M18x - GPU Temperatures

Yeah but given the fact all i have done is outlined above....every time i leave this M18x alone for 15mins, i come back to it and its hard locked and frozen......only a hard shutdown gets me anywhere.......that aint right! - no idea whats causing it.....

I only turned this thing on about 10hrs ago, did the updates etc.....that was it!

Ive checked event viewer and there is like almost half a dozen critical errors which must be related to the freezing.....

 

I'd check the RAM and HDD first and then call the support.

As for the temps, they are too high. Could be a poor paste job, bad contact, or even bad cards...

 

Done that already fella, diagnostics passed ram and hdd.... whilst the tech was on the phone....yet still it keeps locking up.....

 

When i shut off my m18x all the lights stay on as well, everything but the monitor, even if the lid is closed. Only way i could get the lights to go out was to unplug the psu cord from the back of it. This is normal of an alienware? This is my first one.

 

My locks/freezes now and then too, also sometimes when I restart/shutdown the monitor shuts off but the lights stay on, its pretty frustrating. This is expensive piece of hardware to have bugs like this.

 

Ok , so how many of us are getting random locks or freezes....ive had mine now for less than 24 hours and ive had almost half a dozen....event viewer shows as much.....

 

0 freezes. am i seriously the only one with no issues? this deserves its own thread because its sounding like a lot of owners are having issues.

 

I have been stable, are you all having issues running the factory install or a fresh one?

 

No locks here...

 

Zero freezes.

 

I too get this....also, ive noticed that sometimes, when it does do this, the right side gpu fan also stays on occasionally.....

Also, these are my idle gpu-z shots....this is with the system sat doing nothing, with IE open with four tabs....left sat for a good 10-15mins.....now does that normal? - can anyone post their idle gpu-z shots?

 

I am on a fresh install, having freezes now and then.

 

@Stevie,

I don't think your freezes are GPU related. Same temps here. Browser with flash will trigger one of the cards into 60's. I will do repasting tomorrow and report back.

 

For those getting freezes, run the AW PSA to see if you have any issues: Pre-Boot System Assessment (PSA) Diagnostics and Error Codes For Dell Computers - KB Article - 300428 | Dell Canada

 

Will do.

Temp wise, those gpuz shots seem rather erratic for an idle system with just a browser open.......well they do to me, my good ole R2 never idled like THAT before.

These fans on my m18, the left will be active, then go quiet and the right will take over and it cycles like this.....just doesnt seem normal to me.

Also, get a slight "jingle" before each fan kicks in...kind of like shaking dice in a cup......

 

Just finished re-pasting (very non-user-friendly internal build ).
Here are two pics of max temps during 3DMark11, before and after repasting, no cooler pad, no elevation, 27C room temp:

Thermal paste used: Tuniq TX-4 (both on the die and memory chips, applied generous amount)

 

can you do me a huge favour and check if your HDMI-out is working? mine recognizes my monitor yet it wont display any picture on it -_-.

 

I don't have an external monitor, not even a tv,

 

damn ><...

 

Aikimox thats an impressive Temp drop...

Hrm, can we get a video of repasting ???

 

I've just wasted 1 full tube of TX-4 for the CPU and both GPU's (very generous application) and given the scope of work and amount of connectors that can be damaged in the process,... it will be awhile before I open the beast again. Generally, you just have to follow the service manual and be careful and ready to apply a very generous amount of paste (non-bleeding, non-conductive, thick) since the heatsinks provide very uneven contact in some areas (pads are out of question).

I'm installing a few games to check the true load temps and CF operation, and if everything is ok, - this machine is a home runner.

 

Nice one Buddy,

I'm thinking about doing a repaste soon as well. I just got new 5870s the other day to replace my faulty ones.

What games are you going to be testing / playing. Would luv to hear how they run and perform for you.
As well as how the temps go.

Cheers.

 

Sorry if this has been addressed, has anyone noticed the CPU fan runs about all the time, even at idle? Its very low and my temps are fine. Just wondering if this was something everyone was seening.

 

So far tested Crysis, Dragon Age and King's Bounty. No issues, no flickering, etc., everything is smooth & maxed out. Load temps always under 80C with one exception - shader/memory hit 84C once.

I've decided to keep the system as my primary computing device. One thing is left to figure out, - screen upgrade.

 

dont forget the 2920xm . i know that a hacked bios/software has to come out that fully unlocks the multipliers for the 2920xm. it wont be long before we start seeing 4.4Ghz sandys.

 

True, but that would be one of the last things on my list for the M18x. I have yet to see a game that can't be maxed out with a non-OC'ed 2630qm.

