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[HARDWARE MOD] Clevo P150/P170 cooling system (solutions here)


beefsticks

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Edit: %100 fan function is now available in custom BIOS for any P150/P170 (and many other Clevo models) thanks to Prema's BIOS mod! http://forum.techinferno.com/clevo-sager/3119-premas-mod-bios-latest-stock-bios.html

For all those with Clevo 150s and 170s that have heat issues, Clevo has somewhat neglected their customers by calling them high performance gaming notebooks, then completely slacking on their cooling system installations and designs. These issues are all discussed on many separate threads, but I've consolidated them here for ease of research since it took me quite awhile to piece this all together for my own solutions. With no exaggeration, models affected by poorly installed systems result in unnecessary 15-30C gains on various P150 and P170 models. It is a lottery of which machine gets bad installations. For me it was poorly installed on the 7970M GPU I ordered with it. I've been told this has can be a problem with the CPU as well from other owners, but in my case, the CPU cooling system was well installed and wouldn't benefit from any pipe modification. I am using a P150EM + AMD 7970M, and guess what? But, who am I to complain without offering solutions? I'll list the issues then address or link to each one.

If this guide ends up helping you please +rep :) thanks

Index of issues:

1 - The CPU and/or GPU heatsink can be improperly pressured. This results from improperly installed pipes that add leverage to the block, or the block itself doesn't have enough pressure on it because the metal mount tabs are too flexible; EVEN WITH SCREWS %100 TIGHTENED. Solutions below!

2 - Poor alignment between pipes and/or fins to the fan which leaves air gaps. Tape can be used to fix this. Solved in this thread: Seal air leaks with tape

3 - The plastic shell cover on the bottom of the notebook restricts airflow throughput by an unacceptable margin of at least %50. :mad: The vent ports are horribly designed and has been compared to "breathing through a sock" I get -12c instantly after taking mine off.

4 - Custom :( Fan :( Policies :(. As of late, there are now custom BIOS that allow %100 fan mode for any P150EM. Good for those hot days where you really do need maximum cooling.

First, a big diagram of all the inner problems: (the red text 1,2,3 is step 1,2,3 for issue #1) I must mention the testing of uneven pressure is with this notebook is upside down. The adjustments you make may shift around when you flip the notebook back over, but, it still should be improved if you had alignment issues to behind with. While you will be using the notebook right side up, it is much easier to test for the pressure problems upside down. The final washer/support fix should be done right side up, and with much more patience than upside down since it takes more coordination to do it right side up. I got underneath it like you would a car and had it sitting on an opened elevated platform while I tightened screws and read the heat measurements.

9605d1384824228-79968d1342076021-clevo-p150-p170-cooling-systems-neglected-clevo-solutions-here-fulldiagram.jpg

TESTING IF YOU NEED SOLUTIONS TO ISSUE 1: Before you try either, you must test and find out where the pressure needs to be applied first. Temperature reduction is instantly noticeable doing this test. The easiest way to figure out if the GPU heatsink is loose even after the screws are all the way in, and to avoid airflow restriction while running, is by having the notebook upside down with lid closed, back plastic cover off, and connected to an external monitor while running Kombustor. I first let Kombustor run at 1920x1080 for 4-5 minutes to let the heat levels to stabilize. Then, as it was running I pressed on the GPU block very gently with pencil eraser at different points while monitoring the temperature changes with each press. I got up to -8C drops immediately, so this let me know that my GPU was not flush with the heatsink. Doing this upside down first allows you to take your time slowly and methodically. I personally find it best to take it easy first so you can draw an accurate conclusion. Then when you know its not like it should be, do it right side up. When its right side up it will need a better prop of the notebook in order to allow you to press on the GPU and avoid blocking the fan intake, so make sure you prop the notebook firmly first. I'd advise not to use a metal object to do any of this poking around. Use something like the plastic head of a screwdriver or a pencil eraser to apply pressure to the heat blocks.

9601d1384824223-79898d1341896888-clevo-p150-p170-cooling-systems-neglected-clevo-solutions-here-gpu_pressure_tes.jpg

The first big photo was -8C while running hot for the first time on a fresh application of IC Diamond compound. The compound cured a bit after several runs of Kombustor, and I was able to sustain -10C as shown in the next photo.

