XPS M1330 Nvidia 8400 heat and fan noise problem

Hi Thomas

I updated to Bios version A14 from the original A12, I wasn't having a problem but after reading a whole lot of negative stuff about this laptop I  thought it wouldn't hurt. I really haven't had any problems with the new bios, the fan seems to run on low all the time but you can only hear it if you put your ear on the keyboard. I am concerned about the temperature of the graphics card, it idles at around 60c. Ntunes stress test has it up to around 90-94c and 3DMark05 gets it up to 110c :emotion-7: I'm running Dells latest drivers for Vista64.These temps seem very high to me, anyone want to comment on that?

The WLan card on my laptop is the Intel 4965AGN and seems to be the hottest part. If I put my hand on the underside of the laptop where the graphics card is it is mildly warm, even though the sensor says it is at 60c. Where the WLan card is the temp seems much higher, definately uncomfortable to have on your lap. Is this right? Should a wireless card be so hot?

My 1330 has a replaced mobo because of THE video problem. The new board as installed was bios A13. I've since updated to A15 and installed Nvidia's notebook drivers (179.28). The fan runs at low speed (quietly) most of the time. The gpu idling temps are 57-58C. The area under the gpu is mildly warm, but much cooler than before the mobo replacement. The area under wlan (4965AGN) is slightly warmer than near the gpu, but not uncomfortable. I never turn off wireless...should check temp with it off, I suppose.

Not sure if any of this is helpful, but it doesn't sound like my system is much different than yours. My OS Vista32, btw.

I updated to BIOS A15 and the noise went away.

Radutheodor:

I could not agree with you more and I don't know where to start agreeing with you because there are too many places.  Let's start with Dell's Customer Service.  Years ago when Dell came on the scene, at least when they began to be a major player in the PC world, their marketing equated Dell with Exceptional Customer Service.  "Dude, get a Dell!"  They also tried to make Dell seem hip and easy.  I believe that in the past several years Dell's Customer Service has been reduced to the worst in history.  I could not get, that after every time I called Dell with a problem, after hanging up the phone, I would say to myself "How in God's name is this company still in operation and does Michael Dell know about this tragic flaw in their company."  Dell is now advertising that for an extra cost you can get U.S. based support.  I find this to be absolutely rediculous.  This should be free!!!!!!!  Dell has lost it's way and has lost me as a future customer forever!

I have to give Dell some credit though.  The last time I called Dell, the guy was very helpful and got the problem right away.  This is all fine and good but to have one good experience and many many bad experiences does not leave me a happy customer.  I love technology, I love computers, Blackberry's, any digital device I can get my hand on.  I do not love Dell anymore.  I will never purchase a Dell product again.

I have used a Dell product for about the last 8-9 years, I currently have a Desktop (Dimension 4700) and a Laptop XPS M1330.  (I used an old PowerMac in College, which did have its problems but I still loved it)  The Desktop has actually treated me fairly well.  The laptop on the other hand has been a problem since the beginning, I bought it around December 2007.  The first problem being the rediculous price I paid for it only to have the online price drop $500-600 several days after purchase.  Ok, I know how technology is priced, I just never realized how painful it was until it happened to me. 

I have concluded and made up my mind several months ago that I have only one choice in the matter of "Dell".  That conclusion is to go to the company that I have loved since the beginning, Apple.  I plan on selling my Dell XPS soon for a new Macbook 13".  It has been a long time coming with too much frustration.  I know it will be a happy day when I have gone over to Apple.  There are many other things I would like to say but I do not have the time :)

-Jack

Hi everybody,

I had the same problem. Overheating and fan noise. I had a number of conversations with Dell about the issue. Yesterday a technician replaced the motherboard and fan. This appears to have resolved the immediate problem of overheating. The new motherboard came with Bios A14 dated 19-Nov-2008. My M1330 is now quite cool in operation. When the old parts were removed there was very visible evidence of heat damage.

In one conversation with Dell I was told that the problem with the graphics card arose because faulty glue was used in the manufacturing process. Apparently the correct glue is supposed to liquify when heated thereby acting as a coolant. However the faulty glue crystallized when heated and this resulted in overheating. The cards now being supplied have the proper liquifying glue.

Accordingly I infer from this that Bios changes causing the fan to run all of the time may slow down the progress of damage where one of the "faulty glue" cards is installed.  However where a card has been replaced with one made with the "correct glue" the constantly running fan may be unnecessary. However I suppose that it is not really possible to have a Bios version to cool a faulty card and another Bios version to operate with a properly functioning card.

I am unhappy about the fact that I now have a fan that is running all the time and drawing power from the battery.

