Jump to content

HP 8540W - Quick and Dirty Teardown w/Heatsink MOD


Recommended Posts

Hello Everyone.

I decided to do another writeup for my 8540w.

This will include how to tear it down far enough to repaste as well as a Heatsink cooling MOD

The 8540W is VERY user friendly when it comes to after market upgrades, replacing parts and overall usage.

1) Remove Battery and the Keyboard screws (RED) and Media Panel screws (GREEN)

post-32-14494988545181_thumb.jpg

2) Flip System Over and push back the 4 Keyboard tabs to release (RED)

post-32-14494988545484_thumb.jpg

3) Flip Keyboard over and detach the 2 cables (RED)

post-32-14494988545773_thumb.jpg

4) Lift up Media Panel (I use my guitar pick to get under the edge and lift up) --- do this to both sides (left and right)

post-32-14494988546079_thumb.jpg

5) Picture of Media Panel Lifted Up

post-32-14494988546396_thumb.jpg

6) Remove The Heatsink (8 RED SCREWS and 1 GREEN) The screw circled in green is hidden beneath the LCD Cables, so just move them until you can get to it

post-32-14494988546654_thumb.jpg

7) Picture of system with Heatsink Out (Note the area where the Screw Labeled in GREEN is)

post-32-14494988547034_thumb.jpg

8) Picture of the Heatsink (PRE-MOD)

post-32-14494988547351_thumb.jpg

9) Picture of Heatsink (POST-MOD)

post-32-14494988547672_thumb.jpg

10) Picture of Heatsink Reinstalled

post-32-14494988547974_thumb.jpg

Things to Note about this MOD.

A) I already had IC7 24carat thermal paste on my cpu and gpu before this mod so temps are a direct measurement of the effectiveness of the MOD from before--->after

B) I used 0.5mm thick copper plates (left over from another mod a ways back)

C) I used I used Artic Silver Thermal Adhesive to glue the copper plates on

---a) When adding the thermal adhesive I applied it VERY liberally all around the heatpipes.

My reason for this was I wanted the pipes to have contact with all edges of the original heatsink to increase thermal transfer to the heatpipes (see photo below where I painted the area's I applied thermal adhesive for illustration purposes)

post-32-14494988548272_thumb.jpg

D) I am not sure if the copper plates actually help or not... but they do get pretty hot

E) I also sealed around the heatpipe and fan exhaust with more electrical tape (not just the top as seen in the above picture).

While the gap was VERY small on the sides and bottom, I decided to make sure it was sealed up as good as possible so that air would only flow out through the fins

About the TEMPS:

----I did not have this on a cooling pad or anything similar... I had it sitting flat on a table with no elevation

----Overall system temp is down, heat does not rise as fast and fan never reached max rpm (5000rmp..... but it never did before the mod either)

----The fan is still controlled by the system and is set by HP to not really kick in until the system hits ~80C (never reaches full speed on the fan)

----It takes much longer for the temperature to rise than before, so the fan stays quieter (at a slower speed) for longer.

----The GPU has the greatest improvement in temps which is great since the heat of the CPU negatively affects the heat of the GPU due to the heatpipe/fan design.

a) As the CPU heats up, the GPU did not raise as fast or reach as high of a temp as before the mod (after 10min of p95 on the cpu, GPU was at 78C before the mod and 75C after with the fans on 2nd to highest speed controlled by the system [4300rmp])

B) When running furmark the GPU did not raise temp as fast or go as high (87C max after 10min of Furmark before MOD, and was 83C after 10min of Furmark AFTER the MOD)

----The CPU max temps did not change

a) After 10min of p95 (8 instances running) which were 85-87C across the 4 cores both before and after the MOD

B) The fan speed never reached MAX but stayed at HIGH of 4300rpm (max speed is 5000rpm)

c) It did take longer for the max temps to be reached and it also cooled down faster compared to before/after the MOD

---------> d) If I decided to force the fans to MAX (5000rpm) using HWinfo64 the cpu temps dropped down to a max of 79-83C across the 4 cores.

So what are my overall conclusions on this MOD?

---I do not think the copper plates really helped (maybe a little.. but not so much as to make them necessary)

---I DO Think that the thermal adhesive bridging all the gaps between the heatpipes and the heatsink helped.

