Too hot - Dell XPS 7590 keeps hitting 90°C - 100°C under average(?) load after thermal repaste. Is this expected?

[Jose_49]

Hello everyone 🤗.

The title says it all.

Specs:

• Refurbished Dell XPS 7590 was purchased back in Jan 2020.
• i7 9750H.
• 32GB DDR4
• 512GB SSD
• GTX 1650.
• The battery is already at 65 - 70% of its cycles. It was replaced three years ago.

Tweaks:

• CPU undervolted with ThrottleStop.

See images.

 

What I have done:

1. Replaced thermal paste Artic MX-6 on March 2023 (2 months ago) - Paste was purchased on Feb 14 of 2023 (This year)
2. Cleaned all the dust.
3. Scanned for viruses (Nothing found)
4. sfc -scannow (Nothing found)
5. chkdsk (Nothing found)
6. Checked using process explorer for hidden programs; nothing found.

 

Programs I have opened:

1. Browsers (Firefox, Vivaldi, Edge)
   1. I tend to have multiple tabs on YouTube, but only a single video may play.
2. VSCode with NodeJS running using WSL.
3. Outlook
4. Docker (Running 1 - 2 instances of PostgreSQL)

Strange behavior:

1. The fans don't ramp up if I open the laptop and resit the thermal pad.
2. If I hibernate the computer (without resitting the thermal pad) and turn it back on, fans ramp up on the boot screen (without using the PC for 7-8 hours).
3. I don't know why (if there's a program), but you can hear the fans ramping up by letting it sit idle without any media playing back.
4. Sometimes fans ramp up while the PC sleeps.

 

Inquiries:

1. Is this expected behavior?
2. Could it be Windows or another component? (Thinking of formatting the PC this weekend... it's been a while)

 

P.S:

I just took a screenshot and the CPU temps are mildly normal. Currently in battery

 

Edit x1:  1:54PM EST

Added the time when I reapplied the thermal paste.

Edited May 11, 2023 by Jose_49

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

When you reapplied the grease, did you first clean off the old grease? Never mentioned that..

What Windows are you using? What version?

It COULD be Windows overloading it. Could be a miss-reading, too.. What did you use to check temps?

Edited May 11, 2023 by Mindovermaster

[Jose_49]

On 11/05/2023 at 19:49, Mindovermaster said:

When you reapplied the grease, did you first clean off the old grease? Never mentioned that..

What Windows are you using? 10 or 11? and what version?

Oh! Sorry!!! You're right!

I have updated the article with the info

• Windows 10 Home (10944.2846)
• Artic MX-6 was purchased on Feb. 14 and applied twice, on Feb. 15 and March 2023.
• Yes, the heatsink, CPU, and GPU die were completely cleaned with Isopropyl Alcohol 99%.

[Grinch]

If this is anything like the G7 7790 design then you're hitting a fairly standard issue. For me I bought some PTM7950 and cut it to size for the CPU and GPU dies and it resolved my thermal throttling issue.

I posted about it here as well.

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

On 11/05/2023 at 13:15, Grinch said:

If this is anything like the G7 7790 design then you're hitting a fairly standard issue. For me I bought some PTM7950 and cut it to size for the CPU and GPU dies and it resolved my thermal throttling issue.

I posted about it here as well.

I didn't buy THAT one, but I got something similar. And it does actually work

[Jose_49]

On 11/05/2023 at 20:15, Grinch said:

If this is anything like the G7 7790 design then you're hitting a fairly standard issue. For me I bought some PTM7950 and cut it to size for the CPU and GPU dies and it resolved my thermal throttling issue.

I posted about it here as well.

Oh, this is a new world for me.

 

First time I hear about PTM and the likes.

Thank you very much for sharing the post! I'll dive in and see what I can find!.

 

Edit:

Oh wait, those are thermal pads! Now everything makes sense.

I'll see if I can find the LTT video and see how it works!

 

Thanks for the explanation!

[Riggers]

Not sure what others think but from the picture you`ve posted that looks like way to much thermal paste!

I`d try cleaning off the paste and applying a small amount to each area, the size of a small pea. Thermal paste is only really to fill in the imperfections of the surface(s) to allow for better heat transfer, to much paste could hinder the transfer!

What were the temps like before you put the new paste on?

https://www.howtogeek.com/301063/how-much-thermal-paste-should-i-apply-to-my-cpu/

Edited May 11, 2023 by Riggers

[+Warwagon MVC]

On 11/05/2023 at 14:19, Riggers said:

Not sure what others think but from the picture you`ve posted that looks like way to much thermal paste!

