Dimension/XPS heating issues

Having trouble even figuring out which model of XPS i have. I enter my service code and it says my model type is "XPS/Dimension XPS". I bought the xps in late 2003. I have tried to search this problem, but there are so may different versions of the XPS Im not even sure which I have. Since buying it I have only made 2 upgrades, +512 ram, and a new graphics card.

Upgraded video card, because the stock ATI radeon 9800 burned out b/c of heat issues.

The card I chose was NVIDIA geforce 4 6800 GT, and has ran perfectly since installation. My computer has ran fine for a year now with no problems at all.

As of a few days ago, I noticed flashes of white pixels randomly on my screen when playing a game or something with alot of CPU usage. It is to the point now, where after a few mins of the white pixels, my computer will lock up goto black screen, or reboot to windows load screen then crash out to black screen until I power it off. (All problems I experienced with the original ATI card, before going bad)

I shut down, opened up the case to find my graphics card so hot that I cant even touch it. I clean the fan out with compressed air, and double check to see if it works (works fine). After trying again, within 5 mins it crashed out again.

Ive tried to read up on the problems, some ppl say upgrade the bios, fans, etc.

I checked the fans, all are working....1 that is in the heatsink/processor chamber is running harder then the other. and the one in front at the bottom seems to be barely working. I have a fan blowing into the front vents of my computer at all times, and this still happens.

Ive even reformated my computer, and reinstalled all the drivers, and still come up with the same problem.

Also, why has the system ran with no problems for a year and all of a sudden a problem?

Im tired of spending money on new cards, there has got to be a fix for this.

Message Edited by malinco on 10-03-2006 02:45 AM

Responses(1)

Majestic

9.4K Posts

0

October 3rd, 2006 13:00

From the date of purchase, my best guess is that you have a XPS (Gen 1) or a XPS Gen 2 system. Have you tried entering the BIOS Setup by pressing the F2 key at boot up and checking the BIOS Setup page for additional information? The model number should be listed on the top of the page.

As for a BIOS update, there were a couple of the later Dell systems that had a BIOS upgrade that improved on the performance of the cooling fans, but I don't recall that your model was included. Those BIOS improvements were released in the last year or so which would rule out your system. The last time a newer BIOS version was release for the early XPS systems was 2004. I would also suspect that since the card ran for a year without problems that the BIOS isn't the cause. If it were BIOS related you would have seen the problem occur earlier than this.

If it's been a while since you last blew out the system then it may have been sufficiently plugged with dust to effect the cooling of the system. That the video card got "cooked" and as a result a component or the circuitry on the card is now damaged. The other possibility is that the bearings in the lower front fan are seizing up which is contributing to the reduce air flow. If you haven't done so already I would suggest posting your problem in the Dimension - Video forum to what other opinions you receive.

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Dimension/XPS heating issues