[CPU + GPU Temperatures + Benchmarks] - XPS 15 [9560] Kaby Lake

Greetings all,

This thread is to focus on the CPU and GPU temps, along with Benchmarks with certain apps that will provide a consistent platform we can all work off of.

(3DMark - Fire Strike, Time Spy + wPrime v1.55 etc...)

-

Download Links:

HWiNFO64: Click here.

CPU Test (wPrime v1.55)
Make sure to: Advance Settings -> change your core count to 8 before running the tests. Please run both the 32M and 1024M tests w/ HWiNFO64 running and screen shot the temps, package power, multipliers etc...try to set it up similar to the info that I show on my screen shots.

GPU Test (3DMark): Click here.

-

My XPS is the 7700HQ / 4K UHD / 32GB RAM / 1TB Samsung 960 Pro / 97WHr Battery

• Repasted with Liquid Metal (Grizzly Conductonaut)
  
• Repadded with Fujipoly 17.0w m/k
• Light Heat Sink Mod/Alignment
• Tuning in progress...

Note: As much as I wanted to see the GTX 1060 in the XPS, having a light of flight time with the AW 13 (w/ the GTX 1060), I can say for sure that the 1060 won't survive in the XPS chassis. It makes sense why they went with the 1050 in this, although it'd be nice to have something bigger. - Anyhow, the heat sink/pipe in the XPS is barely big enough to handle the thermals of the 1050 as it is. The reason why I went with Liquid Metal was to see if it would actually make much of a difference in this small chassis. I wouldn't recommend LM, because it's a bit tricky to work with and from what I've seen, traditional paste on the GPU works just as well if not better than LM. As for the CPU, it could use all the help it can get so that's why I went with LM to see if it actually does better than traditional paste.

I've swapped out the Killer 1535 for an Intel 8260 WiFi card and did a fresh Windows 10 install, but before all of this I had ran some benches to get a solid base, before I had repasted the system. (Repaste complete.)

Although this is not my primary rig, I will be using this as my daily driver along side my MBPr when I'm traveling so this is why I was eager to get my hands on a XPS again for gaming (Overwatch mainly and KF2) while on the go. Having previously owned the 9550 with the 960M, it (the 960M) was the reason I got rid of them both (I had two).

Although I do have my AW17R4 (GTX 1080), sometimes I didn't need a monster truck to go pick up a few groceries. Plus, who doesn't love having a variety of cars.

-

Please fill out the form here.

View the spread sheet here.

-

If you're looking to repaste:
XPS - Repaste Overview, by: @custom90gt

There really isn't much to it as it is very straight forward. If any of this is out of your comfort zone, then I can provide an in depth guide upon request, but the photos in @custom90gt's thread should be more than enough to get the gist of it.

-

More will be added so stay tuned and let the games begin! Let's see what the GTX 1050 can do in this thin chassis.

=====================================================================

Updates: 3/10/17

So it seems that traditional paste will be better for the GPU. I'll keep yall posted with any new findings. Boy is the (die) of the GPU so tiny lol...

While gaming the GPU bounces from 76C to 77C. So far... working to get this lower.

-

Update: 3/13/17

K guys, so I've been working for the past few days trying everything under the sun to tame the GPU temps.

The CPU temps after my liquid metal repaste are excellent. They are in the low to mid 60C's under full load.

During games (stock) the GPU would max out at 80C to low 80C's.

After my liquid metal repaste, the GPU temps now lock at 76C under full load. Some improvement, but I want more lol... Especially having worked with numerous systems as you can see in my sig.

I know we're dealing with a small cooling system in a 14" chassis and one thing is for sure in that the thermal conductivity / capacity of the cooling system is definitely being reached when it comes to the GPU.

It may be a long shot, but my goal is to get the GPU temps in the lower 70C's and gosh even upper 60C's would be stellar, but I just don't see that happening without some major work or a miracle with the right combo of things...

