Dell XPS M1530 heatsink...simple maintenance, impossible problem.

[TroglodyteScholar]

I'm so mad I don't know what to do. I went through the trouble of carefully removing my heatsink for cleaning, removing all the old thermal compound, applying new, etc...only to have one of the GPU screws REFUSE to screw back in. The threads simply won't catch anything in the hole. So now it just spins freely. Now I'm sure it'll overheat 2x as often as it ever did before...since the heatsink isn't making good contact with the GPU. I'm so angry...this thing was over $2000 when I bought it new a couple years ago.

I will NEVER buy another Dell.

[ChromeFoundry]

1. Can you tell if the screw is stripped...

or if it is the hole that it screws into? Try swapping this screw with a different one to see if it will thread. You can buy replacement screws from Dell or Ebay.

[TroglodyteScholar]

2. It's the hole

It's like there's no thread in the hole. The screw just spins and spins.

[ChromeFoundry]

3. Based on what I am reading...

this is a fairly common problem with the screw holes by the GPU.

Can you confirm that the holes are threaded plastic and not metal tapped holes which the screws screw into?

If they are plastic, I would consider heating a small piece of metal in a pair of needle nose pliers (propane torch would work well). Heat it up red hot and lightly press it around the plastic hold to allow the screw to self-thread the hole, giving it enough grip to hold the heatsink firmly onto the GPU's surface.

If they are metal, you may want to see if you can find a screw that is one size larger.. see if you can get a self-tapping screw, a harder (higher carbon, or stainless steel), or brass if that is the best you can do. Try not to use the low quality junk screws used in 99.9% of PC builds.. they will just strip and cause more aggravation.

Others have used a very small amount of epoxy with a toothpick to line the stripped inner wall of the hole, enough to allow the screw to re-thread the hole. Something along the lines of JB Weld or a 10-minute Plastic Epoxy Weld (both two part mixes) should do the trick.

[TroglodyteScholar]

4. Thanks for the good advice...

I really can't tell whether I'm dealing with metal or plastic in the hole...I had just assumed metal (who would use plastic right next to the hottest component on the motherboard??)

The screw in question is retained in the bracket on the head sink, so trying to replace it may be a bit more destructive than I'm willing to be. I'm not inclined to completely disassemble the machine for better access to the hole either, so the epoxy approach is my most likely next step. Unfortunately, that little screw is so damn short that I don't have high hopes for that approach, either.

I do appreciate all your input. If I get it fixed, I'll post an update. In the meantime, I'm going to give it a few days of normal use and see how it behaves. Maybe it's no big deal for a user like me. I just know that the thing would get pretty hot even when it was idle, so I'm a bit concerned about watching a movie, playing a game (I'm not really a gamer, thankfully)...etc.

Thanks again!

[BlueJazz]

5. Yep..I'm a Tech and that's what I would do. Good advice !

:)