M17x R3 AMD 6979m Max temps and slow down.

Hi all i made a thread like maybe a month ago about my 6970m slowing down to battery levels (400mhz) at certain periods of gaming but at the time it wasn't caused by temps. Dell sent me an replacement card and it does just rarely but when i tested when it throttles down it was cause by temps. The card reaches about a max temp of 84-86 on Gpu-z then it throttles down. From the other threads i read about overclocking some people game normally on those temps. Card is not overclocked. Is this normal and does anyone else experience this condition? Thanks guys for reading i know for sure this is a long text lol.

NB!!: A Temporary solution I'm guessing.(Working so far for me in Furmark) is to use HWInfo64 and set your fan control to custom and it seem that the throttling is gone. I can finally past temps of stated of 85 to 88 without any signs of slow down on cards. Remember the custom fan controls can be a good or a bad thing so as always DO IT AT OWN RISK! Hopefully this is some help to those like myself.

 

stock driver?

 

the new ones that was released not too long ago. 8.851.2.0

 

current bios?

 

A08 but it did happen to me even on A04

 

You should probably invest in repasting the gpu. It may help a bit.

 

Well already had repasted when the card was replaced. Used mx-3 and fugipoly 0.05 or was it 0.5 thermal pads. But not really complaining about my temps but does the card actually slow down for other when it does hit those temps. cause if its not the graphics card anymore their could be a problem with the board.

 

out of curiosity, when u had the a04 bios, was it the mod one or the dell one?
same for the a08, dell or mod?

 

Dell. My fan according to gpu-z stays at a constant 30% i think that its a percentage lol, no matter the temp. I use trixx to see if customizing the fan would help but when set at 100% it feels the same as without trixx.

 

Well, if trixx doesn't work, try HWinfo64 for fan control.

 

well i wouldnt say it doesnt work in a sense cause gpu-z does detect the change in fan control just when i place my hand voer it doesnt really feel much of a difference though i think it was louder. But ill try HWinfo64 and see. But could this be a problem of the board though?

 

Small chance its the board. But Dell made throttling common in all their later bios's after A04. Surprised though that the amd cards are having that problem. It's usually us 580-ers who are getting temp throttled unless we do the semi dangerous flash method.

 

So how is the modded bios working out?

 

It's working out fine. I originally had a 460m which came w/ Optimus. The mod bios allowed me to disable the intel igp, which also disabled the optimus. Now I have the 580m and it's pretty nice. Haven't done the a04 to a08 to disable throttling yet, but it's been fine so far.

Hope the hwinfo64 works better though for your fan.

Optimus gave me multiple bsods and didn't let me play most games beyond 30 fps, so I had to get rid of it. 25-30 fps in LoL and 15-20 fps in HoN doesn't seem right.

 

Thanks for the help man really appreciate it. I going to try the fan control but if that fails going to call up dell and see if i can get a replacement board and upgrade the card to maybe a nvidia card if its worth it lol.

 

I would personally recommend you get the 6990 instead of the 580m. It doesn't seem worth it unless you want the 3D, physX and cuda.

Unless your an nvidia fan like me ;D

 

lol to be honest im a amd fanboy but in all my laptops ive only had nvidias' since this R3. I was thinking about the 580 cause of the temps and hope the throttling stops. And for me 3d seems like a fad not for me in terms of gaming.

 

Right now doing a furmark test with fan blasting at 7000rpm(hope it doesnt kill the fan) and the temps at 86 but no slow down yet weird.

Note:
I tested to see how well the stock fan speed would do as soon as i did the card throttled down back to 400mhz. Wonder if i just set a custom fan speed would that keep it from throttling again lol.

 

I would ask the other 6970 owners if they use trixx, hwinfo, or some other program, and what settings, just to be sure what speeds are safe.

If and when you do get a 580m, look into this. http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ttling-m17x-r3-580m-without-120hz-screen.html

It's the guide on how to remove the throttling.

If you somehow brick your system though, make sure you also look at this.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...y-case-you-brick-your-m17xr3.html#post7791370

Well, another main reason I wanted Nvidia is to oppose my friends who all have random 65-6800's on their macbooks. They say their macs can play games better than my alienware w/ 580m.

I also read a comment somewhere about macbooks getting so hot, you could make breakfast on it. Don't remember it quote on quote, but it was pretty funny.

 

Well hopefully they have the cards in my where im located now. And hopefully if its not too much. might just stick with the amd if it differs in the pricing by the regular margin of $200. I do usually like the temps of nvidia cards.

man that fan is blowing now. Guess that ones working lol.

 

Well..bought my 580m via dell for $550 without tax, shipping, and misc costs.

No idea on the 6990 quotes.

 

would the upgrade be cheaper? i remember when i asked a tech once he told me if i were to upgrade when im back in the US it would cost me like around $300 not sure if he was BSing me or not.

NB: Those who are looking for help on this subject matter sorry for the side tracking lol.

 

Here's how my call went in a short version.

"Can I trade in the 460m for a 580m?"
"Sure, if you pay the difference. Let me get our quote."
10 minutes later...
"The quote currently is $550."
"Can I get NBD and free shipping with that?"
"No."
"Well, let me know if you change your mind." * I hang up.

20 minutes later I got an email saying if I buy it now, it'll come with free nbd + shipping.



Odd part, I asked to "Trade" the 460m for the 580. I still have my 460m lying aroung for some reason.

 

Nice. Ima try that lol. Money saving time. Thanks man for everything im out now need to get up early have and good night/day.

 

If you are not into overclocking i would sugest you consider undervolting the card. I'm running both of mine @0.96V instead of 1.1V clocked @700/1000.

furmark can push them @73 degrees, but in game hardly over 69 degrees. I', using shinetsu paste for gpu's and memory modules. I have a pair of siringes of MX-4 and 0.5mm thermal pads that i plan to test, maybe today. (if work allows me )