SOLUTIONS IF THE TEST REDUCED TEMPS:

Solution 1A - The metal strip mounts dont apply enough pressure because the screw shaft sockets limit how far the screws can go down. Design flaw (erhm, Clevo oversight) In addition to these shaft sockets which limit how deep the screws can go, there are 2 additional ring tabs underneath the main metal tabs, sticking out of opposite corners of the GPU heatstink. They are hard to notice at first, but these can be used to add pressure with the existing screws. They go around the socket shafts instead of resting on them like the main tabs do, so you can use washers as spacers to push down on them and add more pressure! Use washers small enough to avoid touching any outside circuits, but large enough in the center to slide over the shaft. Acting the same as if I leveraged the pipe assembly in solution 1A, I got -8C after putting in two 1mm thick washers and screwing them down. If you are going to install washers under certain screws, fully tighten the screws that you are not going to use washers on, first, but Don't tighten the screw with the washer underneath it as hard as you can. Take small incremented steps tightening the screw with the washer underneath it and check your temps each time you tighten. Once the temp stops dropping and teeters between 1 or 2 degrees, then you don't need to tighten anymore.

9604d1384824227-79937d1341961207-clevo-p150-p170-cooling-systems-neglected-clevo-solutions-here-gpumodel.jpg

EDIT: Was asked for washer size. I didn't buy anything since I have a drawer full of random tiny washers, but I measured it: 3mm inner, 7mm outer, and like 8/10 a MM thick:

9603d1384824226-79929d1341942848-clevo-p150-p170-cooling-systems-neglected-clevo-solutions-here-washer.jpg

Solution 1B The heat pipe assembly has nothing firmly supporting it at the opposite end of the GPU where the copper fins are. This uneven weight acts like a lever on the heatstink, pulling or pushing it away from the GPU die surface. To find out if this is a problem for you, once your GPU is cooking at normal max temp, put gentle pressure on the copper fins. If the pressure reduces temps from normal, you have the weight of the pipe assembly leveraging your GPU heatstink and something needs to be stuffed somewhere to support it. Also do this procedure in the opposite direction to check both ways. I got an instant -6C to -8C change when I pushed the fin end up properly, and instant +8C when let go. Supporting the pipes will cool your GPU without even making anything tighter. You may only need a sliver of something to push on it, or way more. It depends how bad your copy is bent out of alignment. Reference the big diagram above for this solution. Solution 1A was better for me since solution 1B enhanced the air leak gap problem that the tape fixes in issue #2. Yours might be bent differently and actually improve the gap and GPU pressure if you're lucky. YMMV!

Solution 2:

Tape! Shown above and first fixed here:

Seal air leaks with tape

Issue 3:

Solution? A newly designed fan port. This one really ticks me off unlike any of the other issues. I can understand the other ones, but this one is just from an epic failure in thinking it out: A cover that blocks airflow more than it allows. This is by far the biggest issue for all %100 of our notebooks. Mine personally runs at 94C with the cover, and 80C without. Clevo should know that cooling doesn't work by restricting the air feed, which is exactly what they did here with their design to a surprising extent. I mean really, you can just look at other notebooks and you'll see much better port designs that makes the fan the only major limiting factor in CFM capacity. I'd really love to cut out the plastic port grate entirely and maybe add some type of thin aluminum plate with a more flow-friendly design. And why the hell is %10 of the fans airflow space blocked for a rubber foot? This just tipped it over into the realm of stupidity. You can move the foot 1/2 an inch over and give the fan %10 more airflow, can'tcha? I'd love if there were a redesigned cover for sale but I doubt that'll ever happen. Time to bust out the Dremel.

