Memory Overheat problem on every 600m mine included poor memory cooling design

Question

From day 1 I have had this problem when using games and other memory active programs.  at first I thought it was everything else but I narrowed it down when I installed temperature monitoring software and found that at 140F at the DIMM my computer enters overheat mode and at 127F it returns to full speed.     (I do not want to hear the dust excuse my computer is keept clean)   This problem can be solved by using a fan blowing on the memory door, however this is unacceptable and removes the point of owning a laptop if you have to lug around a cooling station with it.    The reason I am posting this thread is because I was told to from dells tech support because they could not address a general design flaw just specific issues with replacable parts.    I am confused I thought dell tested their laptops for all problems including load test's, well I guess they  FORGOT:smileymad: to do a full load test when designing the enclosure for this notebook!    Is there a fix for this problem EX:  (A memory door with heat sink fins on it which contats the memory better)   Will dell start a study on this general flaw which exists in all 600m's because I address it here?   Will I be able to trade in my laptop for one without this problem with ~= specs If the problem is fixed in the next edition of this size class of laptop.

BPT747 · Answer

You sir are Wrong There is infact a design flaw.    Don't think for a second that I did not study this first I have observed many 600m's(D600's) with the same problem infact all of the ones I have used.  and there are other forums that state this as an actuall problem so don't get on your high horse because you don't work your laptop hard enough to show the problem.  There is also a similar problem with all 6800's too(possibly exactly the same problem)     If you can prove to me that it doesn't exist then ill have dell replace my entire unit under warranty, appologize for my rant and be happy.  But that case is far far far from likely considering the vast number of 600m's with this problem.

BPT747 · Answer

the 600m and the D600 are Identical with the acception of minor plastic color and shape differences, my friends dad has a D600 and I have taken mine and his apart. (next to each other)

o yea the keyboard on his D600 has a mouse stick between ghb keys. but he only runs office apps so he never see's the heat problem

I use this laptop for school so weight needs to be low and battery life needs to be high, so a heavy gaming laptop is not really in my scope. However Had it existed a year ago I might have bought an XPS2.

Examples in ()

In every other way this notebook meets(GPU) or exceeds(CPU,weight,battery life) my expectations with the one exception which is the memory heat problem I did not spend $ 2300 on a notebook to have to blow air on its bottom to keep it from melting itself. (which it would do if it didn't have the protection which is nice to be there but unacceptable if it is needed sitting on a desk) Dell should resolve this for me. I should not have to carry around a cooling pad which reduces my mobility and battery life and/or teathers me to a wall.

rickmktg · Answer

@BPT747 wrote:

the 600m and the D600 are Identical with the acception of minor plastic color and shape differences, my friends dad has a D600 and I have taken mine and his apart. (next to each other)

o yea the keyboard on his D600 has a mouse stick between ghb keys. but he only runs office apps so he never see's the heat problem

I use this laptop for school so weight needs to be low and battery life needs to be high, so a heavy gaming laptop is not really in my scope. However Had it existed a year ago I might have bought an XPS2.

Examples in ()

In every other way this notebook meets(GPU) or exceeds(CPU,weight,battery life) my expectations with the one exception which is the memory heat problem I did not spend $ 2300 on a notebook to have to blow air on its bottom to keep it from melting itself. (which it would do if it didn't have the protection which is nice to be there but unacceptable if it is needed sitting on a desk) Dell should resolve this for me. I should not have to carry around a cooling pad which reduces my mobility and battery life and/or teathers me to a wall.

I've had a 600m for a year. It works fine. I just ordered another one.