Hi everyone,

I might as well add to the din.  I purchased an M1330 last Summer as a replacement for a beloved Dell 700m.  In use I had a couple of instances of the machine suddenly powering off that I wrongly attributed to software (Vista), but now know it was heat (I blamed Vista because I have had major issues with it, some of which I've yet to resolve).  In my case, I never detected any excessive heat from the case, but then I seldom hold a laptop on my lap.  The long and short of it was the problem of seemingly spontaneous power off occurred a couple of more times before I finally became suspicious and ran HW monitor, to be properly horrified at the temps being shown by the CPU and GPU.  It also dawned on me that the fan had increasingly begun to run full bore of late so I followed FAQ suggestions to update BIOS, which I did after letting the system cool off overnight lest it die during the process.  Interestingly, on reboot from the BIOS update, it died, presumably from heat, during memory check (I have 4Gb), a red flag that sent me immediately to Dell chat to set up a service call (much easier than by phone, incidentally).  They sent a tech the next day to replace the fan and heat sink assembly.  He brought along a motherboard as well, but I saw no reason to replace the old one (anyway, I have a 4 year warranty).  Temps are now in line with what others have reported as being normal.  I ran a pretty good stress test using a simulation that iterated 10000 times with continuous screen updates and was happy to see the temperatures plateauing well below what I had been experiencing (I saw GPU temps over 95C, believe it or not).  When the simulation finished, temps immediately dropped back to idle levels.  I think in my case the seal between heat sink and CPU had been damaged or improperly seated, possibly the result of a severe drop during shipping.  I'm not sure why that would affect the GPU, but it's possible the whole heat pipe had loosened.  nVidia has a new driver out for the GPU incidentally, which I also installed on the theory it might also help things.

I have to give Dell credit for a very fast response and repair.  I'm sure it helped that I had already tried the obvious steps myself.  It's too bad heat problems seem to be prevalent in this Dell line since the machine is very nice otherwise, although my old 700m in many ways made for a better travel machine.  Unfortunately Dell and other laptop makers who used this particular nVidia GPU are going to pay a customer credibility price for nVidia's mistake.

I have the solution for all of us M1330 owners out there.  Sell your Dell and purchase a new Macbook.  My next purchase will be the 2.4Ghz Macbook with backlit keyboard (genius).  It really is a thing of beauty.  Best of all you can run windows on it for those of us who still need windows apps.

By the way, anyone install the Windows 7 Beta yet?  I have installed it and it's not too bad but it still has it's drawbacks.  One thing that I found out too late due to me being to eager to install it, was the fact that I have to remove Windows 7 be August as that is when the Beta runs out.  That process is painful.  Will have to back up all my data and they recommend a clean install of the prior OS, mine being Vista.

Dear ____Identity Edit____,

Thanks for getting back to me regarding the LCD Vertical Line issues on my Inspiron 9200. I was not understanding why the posts were pulled, attempting to edit the content, and not realizing that the sources of the problem, (names of people spoken to, case number identifiers), needed to be pulled from the record. If you need to delete items posted today, February 26, I understand. I just need for there to be a record that it took 6 attempts to actually get the information I needed, which finally came today from you. The information from you today I found to be satisfactory. Yet, while I remain dissatisfied with Dell products and overall, the warranty, payment options for North American customer service, offshore customer service, and and offshore tech support processes, I am pleased that you made the effort to help me today. As I research articles on Dell, I continue to find support which highlights overall consumer dissatisfaction with Dell products and the decision of Dell to outsourse customer service resources. Certainly I am disgusted with the case of warranty expiration on my computer. Yet, the greater concern is that Dell is not adequately managed in addressing consumer service needs through methods of telephone communication.

Thank you,

-D-

"I just need for there to be a record that it took 6 attempts to actually get the information I needed"

The link you provided clearly said:

"Dell is offering to replace any LCD that develops a vertical line within three years of purchase, at no charge for parts and labor."

The information was there in the link you provided... Seems like you put the link there but did not actually read it....

The same goes for the Terms of Service. You agreed to them when you signed up for the forums. But, your admitted lack of knowledge about why your posts were being deleted makes it seem like you did not even read the TOS....

Anyway... Hang around and enjoy the forums. There are people here who can help if you ever have a question....

For those who have had their motherboards replaced here is my  story :

Two MB replacements in 6 months and still the system crashes!! Now lined up for a third MB replacement in a week of the second being installed.

August 2008 - Vertical lines issue. System halts. The usual Dell experience - fishing for a needle in the haystack and refusing to come to the point straightaway. I point the posts related to NVidia and they finally give in and send a tech who does the replace trick. Laptop back in action I am happy

Feb 2009: Fan becomes increasingly noisy and now competes with my stove exhaust fan for attention. I live with it.Machine is also very hot. I live with it. Then the vertical lines and then the system crashes. Again the standard Dell routine - and upgrades to Bios, NVidai etc. Asks me to observe. Machine is very unstable and I am asked ot reload the factory image. I take a 150 GB backup and reload the image install the drivers and update the O/S. Mahine crashes randomly. Call the support and they arrange for the tech to change my MB and Fan in 2 business days.

Tech comes does his thing, replaces the plastic parts too. Leaves in under 20 minutes. The parts are still sticking out, the Service tag is missing and the system crashes 5 minutes after he leaves.

