This section will try to answer the most often asked questions I get.

GPU cooling? What do you do to keep the GPU cool?

I have been asked this question in the past few days quite a few times. I read what was posted by Precision Division on their eBay ads stating the BIOS files do not fix the issue, and how they modify the fan.

You have to be aware of what causes your system to fail, and what needs to be done to fix it. You have to do four main things such as update the BIOS and video drivers, exit the heat, reapply thermal paste, and change the handling.

As a repair outlet I can only do so much during the repair. Thermal compound helps greatly. Updating the BIOS and video drivers do much more for a system than hardware mods can alone. Handling has to be changed though.

I can modify the fan easily enough by clipping one wire. I suggest purchasing a laptop cooler because when it breaks and the fans die on that system it is easier to change than the weaker CPU fan that is internally in the system. As many already know, the heatsink on a DV6000, DV9000, F500, and F700 are L-shaped. Heat travels through the L-shaped heatsink to exit the system. With a weak fan exiting heat, the heat spreads through the system making the fan work harder to exit the heat. This heat remelts solder, heats your components, wears the bearings in your fan, and weakens your battery cells. Laptop cooling mats do more to move heat than the CPU fan can do on its own.

Thermal compound is key to thermal recovery. The compound absorbs the heat and causes the transfer to happen quicker. In conjunction with a chill mat, this is key to moving heat so it does not spread through the system.

BIOS and video drivers are important because they both handle how the video and system work to displace heat. The Nvidia drivers add support for games and DirectX applications, but also do more important things like bug fixes. Bug fixes can be simple problems as what the new drivers do as of 2009 which is cause the GPU to run at 10 to 20 percent power when idle. I cannot do that to as system, and neither can any other repair outlet unless they install the drivers. The BIOS update runs the fan at 5v for the complete time the system is on, but it also does another important duty: It runs the CPU at a lower GHz when it is idle the same as the video driver. This cannot be changed in the BIOS without a BIOS update.

Finally, handling is probably the single most important task. As a user you have to know your system, know the reason for the failure, and change your handling. I get calls to ask about reballing and re-stenciling with leaded solder. That will not help with anything. Heat causes solder to weaken and crack so you have to handle that issue. So handling as a user is key to continued working of a new or repaired system. As a user you have to take simple no nonsense precautions to extend the life.

Here are just a few:

Do not let your system sit on a cloth surface.

Do not block the vents.

Do not hibernate or Stand-By your system.

Turn your system off when you are not using it.