Area-51 m15x Windows crashing laptop overheating??

Hi

i was a happy owner of my area 51 m15x but now it's giving me troubles & don't know if i can solve the problem I checked the forum & found some related isues but would like to have some extra help

i'm running an AW Area-51 m15x with T9300 4 gb of ram & the nvidia quadro m3600.

The problem starts when i push the limits of the GPU & i don't even use it for gaming just have an extra screen connected to the laptop & use it for watching movies & some photoshopping.

@ startup the gpu is about 50C
now running iddle (just 2 screens & some windows open) the temp is about 65C
When i start watching movies the temp goes up over 70 & the system crashes

When i turn it back on directly the screen goes bananas, the view is flickering & before startup of windows the computer just shows a blackscreen.

After cooling down the system works properly.

This is what i've done so fare:
- cleaned the laptop from dust & made sure the fans we're clean
- pulled out the GPU, after this i couldn't use my hdmi but everything else worked fine for a whole day without any problems
- I have put on some new thermopast on the GPU from artic silver
- did the latest bios update

My questions:
- how can i improve the temp even more?
- can a reinstall of the system help ?
- any other tips offcourse are also welcome

thanks

 

If it's crashing around 70 deg C then theres something wrong with the GPU. Modern cards are good up to 100 deg C without crashing. So it's either getting hotter than you think/say it is or theres something wrong with the card in that it doesnt work when it warms up.

If theres nothing wrong with your windows install then theres no point reinstalling.
A good way to reduce temp's more is to use a laptop cooler such as The NZ XT Cryo or Zalman NC-2000.

 

i've installed Speedfan and the highest i saw it go was 73 just before the computer crashed....

so if i understand correctly my videocard is broken or could it be speedfan is giving me wrong results ??

& how could it be that a videocard just breaks down after 1 1/2 year that isn't normal right ??

 

nvidia GPU are know for making trouble in that lappy your best bet would be a cooler (short therm)

get an ati GPU aka 3870 (4850 if you'r extremely lucky)(that would solve you'r problem or good)

 

If the GPU has been running hot over the time then it's quite easy for it to break as the solder joins break down.
Although I dont think speedfan reads your GPU. Your best bet is to use HWMonitor to establish the GPU temp. If it is getting excessively hot that app will tell you.

 

the HW monitor shows the same info about the GPU.

But i must say, when i put on the thermopast on the GPU yesterday the temp of the gpu hasn't come over 67 but i'm handeling the laptop carefully.

Is there any way to test out the gpu (by increasing its temp) & is there someway to final check if the gpu is broken ? if that's the case i just have to go look for a new gpu but i want to be shure before i buy.

 

You can try furmark to stress test the GPU and see how hot it gets before crashing. If it doesnt crash then your problem would seem to have fixed itself.

 

hmzzz, did some tests today
& almost inmidiatly after i run the program the system crashes....
i even haven't seen the furry donut

this probably means my card has died right ?

diffucult discission to make invest 200 in a new one where i'm not 100% if it will cure the laptop & how long it will last
or buy a new laptop which i was planning to do next year with extensive warenty.....

aaargh

 

You tried furmark and it immediately crashed?
If that's the case then the GPU is most certainly busted you could try baking it - info is on this forum or a replacement.

 

wouw, i just did the gpu baking & it looks like it worked, furmark let the gpu go to 80 C plus.

thank you for your help i'm happy good way to end the weekend....

last question what's the case of stability fixing the laptop like this ?? i'm a deejay & need a quite reliable machine. can the laptop work for years without a glitch or did the baking effect the stability ??

& again thank you

 

The baking should theoretically fix it for around the same amount of time it's been working since it broke.

 

baking is a short term solution for a machine like yours. sometimes it works for a long time, btu in a mchine like the m15x, it is hit or miss. you will likely have to do it again. i would advise getting a new card if your not really gaming alot, there are plenty of cheaper solutions that you can use. and if its affecting your business, this should be a no-brainer and you should replace it asap.

 

it broke down again the oven trick helped again but it makes me insecure.....
i was wondering if this card will work ??
ATI HD 3650 MXM II 512mb i can buy a new one here for 100 euro's

 

it should but i might not be suported in bios to know it you need to try

the 3870 are able to deliver more brute power but for watching movies it won't change much
how and look closely at your image qualitie when switching from nvidia to ati

 

an MXM II card probably won't fit correctly in the a-51 m15x's MXM III slot.

I also want to add note that though there's been soldering/solder problems with nVidia cards the past few years, to say they're junk, like granyte implied is completely outrageous to me... the Quadro series are actually designed to run slower and do more accurate calculations than the GeForce equivalents. despite the poor craftsmanship we've seen recently on the board manufacturing side, the chips and nVidia themselves make a good product.

I would contact nVidia about it, they may warranty it, since they know that it was probably in a batch that had the faulty soldering. I wouldn't mention what's gone on here.

if they wont and you don't have a warranty from AW for it, I would say semi-permenantly switch to on-board until you can swap to a new card, it will at least give you functionality of the system.

Start up using on-board graphics by holding the right mouse button on the touch pad until the system turns on. you should be able to run adequately on that till you grab a new card... however, the HDMI output won't work with Intel graphics.

Buy ATI or nVidia. I'd recommend anything that's been pulled from an m15x system or similar, to try and retain the function of the HDMI port. I've heard a lot of problems with using HDMI on aftermarket cards.

worst case, buy a new card from AW, it'll set you back quite a bit, but at least you know it will work.

 

ow thanks i thoughed i needed a MXM ii instead of III

it's a must that my HDMI port works! i use it with my second screen That's why i didn't pull it out my laptop.

The price @ alienware is to expencive for me.

I'll email nvidia about how discapointed i'm about the quality

 

the area 51 m15x has a mxm 2.1 type III slot just like the area 51 m17 wich i have

i did not imply that the cards where crap at least not in that thread just that they where a poorly donne job and nvidia's chip are not bad i just prefer ati's