Okay, I'm tired of this. My M17x' GPU goes to 103 degrees when playing Starcraft 2 or any other newgen game.

It goes to 90+ on ANY newgen game and 100+ on SC2, Splinter Cell Conviction, and many other new games that came out this year.

My specs:

Intel Core2 Duo P8700 2.53GHz (3MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz 2 x 2048MB
1GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M
320GB 7,200RPM (xMB Cache)
Slot-Loading Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
Internal 300Mbps Dual-Band a/g/n 2x2 MIMO



When I first bought it, it didn't used to go this high. I'm okay with 80 degrees but 90+ is untolerable and it burns my fingers to the point I can't play a game more than 45 minutes.

Tell me what I need to do..I'm willing to pay $100+ to fix this issue. I've tried buying a laptop cooler, it didn't work.

Really.sick.of.this.

Thank you if you help me.

 

Have you tried cleaning out the heat sink?

P.S I used to have this inspiron 1525 laptop and the temp was 40~50 duing light usage when I first bought it, so, after a year, the notebook will get to the point that it shut off after every 20mins I switched on the notebook. When I checked the temp, it was showing 90~95c when just idling! So, I took out the heat sink and I noticed there was this thick layer of dust blocking the air going through the heat sink. After cleaning out the heat sink, everything was back to normal. I hope this helps.

 

Buy a can of compressed air and spray out the dust blockung the vents.

 

Okay, couple of questions???
1. = How long ago did you purchase this? If under 1 year still has warranty.
2. = How long ago did you open or tried to clean the fans and vents?
3. = Is the fan always at full blast when it gets hot?

So, it could be a bad fan/ clogged vents or lastly GPU/Thermal paste.
Keep your $100.00 if this helps! LOL!

 

First you should clean out the dust.
Then you should take the heatsink off and apply new thermal paste.

 

No, is there a guide to tell me how to do this? I've never opened up laptops before, only PC's.

I guess I can try that if all else fails.

1. Under 1 year
2. Never opened it, I clean the vents from the outside every week.
3. Yes, it's loud and on blast.

 

Mobile CPUs are rated to work OK at 100C, but if you are concerned with the CPU temperature you should replace thermal paste on your CPU - use Artic Silver 5 or Diamond 24 - you should be able to reduce CPU temperature by 5C - 10C. Just make sure that you clean the surface of CPU with proper thermal paste remover before re-applying thermal paste.

 

Try these.
Alienware: Online Documentation
Download the service manual.

 

OKAY GUYS, THIS JUST IN!

I OPENED MY LAPTOP UP

I cleaned the heatsink and some of the fan with a tissue paper.

Idle temps are down by 4-5 degrees. Haven't tested gaming temps yet. I'm buying a compressed air can tomorrow but this seems like I've found out the problem!

Thank you all.

 

Yeah, just be careful with this. I'm not sure how the fans are setup in the M17x, but I've seen blowing compressed air into the fan vent cause a fan to explode. This was on a Thinkpad X61. Pretty crazy, all the blades on the fan ripped off and ended up everywhere in the case.. Ended up cutting a wire that powers the fan, so the whole motherboard had to be replaced. I'm sure this is a really rare case, as the guy who did it used to clean his laptop regularly that way.

 

Sorry, but that's unacceptably high temp for a gaming rig as it greatly reduces the lifespan of your system. At those temps MEM chips(GPU) may start getting permanent damage! Anything above 80-85C is entering the Danger-Zone.

OP,
you should always monitor your temps, if they get above 85C, - stop gaming, clean the vents and grills, verify that the fans are working properly.
If it doesn't help - replace the thermal paste and/or pads.
From your explanation, it's most likely dust.
All of the above was mentioned already, but I have to repeat as it should become a habit: temps, fans, dust, paste.
Good luck!

 

I'm having a very similar problem, but I didn't realize that 100C temps were bad.

When playing SC2, I'll consistently experience temps from 95C - 100C.

For some reason, my 260m is idling at 66C right now. The fans are going pretty loud, but the temps won't go down. And this is immediately after a boot...the only thing I've run since starting the laptop was Chrome.

I've been running games at 95C pretty often...

 

How do you play Starcraft 2? It's coming out in July???

 

The beta...I got it for pre-ordering off of Gamestop. I think Amazon is doing it too. Get in on it man!


Anyway, i think I figured out my problem....TONS AND TONS OF DUST!!!!!
I live on the beach and dust accumulates absurdly fast and I hadn't thought to blow the dust out of my laptop. I didn't have any compressed air with me and I just used my lung power and I almost choked on how much dust came out. My temps are now down to 48C idle. I'll play some SC2 and see what it maxes out at.

EDIT: Here's the Gamestop link
http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?sku=647051&loc=homemerch1img