I`d try cleaning off the paste and applying a small amount to each area, the size of a small pea. Thermal paste is only really to fill in the imperfections of the surface(s) to allow for better heat transfer, to much paste could hinder the transfer!

What were the temps like before you put the new paste on?

https://www.howtogeek.com/301063/how-much-thermal-paste-should-i-apply-to-my-cpu/

I agree, it looked like an excessive amount of thermal paste, I mean just look at how much wasn't even on the die.

[hellowalkman Reporter]

Use Intel XTU to drop down the Ampere as well. Often times, just undervolting does not help all that much. Sure you'll lose some amount of performance but the temperature drop can absolutely massive. I believe it's the Processor Core IccMax option in XTU.

In case you are wondering how much to drop, you can go for a linear approach. The i7-9750H is a 45w chip. You can try bring it down to 36W. This means you can drop the Amps by ~20% since 45w --> 36w is also 20% drop.

[manifesto]

Try turning off Turbo Boost from BIOS.

I have done it on 2 Dell laptops so far with the same overheating issues and it worked wonders.

[Nick H. Supervisor]

On 11/05/2023 at 20:19, Riggers said:

Not sure what others think but from the picture you`ve posted that looks like way to much thermal paste!

Yeah, I've not applied thermal paste before but even I saw those pictures and thought, "that doesn't look right..."

[spikey_richie]

On 11/05/2023 at 20:19, Riggers said:

Not sure what others think but from the picture you`ve posted that looks like way to much thermal paste!

I`d try cleaning off the paste and applying a small amount to each area, the size of a small pea. Thermal paste is only really to fill in the imperfections of the surface(s) to allow for better heat transfer, to much paste could hinder the transfer!

This! Too much paste can act as an insulator. That's WAY too much.

Also, check your power profile. The default Dell power profiles are called things like Balanced, Pro Audio, Quiet or Ultra Performance. You may have a Quiet profile set, which reduces fan speeds. Try running a Cool power profile. Or find a way to set the system cooling policy to Active rather than Passive.

[Jose_49]

On 11/05/2023 at 21:19, Riggers said:

Not sure what others think but from the picture you`ve posted that looks like way to much thermal paste!

I`d try cleaning off the paste and applying a small amount to each area, the size of a small pea. Thermal paste is only really to fill in the imperfections of the surface(s) to allow for better heat transfer, to much paste could hinder the transfer!

What were the temps like before you put the new paste on?

https://www.howtogeek.com/301063/how-much-thermal-paste-should-i-apply-to-my-cpu/

~90°.

1. Back in March, I applied it at the pea-sized level. It still rocketed to 90 after a couple of hours.

2. I did spread evenly for the second reapply, and that's what you're looking at.

 

I can clean the paste and reapply the pea-sized and post back!

 

On 12/05/2023 at 09:16, spikey_richie said:

This! Too much paste can act as an insulator. That's WAY too much.

Also, check your power profile. The default Dell power profiles are called things like Balanced, Pro Audio, Quiet or Ultra Performance. You may have a Quiet profile set, which reduces fan speeds. Try running a Cool power profile. Or find a way to set the system cooling policy to Active rather than Passive.

Thanks

 

I haven't seen them in the BIOS.

 

Windows have its usual Balanced in the Power Options, and then the 4 levels at the battery flyout.

 

 

 

[Jose_49]

BTW, here are some temperatures now that I'm plugged in.

 

Look at the 4th column. It's going 90°C - 97°C

 

[Jose_49]

Crap.

 

I forgot to take the picture of the board after applying the pea-sized compound.

Here is the board completely cleaned, and the temperatures

 

 

Here areHereHere are

[Jose_49]

On 12/05/2023 at 06:34, hellowalkman said:

Use Intel XTU to drop down the Ampere as well. Often times, just undervolting does not help all that much. Sure you'll lose some amount of performance but the temperature drop can absolutely massive. I believe it's the Processor Core IccMax option in XTU.

In case you are wondering how much to drop, you can go for a linear approach. The i7-9750H is a 45w chip. You can try bring it down to 36W. This means you can drop the Amps by ~20% since 45w --> 36w is also 20% drop.

Oh man, I just downloaded it and says "Unable to start because of a system incompatibility".

I can't disable Virtual Machine Platform as I use it for WSL2.

 

On 12/05/2023 at 08:53, manifesto said:

Try turning off Turbo Boost from BIOS.

I have done it on 2 Dell laptops so far with the same overheating issues and it worked wonders.

Not gonna lie. I just did that, and the temps are better (hopefully much better).

