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    Dell Studio 1555 Pics Mobo/Heatsinks/fan/GPU

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by ninja2000, Jun 18, 2009.

  1. ninja2000

    ninja2000 Mash IT

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    Hi Guys,

    As I took my Dell Studio 1555 apart to upgrade the cpu (not a job for the feint hearted!) I took some photo's of the mainboard and HS/Fan.
    If any of you have noticed high temps in HWMonitor on one of the ACPI I have tracked it down to be related to the GPU. Well when you look at the Heatsink you will see why!

    Thermal pad on GPU
    Tiny heat sink with copper bar which sticks to the back of the fan assembly
    Tiny noisy fan

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    ninja2000, Jun 18, 2009
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  2. raduque

    raduque Notebook Evangelist

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    Wow, the heatpipe doesn't even carry heat to the fan!
    Bad, ugly design. I wonder how long of a life the GPUs in that machine have.
     
    raduque, Jun 18, 2009
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  3. ninja2000

    ninja2000 Mash IT

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    My thoughts exactly! The fan normally blows cool air over heat spreader fins. This has nothing. I guess the low TDP doesnt warrant a decent cooling solution. I certainly wont be trying to overclock this laptop.

    Its a pity it is so hard to get to, I wanted to play around a bit with it but I dont fancy taking the whole laptop apart again.
     
    ninja2000, Jun 18, 2009
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  4. xxbadboys93

    xxbadboys93 Notebook Deity

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    My studio 1537 has a way better cooling solution then that. Wow Dell really got cheap. Its a shame. I would definitely recommend putting artic silver on that.
     
    xxbadboys93, Jun 18, 2009
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  5. JohnByeBye

    JohnByeBye Notebook Evangelist

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    Wow. This is horrible. The heatsink isn't much of an upgrade from the previous models. In fact, it's worse. The 1535/37 GPU heatsink was bad enough. In my opinion the GPU copper lead needs to reach the fan vent. It has never done so on any Studio 15 model.
     
    JohnByeBye, Jun 18, 2009
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  6. ipkonfig

    ipkonfig Notebook Consultant

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    Hmm so thats how it looks..eh?

    Thanks for the photos :)
     
    ipkonfig, Jun 18, 2009
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  7. ninja2000

    ninja2000 Mash IT

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    no problem. glad to be able to share
     
    ninja2000, Jun 18, 2009
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  8. bigdarkmad

    bigdarkmad Notebook Evangelist

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    yes often in Studiop the GPU has the highest temp
     
    bigdarkmad, Jun 20, 2009
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  9. Mastershroom

    Mastershroom wat

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    The ATi 3450 in my Studio 1535 has never been problematically hot.

    If you're adventurous enough, you can try a copper mod; you place a thin (1 or 1.5mm thick) copper shim in between the GPU die and heatsink to bridge the gap, and put thermal paste on both sides of the copper shim to transfer heat. It works much better than the stock thermal pads.
     
    Mastershroom, Jun 20, 2009
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  10. qtfp

    qtfp Newbie

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    Thanks for your photos.i also have one 1555 t4200.i also want to replace the cpu.But i don't know how to take it apart.i have seen my old 1537 being taking apart by dell's repairer.But 1555 have change the design.it's not so easy to change like 1537.Can you tell me some tips when i start to take it apart? thank you alot~
     
    qtfp, Jun 22, 2009
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  11. ninja2000

    ninja2000 Mash IT

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    Of course

    Follow the service guide on dells website, lay out the parts in the order you take them apart and that also includes screws.
    Take carefull note of the cabling you have to remove as you need to run it back in the correct channels
    Be extra careful when removing the snap on cover that you have removed all screws or it will break
    Get some decent thermal compound, dells is crap

    Its not difficult if you are carefull, just time consuming. Also I can give you my msn if you need help
     
    ninja2000, Jun 22, 2009
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  12. Mastershroom

    Mastershroom wat

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    ninja2000 pretty much summed it up. And definitely replace the CPU thermal pad with some real compound. I recommend either Arctic Silver 5 or OCZ Freeze.
     
    Mastershroom, Jun 22, 2009
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  13. ninja2000

    ninja2000 Mash IT

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    Mastershroom, I was looking at the copper mod you were talking about, I think it is definately going to be worthwhile on this laptop so I am going to give it a try, I dont like the GPU temps sitting at 93c!

    Also, I hate the fan control on this laptop! It is runs low speed whilst idling and the whole laptop sits hot to keep it quiet. I would rather a little bit of noise and a cooler running laptop. Does anyone know of software to manually adjust the fan?
     
    ninja2000, Jun 23, 2009
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  14. Mastershroom

    Mastershroom wat

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    93C, yikes! I have an older Studio 15 model, with the less powerful ATi 3450 graphics, so my idle temperatures were in the mid to high 50's Celsius. After the mod, it tends to idle in the upper 40's.
     
    Mastershroom, Jun 23, 2009
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  15. ninja2000

    ninja2000 Mash IT

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    sorry thats my load temps, whilst gaming it sits at 93c. Idle is 50-55.
    What does your 3450 do on load? before and after mod would be handy if you have it :)
     
    ninja2000, Jun 23, 2009
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  16. Mastershroom

    Mastershroom wat

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    Before the mod, the 3450 idled around 55C. After the mod, it now idles around 47C. Load temperatures went from around 79 after an hour of TF2, to around 71.
     
    Mastershroom, Jun 23, 2009
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  17. qtfp

    qtfp Newbie

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    it's really nice to do it by myself. i separete it apart today.Next time i will buy one cpu and replace the old one. thank you about your advise~
     
    qtfp, Jun 23, 2009
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  18. xxbadboys93

    xxbadboys93 Notebook Deity

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    Shrooms is it possible to take a picture of your copper mod. If you have the time it would really be appreciated
     
    xxbadboys93, Jun 23, 2009
    #18