On the other hand, coming from a 1200P IPS RGBLED, there's a huge impact to my gaming/visuals experience. Like I said earlier, the stock screen is ok and probably better than most laptop displays, yet it's miles&miles away from what I'm used to.

 

games wont demand 4ghz until at least 2014. 2630 is probably going to be enough for years to come. :/

in that case you wont ever need the 2920

 

The 2920 is SO needed....../sarcasm

lol

 

I test my M18X and both intel and AMD can hdmi out to my sony TV.

 

ok im gonna try it to my TV this time. wish me luck. if it doesnt work then im getting a replacement .

 

Driver:AMD Catalyst™ 11.5b hotfix

Stock Paste

GPU 0:
TD: 85c
TS0: 85c
TS1: 95c
TS2: 101.5c

GPU 1:
TD: 85c
TS0: 85c
TS1: 93.5c
TS2: 91.5c

 

Ya that is gonna be a bit problematic in a few weeks once dust builds up, I would look to repaste.

 

Yeah, stock paste+pads approach used by Dell doesn't seem to be the best choice here. I'd re-paste the cards and put some paste on the memory chips as well.

 

There's one mystery with my machine that I'm still unable to explain...

Occasionally, both the secondary GPU and CPU will heat up to ~65C and 60C respectively (while the primary GPU remains at high 40s) and then slowly cool down to high 40C. I was unable to identify any hidden services or fan frequency changes associated with those cycles.
Gonna do a fresh install but I doubt it will help change anything. Not that I'm worried about the temps, load temps are pretty equal for the cards. CPU stays under 75C in games.

 

mine does the same thing, i guess its just crossfire quirks...

 

Yeah, I think it's not an isolated case. Hopefully, BIOS/vBios/driver updates will address it at some point. If not, - not a biggie.

 

I wonder if someone could do me a favour.......

Regarding these freezes im having, Im wondering if its down to apps that i have open at the time.

I could be barking up the wrong tree here but is seems to happen alot when I have two instances of gpu-z open to monitor temps (one for each card) and also hwinfo32 (sensor only mode). These apps are the only things open at time of freeze. Nothing else at all and yet it still locks up.

I come back and its frozen like an eskimos ice cubes.....

So....would someone be so kind as to mimick this scenario, open up two gpu-z's and hwinfo32 and tell me if you get any lock ups?

 

Finally got around to running Furmark using the directives on page 1 by T1TJ. Here's my gpuz results after 10 mins.

Results are on an elevated cooler but cooler not running. Also on factory Dell pastes.

Seems like my temps under full load are fine, with the expection of the sensor #3 hitting 91.5 on the secondary. Still getting lock ups and some other weirdness going on (upon boot, occasionally, half the keyboard does not light up until desktop.....had some instances of shutting down but keyboard staying on along with gpu fan/s.......)

At least the load temps look reasonable I guess....

Also noted that my VDDC is now showing a figure....was zero before but now it goes between 0.900 and 1.100v.....normal????

 

Try without Hwinfo32, I had a few lockups with it on X7200. Using HWMonitor + 2xGPU-z on my M18x - no freezes.

Here's my Furmark run:

 

Yeah, I will try without hwinfo32....I would still like someone to confirm if their system locks up using this combination, simply to rule it out.

If anyone cares to try x2 gpuz shots and sensor only hwinfo32 and see if they get a freeze/lockup, that would be very helpful!

 

I have had some freezes with hwinfo32. I stopped using it. Between that and the LMP fix for the M4 SSD, my feezing issues have gone away!

 

Here are my idle temps:





Kind of scary for idle temps.

 

adobe flash on this website (or any other) kicks up the temps to 60. so unless you just booted and are at 60, youre fine .

 

Anyone else notice that the GPU clocks when running FurMark are not going above 400 MHz? (11.5b driver)

I assume this is PowerTune at work? Power usage was not getting over about 200W so I know that the cards were being artificially limited

 

my idle temp often goes down to 48'c

 

It seems that something is awry with my setup.....wiping and reinstalling drivers now to see if that cures it.

 

After using furmark for 10 min+, it hit 86C on one, and 75C on the other. Not that great of a picture, but I tried to take a screen capture of furmark but it showed a black screen.

 

they do that if theyre overclocked, at stock they should be at 680 constantly

 

They are at stock speeds but I did mess with the vbios a little - going to flash back now and see if it becomes happy

Just in case, does anyone have a FRESH (never modified) vbios they can post to use as a reference going forward? (in case mine that I think is clean is in fact dirty)

 

No problem, here you go (right from GPU-Z).