?