It's too early for me to tell, as I'm about to enter work, but the fan noise has dropped (it isn't as loud as a jet engine but as a ceiling fan now)

 

I'll post back in a couple of hours to see how it goes.

[goretsky Supervisor]

Hello,

It looks like the system could still use some additional cleaning.  I see what appears to be dust and debris throughout the system chassis, on a RAM stick, in the heat sinks fins, outlets for the blower fans, etc. 

All of that dirt acts as thermal insulator, as well as reduces air flow through the chassis.  It is as if each component were given a little sweater to wear.

The system may need to be disassembled further and cleaned with a combination of anti-static brushes and compressed air.  Once that is done, the system can be reassembled, replacing the existing thermal interface material (thermal grease, pads, etc.) as you go

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky
 

[Jose_49]

On 12/05/2023 at 08:53, manifesto said:

Try turning off Turbo Boost from BIOS.

I have done it on 2 Dell laptops so far with the same overheating issues and it worked wonders.

Oh man, I am impressed.

So far, so good!

I don't know if replacing the thermal paste also improved the situation (It could have). But at least temps are remaining in the 45s - 55s!

I won't consider this issue solved. I do know that the first time I did a full replacement the temperature would remain like that for 1 - 2 days.

I need to give it more time... But looking good, and right now it's very silent!

 

 

On 12/05/2023 at 12:47, goretsky said:

Hello,

It looks like the system could still use some additional cleaning.  I see what appears to be dust and debris throughout the system chassis, on a RAM stick, in the heat sinks fins, outlets for the blower fans, etc. 

All of that dirt acts as thermal insulator, as well as reduces air flow through the chassis.  It is as if each component were given a little sweater to wear.

The system may need to be disassembled further and cleaned with a combination of anti-static brushes and compressed air.  Once that is done, the system can be reassembled, replacing the existing thermal interface material (thermal grease, pads, etc.) as you go

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky
 

Oh, man.

Thanks for spotting that. I live in a very dusty area.

Pardon my ignorance, I thought that the most important piece was the CPU. Thanks for letting me know.

I'll schedule some time to make a thorough cleaning.

[+Warwagon MVC]

On 12/05/2023 at 07:33, Jose_49 said:

Oh man, I am impressed.

So far, so good!

I don't know if replacing the thermal paste also improved the situation (It could have).

Here is a good exclamation of thermal paste. Any why you don't need that much.

 

[Wiggz]

We all love a good exclamation. My favourite is !  

[spikey_richie]

On 12/05/2023 at 15:33, Wiggz said:

We all love a good exclamation. My favourite is !  

I'm also a fan of ! and !, and the sometimes often overlooked !

[Jose_49]

On 12/05/2023 at 08:53, manifesto said:

Try turning off Turbo Boost from BIOS.

I have done it on 2 Dell laptops so far with the same overheating issues and it worked wonders.

@manifestoyou are a freaking genius 🎉🎉🎉🎉.

This has solved the problem.

I just made a video on the temps when you toggle it:

 

Heck, here's how it's rolling right now:

[Jose_49]

A note on thermal paste:

 

I remember watching a Linus Tech tips on how to apply a thermal paste.

He compared four methods (The pea size and the spread were covered) and saw no difference.

I applied a pea-size thermal cover first to see if it worked, and after a couple of days, as it returned to its original state, I decided to spread it entirely instead. But both didn't yield any positive results. 

I will see if I can get one of those thermal pads to see if it improves the temps.

But honestly, the PC has been excellent.

I don't need much horsepower except for specific peaks; the six cores behave well.

 

 

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

On 16/05/2023 at 11:01, Jose_49 said:

A note on thermal paste:

 

I remember watching a Linus Tech tips on how to apply a thermal paste.

He compared four methods (The pea size and the spread were covered) and saw no difference.

I applied a pea-size thermal cover first to see if it worked, and after a couple of days, as it returned to its original state, I decided to spread it entirely instead. But both didn't yield any positive results. 

I will see if I can get one of those thermal pads to see if it improves the temps.

But honestly, the PC has been excellent.

I don't need much horsepower except for specific peaks; the six cores behave well.

 

 

Your fans working OK? Did you clean them, too?

Edit: Also, you never said you cleaned the ENTIRe laptop. Dust ANYWHERE can make your system work overtime.. Hence the heat.

[adrynalyne]

On 16/05/2023 at 08:58, Jose_49 said:

@manifestoyou are a freaking genius 🎉🎉🎉🎉.

This has solved the problem.

I just made a video on the temps when you toggle it:

 

Heck, here's how it's rolling right now:

 

Unfortunately, it knee caps performance for everything under the throttle threshhold.

Are you able to undervolt it instead?