I've even considered modifying the heat sink unit all together in adding bigger fins and heck even a bigger fan that can pump out more cfm's (maybe a fan from another Dell line of laptops that is somewhat close, but the XPS fans are so small so that's a bit of a stretch). I really think it's more of the heat pipes themselves and the exposed VRM's / FET's etc....than the actual fans... that's at least what I'm thinking... I may try to double stack the heat pipes, but then I'm thinking, would that be too much heat for the fans to be able to pump out?

These fans are (both of them) are rated at 5.2 cfm.



So after spending hours and hours over the past few days on this...I'm really going to crack down and find the culprit to get this XPS to reach its maximum cooling potential, whatever that may be. I just know that there is some headroom and that's what I'm after....

Fire Strike Combined Test LOOP is running and everything is at full tilt...


---

Update: 3/14/17

Here you guys go! Now that you know where the monsters are....CCHHAARRGGEEE!!!

After running through varies tests, I'm getting really close to finding the right combo.

Note: It's not about lining the bottom randomly with thermal pads, as that will only block air flow and make things actually warmer.




Special shout out to @pressing, for being just a cool guy and fun to bounce ideas around with... all them late night discord brainstorming sessions haha... Great stuff mate.

---

Update: 4/6/17

The moment some of you have been waiting for.

Thanks for being so patient. I just had to make sure to be thorough with some extensive testing to ensure that my theory worked/works.

Here it is!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

>>>THE XPS FiX<<<

I'll try to keep it (TL.DR) Free as much as possible.

Issue: GPU Throttling due to the FET's being exposed and not being cooled properly.


The XPS could use bigger fins as well and a larger heat sink area.
-

Notice that there are:

CPU, Ambient, Ambient, Temp3, Ambient, Ambient, Ambient and DIMM?

The first, "Ambient," is the temp sensor near the FET's.

105C. Ouch.



-

Those FET's under full GPU load were in the upper 90C's. Just crazy. Why did they leave it exposed I wonder? Those should always have proper cooling...


-

Those are the ones that get very hot and these little aluminium heat spreaders can be found pretty much anywhere.


-

Here's the MacGyver moment that I had after staring at this thing for hours upon hours (accumulative throughout the past few weeks) wondering how the heck to tackle this thing...

One thing for sure is that this lining makes temps worse. I've tested this over and over again to be sure under many controlled tests.

At least there is a use for this shield if flipped over haha... read on and you'll get the joke...


-

You want that area as level as possible....because...


-

This is how I had checked the clearance with using my LED flash light.


-

Get that area level as possible to ensure the best possible contact later once you...


-

Ok so here is that copper shield flipped over haha.

The black side will actually serve a purpose here in shielding the heat from saturating the bottom lid.

Therefore, the theory (well now proven) was to isolate the heat transfer through its own isolated channel / medium (this copper sheet.) - And...it worked / works...


-

I've used a little double sided tape to keep the copper sheet in place for when I was measuring the clearance.


-

So that area where I had mentioned above to make level as possible? Here's why...

I've marked the places that would need slight pressure from the lid to push the copper sheet down, only on those targeted areas.

So the theory was to have the middle make contact, while creating a slight arch to the ends (left and right) from the center area where the heat would dissipate from the fan air (heat travels from hot -> cold). Hope that makes sense.


-

That copper sheet flipped over fits almost perfectly. It was meant to me...


-

Okay so now the fun part. If you have some extra thermal pads laying around, great. If not, no biggy. I've used thermal pads because they are squishy and also seals well against the copper side of the sheet as it has some adhesive on that side. These are 2.0mm pads that worked perfectly for what I needed it to do.

The theory (proven) here is to create a channel of air from the fan to blow toward the center. I have isolated half of the area (width) of the fan area to dedicate that for the air channel.

Also, since the thermal pads are sticky and flexible, when you place the copper sheet on top of this, it'll create a nice seal.