---A good thermal paste is important (I had IC7 diamond on both before and after this mod for both cpu and gpu)

---HP has a darn good cooling system designed for this system.... while it does run to the low/mid 80's this is due to the system not running the fan aggressively (I have never had the fan go to max rpm of 5000rpm unless I forced it to myself using HWinfo64)

---Since the cooling system is already darn good.. I think all one really needs to do is just replace the thermal paste with a good quality one to achieve good results

---It would help to either raise the back of the system or place it on a cooling pad to increase airflow to the fan

There you have it... a lot of typing for you to go cross-eyed on just to say....... only worry about replacing the thermal paste

D.

  • Thumbs Up 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@debaucher I feel the same as Stamatisx, that mod was worth it IMO. Look at the puny single copper pipe coming from gpu... your copper seemed to help to me. I had a HP HDX18 with Q9000 and GT130M and all one fan over a similar but even less efficient heatsink setup. Great guide and mod + Rep. If I had copper I'd see if I could do your mod on the HP HDX18 my brother has. Have faith in your mod the results show it works. I also use the same method of taping gaps so the air goes only through fins, i fixed an issue like that on a Dell Inspiron 17.

Edited by mw86
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey, cool guide, thank you!! About the mod with the copper blocks... it'd work better if the blocks were soldered on. Thermal glue is insulating compared to lead-free solder. Or if you know a metal workshop in your are you cold have it welded on with copper, this should definitely bring it down a couple of degrees.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks everyone.

It would have been preferable to solder the copper sheets on, but my soldering skills are not nearly what they used to be and my older brother "stole" my torch years ago.

I could have stopped by his house to use it, but he would probably not have the gas to run it anyways.

I agree that every little bit helps and overall everything is running cooler.... (slower to reach max temp and faster to cool down) so I am happy.

Plus, if I really need to increase cooling I could always run the fan on manual control (make some variables in HWInfo32/64) so that I can have the fan ramp up sooner than the HP default.

Since this is my travel work machine (for when I am out an about and need the dreamcolor display) I usually just leave the fans at default and put one of THESE under the laptop

D.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Just an update.

After using the system for just over a week after the mod I have to say that overall I am quite happy.

The system under normal usage is pretty much silent.

On this system (with just one fan) the fan is always running, but at silent speeds about ~60% of the time.

Every once in a while when I am doing something a bit more intensive, the fan speeds up to the mid range which you can hear but is still quiet... then the rest of the time it is at just under max speed (audible) but that is only when I am rendering something HUGE or playing a game.

So, I would recommend a repaste on this system at the least.... but adding the copper to the GPU side of the heatsink I think is the biggest improvement since it was the gpu heating up and not dissipating heat as fast which made the fan rev up so much before the mod.

D.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Nice mod, debaucher! I think that bridging the heatpipes helps a lot, I wanted to do something like that for a Dell M6500. The copper sheets should slow down the temperature increase.

I actually did something similar for an Elitebook 8530, albeit a bit more effective. Check it out here, it may work for 8x40Ws and other laptops, as well.

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice mod, debaucher! I think that bridging the heatpipes helps a lot, I wanted to do something like that for a Dell M6500. The copper sheets should slow down the temperature increase.

I actually did something similar for an Elitebook 8530, albeit a bit more effective. Check it out here, it may work for 8x40Ws and other laptops, as well.

I liked your mod too very nice work with making the copper pieces.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
Guest gronchite

just to let people know there is 2 little plastic latches on the media panel (on the sides) you have to be careful when opening it not to break them the Idea with the guitar pick works but I think if you push from further back than front is better so that you push the little latches inside away from the hole.. I´m not sure if this makes sense?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
just to let people know there is 2 little plastic latches on the media panel (on the sides) you have to be careful when opening it not to break them the Idea with the guitar pick works but I think if you push from further back than front is better so that you push the little latches inside away from the hole.. I´m not sure if this makes sense?

this makes perfect sense as my M18x media panel and palm rest keyboard border are delicate and come off in the same manner... So yes understanding the actual designed way to remove this is much appreciated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

For the media panel, I used a thin credit card (expired) to gently pull it up by the corners close to the display (in the directions that the manual shows and pretty much as illustrated on the picture in the first post). I also used the card to pry open the top cover and the display's flimsy plastic frame - works like a charm every time :-).

Edited by jotm
  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 9 months later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.