You shouldn't go and condemn an entire model just because you are having issues. Every computer model has issues, some more than others. The 5100s/5150s/5160s have huge problems. The 600m has sold for years, and does not.

squallz3 · Answer

I agree with you 100 percent, in fact I gave up on that laptop in general and I will foolishly sell my troubles to another person. And pick up a 9300. I was able to sell my 600m 1.3 Centrino, 64 Mb Video Card, 512 ram, 30 gig harddrive for 650 dollars. And spent an aditional 200 on that to pick up a 9300. Instead of trying to come up with ideas or possibilities yourself, through others, or through Dell I suggest you sell your laptop on the used market NOW, seeing as how there is still a demand for 600m's and pick up a laptop that is suitable for gaming. And although the video cards are good, I've learned now that it is important to get a laptop that is designed for gaming, and not a laptop that just happened to have the specs for a gaming. Let me ask you what's the differnces between the Latitude 600? and the Inspiron 600? From what I understand it's just minor adjustments in the casing and the video card. Ventilation or anything of that nature has not been altered, so basically you have a business laptop with a boosted up videocard.

mgreddy · Answer

Hi,    I had taken recently(10days back) purchased 600M notebook, when I use to work on MSword or excel or listen to music, my laptop is becoming so hot, and we dont have Aircondition in our home, so it will be like that...or is this related to the same problem with memory cards. Please let me know so that I can return it back to Dell and take another one.   Giri

BPT747 · Answer

What you are seeing is normal for these notebooks, they get hot.  Dell designed the laptop to run hot during normal operation and to run normal office applications in HOT conditions you are noticing hot to touch temperatures which is not a problem as long as you don't obstruct the fan or leave the memory door in contact with an insulator like a bed for long periods of time.    The normal running temperature for my memory is 125F (processor 150F)with my processor at 100% running UD.  for those of you that may start blaming my use of UD(I tested my system without UD running and the system overheats just as fast)    The problem I am having only surfaces during gameplay and other extreme apps.  That doesn't make it acceptable, however if you only use office and internet then you should never notice the problem I am having even though it exists on your computer.    I am not trying to bash the 600m and Dell I am trying to motivate a solution to a design problem.  I Personnally love every aspect of this machine with the exception of this problem I don't want a different one I want mine to work the way it should.

duffyanneal · Answer

Maybe you have a marginal memory module.  Have you tried a different memory module or running one (if you have two) at a time to find out if you have one that is sub par?  65C is not that hot (Pentium M is spec'd to 100C as a comparison).

BPT747 · Answer

Been there done that, not the problem.

The memory is put to overheat protection at 60C or 140F so it is necessarry that it stay below that for my computer to be usefull. I think that the plastic starts to melt at about 150-160F so I guess stoping the increase at 140 is a good idea. I have heard(on this forum) that he earlier bios was allowing the plastic to melt before activating the protection.

My memory was overheating from day 1 when I was gaming. But I did not have enough so I bought a GIG stick and it still overheated. When I found out it was temperature related I ran the computer with only my new stick it still overheated so I moved the memory around in both positions with both sticks and it still had the same problem. so it is not the memory it is the lack of heat disipation(or presence of muchc insulation) that is causing the heat problem hence the reason I believe all 600m's have the same problem because they are all designed to equally sufficate the memory.

several possible solutions I have come up with

My thought is that a better designed ram cover with memory contats and heat sink fins could solve the problem because the memory cover already is 90% of the ram's heat disipation.

Another thing that could have been done it may even cool itself if venting existed so the heat could rise off of the memory, but it is all but a sealed compartment.

Also this could have been solved with a simple small duct running to the fan to pull air from the ram compartment. which would have been easy to do if this had been found prepreduction.

Message Edited by BPT747 on 07-28-2005 05:56 PM

Message Edited by BPT747 on 07-28-2005 06:08 PM

duffyanneal · Answer

Have you tried proping the rear of the machine up in the air? I use a laptop stand that raises the rear of the machine up so air can flow around the chasis. I've been using a Targus stand (link below) for several years and they work. It's totally passive so you don't have another annoying fan causing more noise. Just as a test place the rear of the machine up on a notebook or something similar. Slide the book just far enough for the rear feet of the notebook to touch (nothing underneath the notebook but the desk below). See if your temps run a little lower.