I have no way to call the Dell guys as the Service tahg is not with me and their "Premium XPS" smartie is unable to trace my record with the number I have been given by their own Customer service line! Finally chat with them and they say they will send a tech yet again  to replace and service - when I ask what they will change now? The Dell tech does not have a clue. I hate when they put their standard oneliners - we appreciate your issues and can assure you we will do the best blah blah" He has no idea how he is going to nail my problem

So here I am left with a Sleek headturning laptop that does not turn on!

Is Dell listening ? Does Dell really care? Does Dell know understand that they are losing Customer and money because of their inefficient  support folks and substandard China quality?

Need Dell to exchange this for something that works..- this time Made in USA or maybe Made in Japan or Malaysia...

Ladies and gents, we have on our hands a systemic problem.  This is not about BIOS, or about the LCD - this is a motherboard design issue.  The XPS M1330 was rushed to market, and it was DELL's first attempt to grab market share from Sony VAIO and other premium notebook manufacturers.  As such, the motherboard layout and the manufacturing challenges were not fully worked out.  Over the short product cycle of the M1330 the motherboard changed a number of times, in all cases addressing the same problem: heat. 

So what about the glue holding the chip, or about the BIOS and fan speeds, ....?  All come down to the same thing - heat.  It is true that the video chip may not sit well in some machines.  It is also true that it gets too hot.  But that is all a design problem.  The M1330 is under an inch thick at the thickest point.  There is simply not enough space and material to dissipate the heat generated by a rather powerful video subsystem.  The BIOS updates were meant to address this to some extent, but in the end only one solution exists - changing the motherboard to one that is better designed to withstand and dissipate the heat.  Dell should have issued a recall to deal with this, but the bean counters probably figured the percentage of people who will be caught out by this problem is low enough for them to deal with the complaints one by one.  Also, a recall doesn't look all that good - remember what happened to Sony when they recalled millions of batteries because they blew up?

Perhaps we get lucky - our Dells go out with a whimper and not a bang.  Nevertheless, I believe there is a consumer rights issue here.  I've read a number of posts by people whose warranty expired because they did not get the extended coverage.  I am not talking about a guy with a four year old computer that does not even have the NVidia 8400 video system.  I'm referring to everyone with an M1330.  We are all sitting on timebombs.  Mine is now running fine because my motherboard was replaced.  Alongside this replacement my computer was fitted with a new heat sink and fan. 

Now some of you may know what I mena when I say that I always had problems with this computer.  Nothing major - just little crashes here and there.  Maybe I had too many applications open, or perhaps I was loading the computer with too much to do at once.  So you figure it's your fault.  Well, it's not.  Since the repair my computer is as solid as a rock.  Not one crash.  Not even a hang window.  The system works fast - faster than when new, and it doesn't feel as hot.  This is all because the heat is spread out much better now.  The heatsink is very different, and I can feel that it added a bit to the weight of my computer.  The motherboard is also of a different design. 

Of course I was luckier than some.  I have a 3-year warranty, and they Dell technician came to my home to perform all the repairs.  But the most important thing is that once I got around to calling Dell, they were good because they already knew what was wrong.  The first guy I spoke to was in India, so all I had to tell him was that I reinstalled windows and updated the BIOS and it didn't work.  That's pretty much when their expertise hits a dead end and they transfer you to someone stateside.  Once I spoke with the next person, the first thing she asked me after I told her my computer doesn't want to start was if I was getting vertical lines at startup.  My answer was yes, and her reply was to arrange for a time when the tech guy can come visit.  They know the problem.  They know the solution. 

So get out there and get yourselves those new MoBo's.  The new model of this computer is already out, so this may be your last chance to get your system overhauled with factory-fresh parts.  Once they run out all they'll be installing is refurbished stuff, and you know how well that'll serve you.

if u want to echange laptop with me u r welcome

mine is vostro 1500

core 2 duo 1.4 2 gb ddr2

120 gb (5400) hard

intel xpress chipset x3100 graphics

15.4 display

and everything ur notebook have i need ur note book under warenty as mine is aso have 5 months warrenty

I updated the BIOS from A11 to A12 from Dell web site and now the fan is silent.

I just had Dell replace the main board after major heat problems followed by the screen lines of death.  I noticed something that everyone with this machine should inspect closely...

By this compact design, the heat sink is easily clogged with lint that is very hard to see.  The hot air is supposed to exhaust from the left-rear, through the plastic grill.  My first clue was that, despite the fan running at top speed, not much air seemed to be coming out or going in.  Suction is supposed to be from the bottom closest to the rear grill.  Lint goes in the bottom grill and clogs the inside of the rear grill.  Over time, the lint builds up, heat gets worse, hardware fails.  This compact computer only takes a small amount of lint to severely impede the cooling system.

I removed the bottom cover and shined a flashlight up through the fan and out the rear heat sink.  Wow...it was bad!  You realy can't see this without removing the bottom cover (3 screws on bottom and one more upper middle of plastic panel).  Chances are yours is as clogged as mine was.  I used a can of air to blow from the rear grill back through the fan while vacuuming the lint to prevent it from redepositing.

Much, much cooler!  I plan to inspect and clean this every couple of months to prevent the new Dell main board and graphics card from dying a quick death.