CCC overdrive m17x-R2 xfire 5870

Hello, I was playing Trine 2 recently and my computer shut down randomly, I figure my video card (xfire 5870) might've been overheating, so I restarted, and launched the game again while monitoring my temps with GPU-Z, it quickly rose into the 90s and even past the 100 degree mark, and then I closed the game myself so it wouldn't crash again, although, I noticed GPU-Z was reading the fan as 30% speed.

Either GPU-Z doesn't get a proper reading, or my fan is very lazy and just doesn't turn, causing my system to overheat.

I've looked around for a way to manually control my fan speed so I could test cranking it up further and I found that some people have the Overdrive tab in their CCC, I dont. I just updated my drivers to the latest version ( 12.3 ) and still nothing, is there something I need to do to access that feature? or is there another program that could help me control my fans?

 

I think the Overdrive option for the 5870m's require flashing a modded vBIOS. Or using a vBIOS designed for a higher end graphics card.
It can be a risky process.

Google for more info.

Read here: http://forum.techinferno.com/alienware-m17x/973-m17x-r2-mr-5870-mod-6870m-overdrive-support.html

You can try using HWiNFO (32bit & 64bit versions are available) for customizing your fan speeds.

If you find that your fans speeds are scaling correctly (max is around 4000RPM range) then you may need to clean your fans and heat ducts.
A GPU re-paste and retention mod may be the best solution for your heat problems.

 

Well since i'm still on warranty i'll probably end up calling them and have them fix it, I just want a solution that gets me through the next month and a half because I'm at university right now and I need my laptop

 

Perhaps that will be the best solution, given that you're still under warranty.
Request them to have your GPUs re-pasted.
The techs won't do the retention mod so don't bother to ask.

Good luck.

 

heh I was more inclined to ask for a whole new card but we'll see when i get there, its not Dell's actual warranty so Dell should give good service, since they are being paid, and the warranty doesn't ask questions, they just pay.

I'll try HWiNFO though and i'll update if it works


Edit: So where in HWiNFO can i change fan speeds?

 

This link should help you out. Alienware Fan Control

 

Yes +1

Mumak has done an outstanding job. Be sure to thank him.

 

Thanks, I tested running my fans on full and it still stays warmer than i'm confortable with, even on idle, I was thinking cleaning the fans and heatsinks but i suppose that would only be efficient if I opened it entirely.. Is going through the keyboard and from the top the easiest path to the video card fans?

 

Yes.
The process is pretty easy.
You can follow this guide to pull your graphics cards. The guide also explains how to re-paste and cooling mod as well as how to pull the CPU heatsink for a cleaning and re-paste.

Alienware M17x Teardown & Cooling Modification | Tech|Inferno

When removing the GPUs for cleaning only, leave the heatsinks screwed to the cards unless you're planning to do a re-paste or mod.

 

it says it void the warranty in the guide, but is that because he re pastes it or just because he opens it? I'm considering opening it up to clean it but I wouldn't want to void the warranty

 

Opening, cleaning and re-paste does NOT void your warranty. However, with the retention mod in place it may void the warranty. Hint: You can always reverse the mod if you need to use the warranty.