Inspiron 620 Desktop Tower Manufacturing Defect QA problem.

Question

So I went out and got an Inspiron 620 mini tower.

The northbridge chipset on the motherboards DOES NOT HAVE A HEATSINK.

This is wrong. I fixed this myself by using a thermal sticky tape heatsink and a fan on the flipchip.

Symptoms were random freeze with no blue screen after a few min of playing video or games.

I can see that they use a variation of:

Thermally Advantaged Chassis Design Guide 2 0

However the C200 chipset documentation clearly outlines a heatsink being required.

C200 Series Chipset. Thermal Mechanical Specifications and Design Guidelines (TMSDG).

Thermal Mechanical Specifications and Design Guidelines ... - Intel

HTTP://www.intel.com/Assets/PDF/designguide/324647.pdf

My particular machine was made last month.

Does dell plan to have a recall or to retrofit heatsinks for the north bridge?

speedstep · Accepted Answer

The evercool package above I used the small square heatsink without ears. There is clear double sided sticky tape that goes on this heatsink. You put on one side peel off the sticky and place over the northbridge and problem solved.

You can see there are 2 holes as well as the white rectangles for the U clips that the spring grabs to hold a heatsink onto the flip chip. If you look at the INTEL manual for the C200 series chipset it CLEARLY shows a heatsink and provides manufacturers links etc. I suspect you could also get Video DRAM heatsinks that would do the trick.

I would recommend Bergquist thermal conductivity pads for the optimum heat transfer.

Bond-Ply Products

The Bond-Ply family of materials are thermally conductive and electrically isolating. Bond-Ply is available in a PSA or laminating format. Bond-Ply provides for the decoupling of bonded materials with mismatched thermal coefficients of expansion. Bond-Ply provides:

A replacement to heat cure adhesives
A replacement to screw mounting
A replacement to clip mounting

Bond-Ply 100 (11 mil)

Bond-Ply 100 (11 mil)

Selection Guide
Data Sheet
RoHS Certificate

Thermal impedance
0.86°C-in2/W (@100 psi)
High bond strength to a variety of surfaces
Double sided pressure sensitive adhesive tape
High performance, thermally conductive acrylic adhesive
Can be used instead of heat cure adhesive, screw mounting or clip mounting.

Typical Applications Include

Mount heat sink onto BGA graphic processor
Mount heat sink onto drive processor
Mount heat spreader onto power converter PCB
Mount heat spreader onto motor control PCB

Thermal impedance: 0.87°C-in2/W (@50 psi)
Double-sided pressure sensitive adhesive tape
Provides a mechanical bond, eliminating the need for mechanical fasteners or screws

speedstep · Accepted Answer

The biggest problem I see is finding a source that will sell you just 1.

The heatsink needs to be small square and very low profile because it sits under the video card slot.

A tall heatsink would interfere with cards going in the slot. 27 x 27 x 6 fits.

You can see this though from the C200 series chipset documentation.

ICK BGA 27X27

HEAT SINK, BALL GRID

FISCHER ELEKTRONIK

BGA

Enzotech BCC9 Memory Ramsinks - 8 Pack (BMR-C1L)

Brand: Enzotech

speedstep · Accepted Answer

I would be willing to have said 'engineer' give me in writing a blessing from INTEL about the design. It would not seem like an issue to me if the mounting points for the Z clip as well as the fact that this is a Flip Chip with exposed glass wasn't there.

DELL-Chris M · Answer

I have not heard any news on this.

speedstep · Answer

The machine locks up when playing videos or World of Warcraft if it doesnt have a northbridge cooler.

The chipset spec clearly calls out for a heatsink.

www.intel.com/.../324647.pdf

Note Figure 6.1 page 22.

which is why its a Flipchip aka exposed glass vs plastic package.

Needs either the pop on with springs or the Z clip that grabs the wire loops.

The Holes and the white rectangle on left and bottom right are there specifically for that.

Note the board below with heatsink.

speedstep · Answer

Micro Center - Evercool Video Card Heatsink and Fan Cooling System ...

Price:     $9.99
SKU     039131
Mfr Part #:     EC-VC-RB
UPC:     818612000703

A few have asked how I fixed this.

I used a chipset heatsink that comes with clear sticky tape designed for attaching directly without using any thermal compound.

