Question, Random Fps Drops on my R3, amd6970m

okay... i have had my r3 since they literally came out(my institution placed the order right before the switch over to the new revision).
from the beginning it ran games quite well, and i never had any problems with all high end games.
now, since 3 months ago i have noticed random fps drops, and i could be mistaken but the top where the volume controls and etc are placed, seem much hotter than it used to be after about 15 minutes of game play.
now it seems i need to prop my laptop on things to maximize airflow to limit the amount of times it does this.
so my question is first, does this mean i have an overheating issue?
and if so, do i need to do some re-pasting? return my video card? call dell tech support?
i have some moderate experience with hardware, but i'm no where confident enough to do more than replace parts without supervision.
by the way, i do have a 3 year parts and accidental damage warranty, so getting them to fix it wouldn't be much of a problem...it's just that i don't have too much confidence in dell these days.

my specs should be tied to my account.

any help or advice will be appreciated.

 

I would imagine your GPU is down-clocking and that's what's causing your FPS drops in games. You can find you-tube videos on re-pasting and I bet you should be able to do it on your own, I think if you sent it into dell it would take more time for them to fix it...

Alienware M17X R3 Re-pasting Guide and 6970 re-pasting guide - Newegg Promo Code - YouTube

 

if its only happening after 15 mins, it does indeed seem like an overheating issue...2 things to try, definitely repaste the GPU...and while you are at it, do the CPU too. Also, raise up the back of the laptop slightly. This will drop the temps 7-8c.

You will see references to the book method, bottle cap method, cooling pads etc...all intended to prop up the back so air can easily flow into the fan intakes

 

yeah, i tried the raising up method...it helps, but it does not fix the problem.. i was worried someone was going to say "repaste" it seems scary and easy to mess up...i don't know, i'm weird about this laptop because its technically under lease until i finish my course, where they then sell it to me for a dollar. i don't really want to mess up the awesome warranty i have either, thanks for the reply. i think i may seek the sometimes incompetent "help" of dell this time. hopefully i do not need to go through 10 idiots all telling me to reboot.
thanks!