SS DELL semi passive cooling on P4 @ghz

Showtime · 05-08-2002, 08:42 PM

Got in on the dell deal for my dad last month. 2ghz, 80gigs,etc for $700.
Dad was complaining that it wasnt as fast as he thought it would be and that it locks up.
So i go inside to add some DDR ram and find a neat funnel from cpu to the exhaust vent. Curious i open it up to find passive cooling. one big old sucky heat sink with no fan

. The funnel ends at the one fan in the case so in theory it sucks the hot air out of the cpu/heatsink. It does do something as far as sucking is concerned and that is.... it SUX!!!
Cheap bastards. I wish I had a digital camera to show you their ratbastard approach to cooling. Honestly, I didnt think you could passively cool a pent 4.
Since I am the genius who decided to get the dell deal I must fix it myself. Still not a bad deal on the computer. I need to partition the 80gig hd and add some ram and cool it.
It will run good.

Nija · 05-08-2002, 09:10 PM

hrmmm... might be just yours.... we haven't had any problems, and my mother got in on the same deal. maybe they just don't like ya

Showtime · 05-08-2002, 09:19 PM

Nija, did you open the box and look at the cooling in your moms case? 128 ddr or did you add some? Does she just basically email with it or does she play Quake etc?

The heat sink on ours has no fan or even a place for one on it.
My dad uses it in his office. He graphs different markets and stuff. Shouldnt be too taxing for a 2ghz system, but if it is not cooled properly than that is the problem.
Again, can a pent4 be passively cooled? I've never seen it done.

Showtime · 05-08-2002, 11:32 PM

So i take off the passive cooling to switch it out with the intel retail cooling unit and what do i find..... I find out Dells mobo uses a different bracket than the standard one used for p4's. Cant switch it out tonight.
But wait there's more!!!!
I look at the passive cooler and notice funky pink thermal paste all under a patch on the p-cooler but none on the chip itself. I look closer and see plastic film still covering it. They didnt take off the plastic patch. Now I'm no scientist but i do believe plastic is not condusive to heat dispension. Bastards!!!

~~Cantacuzene~~ · 05-11-2002, 06:04 PM

I don't know what Dell is thinking here.

PokeyThePenguin · 05-11-2002, 07:18 PM

Wow... major SUCKAGE jello. Take a pic of the plastic film on there and send it to Dell. Maybe all you need to do is remove the plastic film and keep the crappy funnel on there and it might actually work and not overheat.

sbp · 05-11-2002, 10:18 PM

This is not the first time Dell has used a passive cooling system. I recall a MaximumPC review of a Dell system that had it.

What a boneheaded move to leave the plastic there. By all means let Dell know.

Showtime · 05-13-2002, 11:57 AM

Dell 4400 w/2Ghz p4. 80 gig hd. 128 DDR pc2100 nanya(?). 16mg ati 128 rage vid card. cd/rw.

I scraped off the pink stuff/patch and added some arctic silver and remounted the p-cooler. Added a fan on the air duct to push some air over the aluminum p-cooler. Scored a 49xx on a few pcmark runs. I dont think with the original configuration, that the system could run at 2ghz under load. I had added 512 ddr and it was still taking a long time to do simple tasks. Now its running much better. The passive cooler is no Zalmans(?quiet semi passive cooler) but with the changes i made it will do.
-jel

ps:cpugeek what kind of cooling was on yours. is it a standard heatsink/fan unit?