http://www.targus.com/us/product_details.asp?sku=PA241U

BPT747 · Answer

Ill try it if dell will buy it for me   I have lifted the back and the sides and it does extend the time I can play by about 10 min's but that is still about a 15 minute time barrier on a system where i can play full blast on a battery for about 200 min if I use the aux battery.  (tested with my active cooling station attached but it requires 12V)   I use an active cooling system at home(it works I guess ill have to send pics of it 120cm fan mounted on a small monitor stand I place my laptop on) the point of fixing this problem is so I don't have to lug the cooling solution to my friend's house everytime I want to play a lan game.  This is a portable device not a you have to cary around cooling solutions for more than 5 min of gameplay.        Message Edited by BPT747 on 08-03-2005 12:05 AM

scba21 · Answer

I'm using the Vantec LapCool2. I'm taking it back today though. It does zero good. I found a recommendation on another forum for this cooler http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834996501 which I may try. What this thing needs though is a refrigeration unit, not another cooling pad. :(

This site has over 300 entries from people who are unhappy with their 600m overheating: http://www.josesandoval.com/hotdells/index.asp. They're trying to gather 1000 in hopes that Dell will actually listen to that many people. They mentioned a class-action civil court case too ... [note, that is worded strangely because the Dell forums prohibit the use of the word law suit. How odd is that???]

scba21 · Answer

Count me in as another disgruntled 600m user. I have to put an ice pack on the left front corner of my machine in order to play World of Warcraft on it. I have tried a cooling pad, propping the machine up, and everything else short of taking a drill to the case and making real ventilation. Plus I have talked to other people with the same problem and a quick google reveals scores of other are experiencing it as well. All have had the same result from Dell though: 'we don't have an overheating problem on the 600m'. I love my laptop, but the overheating is a huge issue. My frame rates in-game drop to less than 1 FPS, making this machine a big paperweight.

BPT747 · Answer

Finally I find someone that has actually researched the problem like me. (Welcome too the club)

What troubles me is that I was told That a Dell rep. would read and respond to these threads.

I am curious as to which cooling pad you used? I know my custom made cooling pad is only 25% more than needed and It is a 120CM fan on high directly under the memory door(low or medium isn't enough) which is funny due to the massive amount of air a 120CM fan moves at any speed. (I really need too post pictures of my cooling rig powered by an AT powersuply)

BPT747 · Answer

Free speech is definitely inhibited(prohibited) on Dell’s forum when I was little I went to a private school, and we could say most of the words I have been forced to reframe from.

That fan unit looks noisy to me and on newegg there is a review that states that it is insufficient for a 600m, I have decided to releace my <-(working cooler)-> designs as soon as I take pictures of it so people can make a quiet but affective cooling unit for desktop use. (for Dell reps this is NOT a solution just a crutch)

I am behind you all the way on the action you spoke of in your last post. However I am willing to do my own research and report it to Dell if they will listen and make changes toward fixing this problem(which should have been addressed during design and testing)

Like I have said previously if dell had not insulated that entire memory cavity this may not have been a problem. Now uninsulating and adding airflow is the new problem; however at close to 140F airflow should be created naturally(thermal dynamics 101 hot air rises) and easily keep the temperatures down if direct airflow across the memory is allowed.

What eats me the most is that I have yet to talk to anyone from dell that can even talk to me about my problem. This I find unacceptable, if they keep ignoring us they may end up giving us all XPS2’s after all is said and done, But I don’t want the extra weight and lower battery life. But that is the only change of platform I will make, the 600 series is the correct size and life for me. The 610 may be an option when it comes in (m) form but only if it doesn’t overheat. Since its battery life is lower with its 27w chip as apposed to our 21w chip.

Message Edited by BPT747 on 08-02-2005 12:56 PM

BPT747 · Answer

What Dell needs to realize is that my laptop was bought with an AmEX card which means that if I did not want to work with them on fixing the problem I would just have to tell AmEX to give me my money back.  (I don't want to do this) But if Dell won't work with me it will eventually happen.  It is not like I did not buy their good warranty which covers manufacture defects this defect just happens to exist on all 600m's and D600's and possibly several other similarly built notebooks.  GM will recall all of a line of vehicles to fix a problem why won't DELL do the same on a laptop which has much higher profit margins.  I am going nuts trying to get intouch with someone at Dell that can answer my questions intelegenly and try to work with me.  (Like I said before, I will help find a solution if my research will be seen by someone that can actually do something with it)

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Memory Overheat problem on every 600m mine included poor memory cooling design

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