-

Here is a shot showing both air channels.

Note: At first I was going to use a small tube and cut a whole on the side of the fan blade; and from there route the tube toward the center to have the air blow out through the rear in hopes to cool the FET's. However, after a lot of tests, the air channel method works very well and probably better.


-

Apply the copper sheet on top and align everything to get it ready for taping...


-

It's important to seal off the areas that really need to be air tight, otherwise it'll lose its efficiency. I've trial and error-ed this many times with numerous scenarios and yes, it has to be near perfect for this to be effective.


-

And there you have it folks... Crazy I know, but I can't tell you how many all nighters I've pulled to think of how to tackle this with the limited space we have to work with on this thing...



Enjoy...oh and...does it work?

-

Results?

That first, "Ambient" sensor / FET' Temp .... now 69C from 105C.

No more GPU throttling.

CPU Avg. Temps: Mid 60C's
GPU Avg. Temps: Mid-High 60C's

My unit (XPS 15 9560 - 7700HQ - GTX 1050) has been repasted with Grizzly Conductonaut, Repadded, HS Aligned / Mod, and Tuned.



Yup. Very well...

Update:
Here's what a random reviewer said about using these heat sinks on his FET's.

"Used these to cool the MOSFETS on my mATX motherboard, before they were jumping up to 120C now down to about 85C. Prevents the motherboard from throttling the CPU down due to excess heat."

So around ~35C drop in temp for him...and guess what, about ~30C+ drop in temp for me so totally spot on.

-

As promised I haven't forgotten about yall...

Right now I've been heavily focused on the new AW 17R4 (Kaby Lake) so if you want to check out what's happening, feel free to peek in to check out the latest.


Thumbs up if you like this. Oh wait, this isn't YT LOL...j/k

Cheers and Happy Modding...

 

CPU TEMPS:

~18C drop in Temps after repaste.

Note: I have a feeling that the heat sink is not adequate to keep the GPU cool. I'll be looking into this closely, but do note that traditional paste may be better for the GPU since the (die) is so small.

BEFORE repaste, bone stoke out of the box:


AFTER repaste with Liquid Metal (Grizzly Conductonaut): High 50C to Mid 60C's

 

Gaming Temps: Overwatch

~10C drop in CPU Temps after repaste.

Note: I have a feeling that the heat sink is not adequate to keep the GPU cool. I'll be looking into this closely, but do note that traditional paste may be better for the GPU since the (die) is so small.

While in a game the GPU temps bounce between 76C and 77C. Hmm....I'll keep you posted.

BEFORE repaste, bone stoke out of the box:


AFTER repaste with Liquid Metal (Grizzly Conductonaut): Mid 60C's

 

Benches

Fire Strike: 6047
Fun Run...just getting warmed up...




Time Spy: 1976



wPrime v1.55: Full run with CPU at only 60C.

 

Guide

 

Q&A

 

I think we should add a section of what type of modification's we have done on the spreadsheet (i.e. pads sinking the VRMs to the case, CPU/GPU sinked to case, etc)

 

I agree. I'll get one up shortly. Would you like to help with some ideas for the form that I'll be putting up?

I was thinking to keep it simple to use Fire Strike (regular) for the GPU bench and wPrime v1.55 for the CPU bench as this app is very thorough and realistic to real world CPU usage, unlike those crazy ones that are over the top and not very practical for real world data.

I'll get a link up shortly so that we can all pitch in.

 

Looking good how far do you think you can push this thing?

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

Thanks.

With the XPS 15 Kaby, @Pete Light clocked in 6069 so far on Fire Strike so hoping to stretch it into the low 6000's.

What's crazy is that the highest recorded 7700HQ/GTX 1050 score recorded is: 12751 (http://www.3dmark.com/fs/11865064)

Crazy right? That can't be the XPS could it? It's a Dell though...lol...12K is just wild.