The small square heatsink in the center that does not have tabs on it worked fine.

EC-VC-RB

vcrb_bview_1 Video Card Heatsink and Fan Cooling System

Evercool Six in one VGA cooling pack

http://www.evercool.com.tw/products/vc_rb.htm

dukane3k · Answer

en.community.dell.com/.../19908433.aspx (I mistakenly thought it was the graphics chip that didn't have the heatsink when it was the northbridge)

I am also having THE SAME problem. I posted this on the forum on 7/12.

Dell just shipped me a new system (I received it today) and it STILL doesn't have a heatsink on the northbridge.

Today with the brand new computer, with only the Dell provided peripherals connected and everything updated, I used it for 1 hour with only one program running (the Spotify player) and it still froze up. A hard freeze where I have to turn off the power and turn it back on. 15 minutes later, it froze again. Needless to say I am getting frustrated. I bought this PC in June, and still do not have a working machine.

I applaud you for fixing it yourself, but i think Dell really should fix this problem for us, and stop more customers from having a bad experience like ours.

dukane3k · Answer

Thanks for the tip, I will order this to take care of the problem once and for all... :)

speedstep · Answer

I believe its 27 x 27

AAVID THERMALLOY|374324B00035G|HEAT SINK BGA 27 X 27 X 10 WITH ...

Dimensions from:

However the C200 chipset documentation clearly outlines a heatsink being required.

C200 Series Chipset. Thermal Mechanical Specifications and Design Guidelines (TMSDG).

Thermal Mechanical Specifications and Design Guidelines ... - Intel

HTTP://www.intel.com/Assets/PDF/designguide/324647.pdf

Desktop and UP Server / Workstation Cougar Point Platform Controller Hub (PCH) Thermal Mechanical

http://www.intel.com/content/dam/doc/design-guide/6-chipset-c200-chipset-specifications-and-guidelines.pdf

Heatsink
Assembly

INTEL :C46655-001

AVC:S702C00001

CCI: 00C855802B

Foxconn: 2Z802-009

dukane3k · Answer

I found this one: www.xsfans.com/index.php Is this one ok, or is it too big?

dukane3k · Answer

Just bought a heatsink with adhesive. Dell called today and suggested that I reinstall windows (what happens when that doesn't work?) I will install the heatsink as soon as it arrives and hope to be back in business soon! :)

I had a chat with DELL-Chris and he contacted engineering, and the heatsink is NOT part of the design.

speedstep · Answer

As far as the heatsink being not part of the design I completely Disagree.

There is not a note that says you can disregard the heatsink.

www.intel.com/.../6-chipset-c200-chipset-specifications-and-guidelines.pdf

The reference solution heatsink will be evaluated to the reliability requirements in Table 6-1. The mechanical loading of the component may vary depending on the heatsink, and attach method used. The customer should define a validation test suite based on the anticipated use conditions and resulting reliability requirements. Thermal cycling, bake and humidity tests were performed on original design and are not being repeated.

Heatsink

Assembly

INTEL :C46655-001

AVC:S702C00001

CCI: 00C855802B

Foxconn: 2Z802-009

dukane3k · Answer

Dell had me do a clean install (without all the extra Dell software) from the Windows 7 disc, I was pretty skeptical... but that did the trick! I didn't have any trouble, even without a heatsink.

I also bought a little heatsink just to be safe, but it looks like a piece of software that originally came on the system was causing the freezes.

I still think the northbridge should have a heatsink on it, but, surprisingly everything is working again.

DELL-Chris M · Answer

Speedstep, 'As far as the heatsink being not part of the design I completely Disagree.' Ok. I am just telling you that is what the engineer related to us,'On the Inspiron Desktop 620, it is by design that there is not a heatsink on the southbridge chip. The one located right of the PCIe x1 slots. The Northbridge and integrated video are embedded in the CPU.' You have to remember that the retail specifications will always be different than our OEM (original equipment manufacturer) specifications.

avery1 · Answer

yes, mine does.

bought two for the office, one freezes, the other one doesn't. the one that freezes, it got better after updating the display driver (intel hd), but it still occasionally freezes, though not as often as it used to. I'm planning to see the settings and drivers of the non-freezing one, see if anything is different.

I tried clean install of Windows 7, and it seemed to start acting up after installing the display driver. what gives?

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