05-08-2002, 08:42 PM	#1
Showtime Lakers fanatic Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: L.A. ->SoCal<- O.C. Posts: 7,338	SS DELL semi passive cooling on P4 @ghz Got in on the dell deal for my dad last month. 2ghz, 80gigs,etc for $700. Dad was complaining that it wasnt as fast as he thought it would be and that it locks up. So i go inside to add some DDR ram and find a neat funnel from cpu to the exhaust vent. Curious i open it up to find passive cooling. one big old sucky heat sink with no fan . The funnel ends at the one fan in the case so in theory it sucks the hot air out of the cpu/heatsink. It does do something as far as sucking is concerned and that is.... it SUX!!! Cheap bastards. I wish I had a digital camera to show you their ratbastard approach to cooling. Honestly, I didnt think you could passively cool a pent 4. Since I am the genius who decided to get the dell deal I must fix it myself. Still not a bad deal on the computer. I need to partition the 80gig hd and add some ram and cool it. It will run good. __________________ NBA REPORT 10-11/ The 3-Peat! 1948 1949 1950 1952 1953 1954 1972 1980 1982 1985 1987 1988 2000 2001 2002 2009 2010 Reigning NBA CHAMPS!

05-08-2002, 09:10 PM	#2
Nija Chief of Naval Operations Join Date: May 2001 Location: City of The Dead Posts: 13,552	hrmmm... might be just yours.... we haven't had any problems, and my mother got in on the same deal. maybe they just don't like ya __________________ "Nija is the dark soul of gotapex. We don't like to talk about him." - LPMiller

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05-08-2002, 09:19 PM	#3
Showtime Lakers fanatic Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: L.A. ->SoCal<- O.C. Posts: 7,338	Nija, did you open the box and look at the cooling in your moms case? 128 ddr or did you add some? Does she just basically email with it or does she play Quake etc? The heat sink on ours has no fan or even a place for one on it. My dad uses it in his office. He graphs different markets and stuff. Shouldnt be too taxing for a 2ghz system, but if it is not cooled properly than that is the problem. Again, can a pent4 be passively cooled? I've never seen it done.

05-08-2002, 11:32 PM	#4
Showtime Lakers fanatic Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: L.A. ->SoCal<- O.C. Posts: 7,338	So i take off the passive cooling to switch it out with the intel retail cooling unit and what do i find..... I find out Dells mobo uses a different bracket than the standard one used for p4's. Cant switch it out tonight. But wait there's more!!!! I look at the passive cooler and notice funky pink thermal paste all under a patch on the p-cooler but none on the chip itself. I look closer and see plastic film still covering it. They didnt take off the plastic patch. Now I'm no scientist but i do believe plastic is not condusive to heat dispension. Bastards!!!

05-11-2002, 06:04 PM	#5
~~Cantacuzene~~ Banned Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA Posts: 8,700	I don't know what Dell is thinking here.

05-11-2002, 07:18 PM	#6
PokeyThePenguin Lieutenant Junior Grade Join Date: May 2001 Location: Corner of 97th St. and Barkman Ave. Posts: 54	Wow... major SUCKAGE jello. Take a pic of the plastic film on there and send it to Dell. Maybe all you need to do is remove the plastic film and keep the crappy funnel on there and it might actually work and not overheat.

05-11-2002, 10:18 PM	#7
sbp Chief of Naval Operations Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 11,037	This is not the first time Dell has used a passive cooling system. I recall a MaximumPC review of a Dell system that had it. What a boneheaded move to leave the plastic there. By all means let Dell know.

05-13-2002, 11:57 AM	#8
Showtime Lakers fanatic Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: L.A. ->SoCal<- O.C. Posts: 7,338	Dell 4400 w/2Ghz p4. 80 gig hd. 128 DDR pc2100 nanya(?). 16mg ati 128 rage vid card. cd/rw. I scraped off the pink stuff/patch and added some arctic silver and remounted the p-cooler. Added a fan on the air duct to push some air over the aluminum p-cooler. Scored a 49xx on a few pcmark runs. I dont think with the original configuration, that the system could run at 2ghz under load. I had added 512 ddr and it was still taking a long time to do simple tasks. Now its running much better. The passive cooler is no Zalmans(?quiet semi passive cooler) but with the changes i made it will do. -jel ps:cpugeek what kind of cooling was on yours. is it a standard heatsink/fan unit?

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