[Morthian]

I have had a customized Dell Studio 1747 notebook for nearly two years now.
In the past few months, the CPU seems to keep overheating, causing the system to shut off.
I have never replaced a fan in a notebook computer before, but, correct me if I'm wrong,
it seems that is what needs to be done.
How do I find out exactly what type of replacement fan to buy?
(The CPU is an Intel i7 quad-core.)

[Gr3iz]

Can you see or hear the fan running? It should be especially apparent when you first power up. Can you feel heat blowing out during operation?

[Morthian]

Yes, the fan still runs, but I believe its motor has become very worn over the past two years. I can often hear it running very loudly when the processor starts getting hot... which is constantly every day. If I didn't have a strong cooling pad, I think my laptop would be virtually useless. I installed a program that displays the cpu temp in the system tray, so I have witnessed it several times reach about 100°C before the system shuts down.

[Frank4d]

The fan and enclosure for it are made specifically for the the laptop model, so you likely will need to buy it from Dell, or perhaps an EBay seller of replacement fans for your model.

It is also possible, it only needs to be cleaned out by a can of compressed air. If you decide to try this, it is important to block the fan blades from turning from force of the compressed air (because when you rotate a fan manually, it can act like a generator, which can damage the motherboard).

Whichever you decide, the Dell service manual is here: http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...n/sm/index.htm

[DaveBurnett]

Dell are very good in that they provide the service manuals for all machines free to download. They also will tell you exactly what was put in your machine when they sold it and provide all the drivers for it.. These are available on-line and all you need is the Service Tag from the bottom of your machine (or the BIOS setup screen).

There is also a third party utility written specifically for Dell Laptops to help control and report on the fan(s) and temperatures. I use it on my Dells.

see http://www.diefer.de/i8kfan/index.html

[Morthian]

I couldn't get any info by entering my service tag on Dell's website,
so I had to contact support to find out anything about the fan.

This is the information I was given:
FAN,75X70X14MM,5V,POITIER
dell part number M578R

They said they could sell me a "refurbished" fan for $13.

I decided to look for a new one instead, and found this for $30:
http://www.batterystyle.com/dell-stu...-p-504362.html

Is it worth it to spend the extra money for a new (non-refurbished) fan?

[DaveBurnett]

Not if the first one is from Dell themselves.
What is the service tag?? ,I've never had problems with using one and I have had many Dells through my hands.

[Gr3iz]

How would one refurbish a fan without replacing the fan itself? It's a sealed unit. Maybe a refurbished assembly, which would probably be a new fan motor mounted in the old heat sink hardware. I think it should be fine using a refurb'd assembly ...

[DaveBurnett]

They flush and reseal the bearings. It probably is a lightly used one from a faulty machine that was returned under warranty and hardly used.

[Morthian]

So everyone agrees I should get the "refurbished" part from Dell?

Before I go through with this and literally disassemble my entire laptop...
Can anyone help confirm that a new CPU fan would probably solve my overheating issue?

As I mentioned early, I have had this notebook for just about two years now, and I would probably have to say it's powered on more often than not. The cpu is an Intel i7 quad-core, so it's pretty powerful. When I am running any sort of cpu-intensive task, such as watching a video, I can see the temperature of my cpu climbing rapidly. When this happens, the fan inside the system becomes quite loud. However, it still doesn't stop the cpu from overheating. For this reason, I often have to keep my cooling pad powered on. This overheating problem began several months ago and has gotten progressively worse. I did use air duster on the vents, and from the outside, it looks perfectly clean. Given this information, is it safe to assume replacing the cpu fan would probably solve the problem?

(I apologize for the lengthy post; any advice here would be much appreciated.)

[DaveBurnett]

That sounds as though the heat sink is not making sufficient contact with the CPU.
Try http://www.diefer.de/i8kfan/index.html and see if that gives you more info. It is designed for Dells and I use it all the time.

It may just need the heat sink reseating with fresh compound. I think the old stuff has dried out and cracked.

[Morthian]

Originally Posted by DaveBurnett

That sounds as though the heat sink is not making sufficient contact with the CPU.
Try http://www.diefer.de/i8kfan/index.html and see if that gives you more info. It is designed for Dells and I use it all the time.

It may just need the heat sink reseating with fresh compound. I think the old stuff has dried out and cracked.

It says this program is for Dell Inspiron/Latitude/Precision. My notebook is a Dell Studio, and this program has a disclaimer about "changing the thermal management" of my computer and to use at my own risk. I'm not even sure exactly what that means... Are you sure this is okay to use on my computer?

[DaveBurnett]

If it recognises your machine it will work. It won't change anything unless you tell it to. It will however give you a lot of info about temperatures and fan speeds.

I use it mainly to get my fans to come on earlier than Dell set them at so my laptops run cooler. It also allows you to see the temperature changing with load.

The warning about thermal management is because you could, if you really wanted to, get it to turn off the fans altogether.

It did allow me to spot that one of the fans on this machine had jammed - and therefore replace it before any thermal damage.

[Snagglegaster]

Originally Posted by DaveBurnett

That sounds as though the heat sink is not making sufficient contact with the CPU.
Try http://www.diefer.de/i8kfan/index.html and see if that gives you more info. It is designed for Dells and I use it all the time.

It may just need the heat sink reseating with fresh compound. I think the old stuff has dried out and cracked.

Given the small difference in price, why would you buy a "refurbished" fan when you could get a new one? I'm not sure about all states, but in Texas, there really isn't a legal definition for "refurbished". So, you don't know what you're buying.

Anyway, the time and effort you spend replacing the fan far exceeds the price difference between a new and used unit. I'm also sure DaveBurnett is correct, and you need to replace your thermal compound. If you don't know how, or need product suggestions, let us know.

[Morthian]

Snagglegaster has a point... Who's to say exactly how used Dell's "refurbished" part is, and what exactly its true condition is, compared to that of a brand new one. If I'm going to spend several hours disassembling and reassembling my computer, I should probably just spend the extra little bit and get a fan that has never been used at all.

I have used a thermal compound in the past when replacing the cpu fan on my old desktop computer, but the compound came with the new fan, and I'm not even sure what it's called. So sure, a recommendation would be much appreciated.

Since I won't really know what the problem is until after I take apart my computer, I might as well get both, the thermal compound and a new fan. ...Is there way I will be able to test the new fan before reassembling the computer?