And the epic fail:

9602d1384824224-79899d1341896888-clevo-p150-p170-cooling-systems-neglected-clevo-solutions-here-fan-port.jpg

Issue 4:

This issue really blows. We need custom fan policies! Please give us a program with the ability to create and manage our own fan policies as well as some default profiles with options on how aggressive you want the cooling to be. Also, FN+Key for %100 fan would be a great addition as well:

Edit: %100 fan function is now available in custom BIOS for any P150/P170, thanks to Premas BIOS mod! http://forum.techinferno.com/clevo-sager/3119-premas-mod-bios-latest-stock-bios.html

So to sum it up, with the bottom plastic cover on I was maxing at 97C before addressing any issues and 94C after taping the leaks and fixing the GPU pressure. With the lid off, I run 80C even 26 minutes into Kombustor. Yep, plastic cover, you suck! I also suspect I can gain -2c to -4c with a more generous application of IC Diamond since the application I paid for still wasn't enough to fill the gap with all the screws to maximum tightness.

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For the fan intakes I fit a small file into the existing slits and doubled them in size. The airflow improved so much that the GPU temps do not improve at all if I remove the bottom cover. CPU temps improve 1-2C still.

By far the biggest improvement was sanding the heatsink plates. The reason why increasing pressure helps is because the plates are bent during the process clevo uses to bond the heatpipes to the plates, and very high pressure bends the plates, flattening them against the die. You can see the stress marks in the heatsink plates under the heatpipes where the processors contact the heatsink plate. This got me around 15C on CPU and 10C on GPU over what pressure increase mods got me.This mod also renders pressure mods pointless since the plate no longer needs to be bent into shape.

It's such a shame clevo does this bonehead crap since the components used for cooling really are heavy duty and should. End users should not have to correct these mistakes.

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For the fan intakes I fit a small file into the existing slits and doubled them in size. The airflow improved so much that the GPU temps do not improve at all if I remove the bottom cover. CPU temps improve 1-2C still.

By far the biggest improvement was sanding the heatsink plates. The reason why increasing pressure helps is because the plates are bent during the process clevo uses to bond the heatpipes to the plates, and very high pressure bends the plates, flattening them against the die. You can see the stress marks in the heatsink plates under the heatpipes where the processors contact the heatsink plate. This got me around 15C on CPU and 10C on GPU over what pressure increase mods got me.This mod also renders pressure mods pointless since the plate no longer needs to be bent into shape.

It's such a shame clevo does this bonehead crap since the components used for cooling really are heavy duty and should. End users should not have to correct these mistakes.

I personally had to bend the pipes a tiny bit at a time and eventually it went flush... I need to file my exhaust ports larger as well. I used a dremel but it still isnt wide enough and it looks like some idiot couldn't control his hands while doing it, lol

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I personally had to bend the pipes a tiny bit at a time and eventually it went flush... I need to file my exhaust ports larger as well. I used a dremel but it still isnt wide enough and it looks like some idiot couldn't control his hands while doing it, lol

I didn't get anything really from widening the exhaust ports on my P150EM. Maybe like 1C. Intake yes, but exhaust no.

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  • 2 weeks later...
For the fan intakes I fit a small file into the existing slits and doubled them in size. The airflow improved so much that the GPU temps do not improve at all if I remove the bottom cover. CPU temps improve 1-2C still.

By far the biggest improvement was sanding the heatsink plates. The reason why increasing pressure helps is because the plates are bent during the process clevo uses to bond the heatpipes to the plates, and very high pressure bends the plates, flattening them against the die. You can see the stress marks in the heatsink plates under the heatpipes where the processors contact the heatsink plate. This got me around 15C on CPU and 10C on GPU over what pressure increase mods got me.This mod also renders pressure mods pointless since the plate no longer needs to be bent into shape.

It's such a shame clevo does this bonehead crap since the components used for cooling really are heavy duty and should. End users should not have to correct these mistakes.

What grade of sandpaper did you use for sanding the heatsink plates? Did you remove the black plastic stickers from the die-contact sides of the plates? Did you do the sanding by hand or did you use something like a stationary drill with a proper tip?

Thank you in advance. :)

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What grade of sandpaper did you use for sanding the heatsink plates? Did you remove the black plastic stickers from the die-contact sides of the plates? Did you do the sanding by hand or did you use something like a stationary drill with a proper tip?

