The HP DV9000 Series is a feature rich laptop with 17” screen, two hard drive slots, 2 RAM slots up to 4GB, Media Center Remote, Keyboard with number pad, poor cooling, and overheating components. In all seriousness, this laptop is quite remarkable with the right modifications to enhance cooling of the critical components: CPU, GPU and Northbridge. The overheating issues must be understood to solve the problem.
I’ve compiled a list of flaws in the design of this computer (BOLD items will be fixed in this mod)
- Primary hard drive is next to the GPU (the hottest component in the computer)
- Secondary hard drive acts solely as an external drive
- Heatsink configuration allows heat from the CPU to travel over the Northbridge.
- Northbridge is offset from the height of the CPU
- Cheap thermal pads are used to replace thermal paste
- GPU does not have its own fan for cooling
- GPU does not have thermal paste on it; instead a metal sticker (?) is used for cooling
- CPU fan gathers dust in the vents and line of lint is created in the back of the vent.
The list goes on but these are the major issues I’ve noticed.
Before we begin, I must say that any information used here to perform modification to your computer is the choice of the user. Be aware that I cannot take responsibility for any damages incurred by following my modification. I can assure you that these modifications where done several weeks prior to me posting this for confirmation that they work.
This modification was done to a HP DV9500/9700 laptop. There may be subtle differences between the different models in the DV9000 series. Make sure you do enough research to confirm that we have laptops with the same layout. This modification was done to a Intel-based version. The AMD version has 4 mounting screws over the processor. This may yield different results so be aware of this.
Continue reading ‘HP DV9000 Series Heatsink Modification’
After almost 2 years of using the Treo 800w, I’ve finally upgraded to my ideal device. The Treo 800w was a great device from a hardware layout perspective. It was quick, customizable and accessible with the multiple buttons and instant-access keyboard. The problems, battery life, lack of a headphone jack and buggy software, though outweighed the many benefits. My cousin recently got a HTC EVO 4G so I took the opportunity to utilize his Touch Pro 2.
First off, I love this device. As I said earlier, it was my ideal (dream) device.
- 3.6″ WVGA 800×480 resolution, tilting screen (Yes, the tilt is important for long video watching)
- Large and very usable keyboard
- Great battery life (removable 1500mAh battery)
- Soft, flush, responsive and resistive touchscreen (I actually like styli) [styli are the plural of stylus]
- 3.5mm Headphone Jack (only on CDMA versions of Touch Pro 2)
- Dual Speakers (loud and clear music playback)
- SIM Card slot for World phone services (can be modded to use on T-Mobile USA or AT&T)
- Expandable microSD card slot
- Custom ROMS available [currently using SuperROM]
- Can run working versions of Android (still buggy though)
The list can go on. The Treo 800w had customization options but I’ve done more with this phone than I’ve ever done with the Treo 800w but because of its depth and the community surrounding it.
I’m going to try and record new videos on finding and setups I’ve touch with my Touch Pro 2 and update this post. Stay tuned!
June 13, 2010
June 20, 2010
**** Still uploading as of 5AM EST June 20.****
I found out a week ago that the Treo 800w has a USB Host port. A USB Host port allows you to connect devices to it and use these devices like you would with your laptop or PC. This is quite remarkable seeing as most phones or mobile devices are USB slaves (they can only be connected as a device or charged through any USB port they have). I found this out by reading here…
http://discussion.treocentral.com/treo-800w/177319-treo-800w-usb-host-port-lives.html
http://www.wmexperts.com/treo-800w-usb-host-port-works
I then purchased the 3.5mm USB Sound Card located here:
http://www.outletpc.com/c5214.html
I used an extra Treo 800w headset I had to add the microUSB side of the headset to the USB Sound Card. The result is the following:
I used Wikipedia as a reference for USB cabling information… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB
All in all, I am very happy I can enjoy my music with better quality headphones. The plus of the USB Sound Card is the audio is being processed via the sound card not the internal sound chipset (if any) or CPU.
Update: [June 18, 2010]
Added a video of the mod from 2009.
JAmerican
Hey everyone,
I’m back again. I was able to stop by the Sprint store and check out the Palm Pre Demo Unit. Check the youtube videos here…
JAmerican
I purchased a touchscreen originally for the Everex Cloudbook but when it delayed for a third time, I decided to jump onto the ASUS bandwagon. At the time, I was not sure if I had made the right decision until I actually got my ultraportable. After I added the touchscreen to the EEE successfully, I was very relieved. Having used the EEE for a week, I must say that it’s an extremely useful device. I no longer use my phone for web browsing. My phone is only used for Outlook Exchange email viewing.
With that said, the EEE is extremely hard to modify due to there is little to no space to do any mods. I am surprised and quite jealous that others have done so many mods to their EEEs and I am having difficulty doing one. I’ve attached the touchscreen via an external USB port through internal connections. I will make this a fully internal USB connection in due time. I just need to get the right tools first.
JAmerican
I was browsing the web to see if I could find a photo comparison between these two machines and could not. So what was the first thing I did after I got my EEE, I got myself a photo comparison.
While everyone knows that the MacBook Air is going to be larger than the EEE as well as thinner, I don’t know if people realized how these devices look side by side. See for youself :).
JAmerican
I had previously recorded myself playing Grand Theft Auto Vice City on the EEE but I decided to one up it. I decided to play Multi Theft Auto on the EEE. While I did more flying than fighting, it still shows you how well GTA Vice City plays on this machine. I have not tried San Andreas but it is worth a try when I get my 16GB SDHC card. I did get a heli-kill though ;). Don’t know what that is, then watch the video below. It will explain.
JAmerican
I posted a video overview of the EEE on YouTube yesterday. Due to a string of bad luck yesterday, I couldn’t post it on my site until today. I also was going to post a video another more internal video of the EEE but my main computer’s install of XP bluescreened on me and even after a new install still bluescreens. My EEE had a similar problem where it gave me some generic error message then just stop booting into XP. I have since installed a lite version of XP SP2 and now just load into Vista on my PC, which doesn’t bluescreen ironically.
Anyway enough with my problems, here is the video.
JAmerican
I finally decided to break down an buy a cheap UMPC. It was a difficult decision to decide between an EeE and the Cloudbook but I finally decided to just get a Cloudbook last Thursday. On Friday, Wal-Mart released the Cloudbook. I just took it as a sign that God wanted me to get the EeE instead.
Some initial reactions to the unboxing and other things. First thing I must say is that this keyboard is really uncomfortable. While I am getting used to using it, it still is somewhat of a pain. The next thing is that the music cuts out every time I click on a different tab or change the program I am using. Also, some keys do not respond when I press them. I may just have to break the device in first. Finally, the box came from Amazon mostly open. It only had two strips of tape with the words “MEJ” keeping the bo closed. My EeE works great so I don’t know.
I was going to post pictures but I have a really old CF card reader that works only on Windows so I’ll post some pictures later :). By the way, if anyone know how to get WordPress into a smaller format for the EEE screen, that would be great.
EDIT: Pictures added via main computer. Article typed on EeE.
JAmerican
A few visitors were interested as to how I upgraded my Dash to a different ROM so I decided to spend some time making a video on the process since the guys who created it at XDA-Developers have only posted text-based instructions. I hope this helps those who were not able to figure it out and gave up. You owe it to your self and your investment to make it the best it can be, which includes removing a bloated ROM from the carrier.
Check it out here… Upgrade your Dash’s ROM
Leave your comments in the post located at the link above.
JAmerican