Thank you in advance. :)

I start with 400 grit then move to 1000 grit in 8.5"x11" sheets. I sanded on a pane of glass by hand. The 1000 isn't really necessary and just makes it smoother (flatness is what matters). I do not remember stickers. If there are any then they have to go. I popped off the screw retention rings for the CPU HS and used a dremmel to grind off the GPU HS screw alignment tabs so that I could sand on a flat surface.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for the write up! I cant see the images yet for the widening fan ports but i think im gonna give it a crack and ill post my results

I didn't get anything really from widening the exhaust ports on my P150EM. Maybe like 1C. Intake yes, but exhaust no.

Do you use a cooling pad tho?

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Thanks for the write up! I cant see the images yet for the widening fan ports but i think im gonna give it a crack and ill post my results

Do you use a cooling pad tho?

No. I've set up fans to simulate one with the backplate off and they don't really help at all over just having the backplate off.

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  • 2 weeks later...

This is great!!

I use the Tape in the spaces of heatsinks, put ic7 diamond and made two circles for the fans of the cpu and gpu....gpu went from 89º to 75º at 950mhz core in gpu...impresive! stock vbios....migh get the 1025v oc....

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  • 4 weeks later...

I've just finished the "tape mod", sealed both heatsink on top and underside. Together with Gelid GC-Extreme, the temperatures went down by 10-12 degrees C, both CPU/GPU. No matter how much I OC/OV my 670MX the temperature stays below 80C. Perfect..

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I used the aluminium tape on the gaps between the heat sink and heat fins and got a drop by about 3-5 degree Celsius. I also run with the back plate off the computer. trying to find a tool that will let me remove the plate off my laptop.

I would say its a good idea to change the compound on the gpu and cpu. 93 is a little high. on Kombustor i never got above 80c with a gtx 765mx and a good overclock

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Noticed the gap between my heat sink and heat fins was huge, was hitting temps in the mid 90s all the time, did the aluminum tape mod and now temps are sitting around 84 degrees, so definitely some worth in doing the mod.

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  • 3 weeks later...

hi all, i want to change thermal compound and pads on gpu and cpu on my p170em but i dont know which thickness have the pads there, i have seen pads from 0.5 to 5mm on amazon but dont know which one should i buy... can anyone help me plz?)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Nice Idea Beefsticks for checking pressure on Kombuster on my 780M GTX. While running kombuster after 15 mins I got 85c.

I put a little pressure on 'X4' and it instantly dropped to 73c.

I also put a little pressure on the opposite corner and it GAINED 5 degrees all the way to 90c.

So it looked like X4 was the culprit, (I also have tried 2 different heatsinks).

Here's what I did:

I got a larger washer enough to screw into and overlap onto the corner of the heatsink.

so the washer was directly pushing the corner of the heatsink. Using the screw to tighten the washer down it pulled the corner down.

I did this until I hit 72 degrees again. And now the screw holds the washer in place perfectly.

Screw Head

Silver Metal

Washer overlapping onto corner of heatsink (Diagonal) This is how it went.

I have been using this for 6 days now and it hasn't budged, and in both:

Unigen Valley Extreme HD settings, Automatic fans, 30 mins =75c max

Unigen Heaven Ultra settings, Automatic, 20 mins =76c max

So I am pretty happy with my results :) Thanks very much for the suggestion.

Soon I will deal with the back cover.

Quick Question, What overclocks have you got on stock voltage with SVL7's Mod, and what Temps?

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  • 2 weeks later...
Just a quick question regarding Temp Readouts, what program do you all use to see the Temps and which one is the most accurate?

Many Thanks

They all have some problem.

for CPU:

Throttlestop will overwrite your CPU voltage (if it's adjustable) without asking. HWinfo interferes with XTU's SMI access. Coretemp just isn't that informative.

for GPU:

GPU-z will crash and sometimes even cause a BSOD when your GPU powers off.

So whatever program has a problem that doesn't seem to apply to you, try that program. I haven't tried HWmonitor in a while. Maybe that'll work ok.

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  • 2 weeks later...

My Np9150 got so hot, it literally broke the plastic casing on the side. I had to send it in for repair, and they also put more thermal grease on the card, and it has been a little better since. I wonder if this was caused by a poor installation? I was a very early adopter, and was one of the first people to get a 9790m, so I am thinking that may have been the case.

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