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    GPU Overheating help

    Discussion in 'Alienware Area-51/Aurora and Legacy Systems' started by masafi73, Dec 30, 2011.

  1. masafi73

    masafi73 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I have the old m15x silver scull cap running vista 64,4gig ram and the 9800m gt

    most games have been runing fine all be it a few driver issues but anyway for the last 2 weeks its been over heating when gaming(all games) for more than 20 mins.... the game black screens and i get the yellow triangle in the system tray telling me my driver has crashed 5 mins later its ok for a few mins until it heats up again..i also use a Zalman notebook cooler always.

    What ive tried

    1 check fans (all are working)
    2 clean fans etc
    3 repaste
    4 full clean windows install

    here are some pics when iddle and after crash in game
     

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    masafi73, Dec 30, 2011
    #1
  2. masafi73

    masafi73 Notebook Enthusiast

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    can anyone tell me what the 80c temp 1 is on the speedfan screen shot is ?
     
    masafi73, Dec 31, 2011
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  3. el_corsez

    el_corsez Notebook Geek

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    I have no idea, it doesn't seem to be the GPU in this case. Have you tried running a stress test and monitor the temperatures while doing so? This way you'll know what and at which temperatures crashes.

    Have you removed the dust from the fans/heatsinks? Also (and I know it's stupid but it happened to me) check if the fans are spinning.
     
    el_corsez, Dec 31, 2011
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  4. masafi73

    masafi73 Notebook Enthusiast

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    yep ive had them all out and cleaned
     
    masafi73, Dec 31, 2011
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  5. SniperTNT

    SniperTNT Notebook Consultant

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    The 80 C is the system temperature. I have that too, and it is the default temperature for the system.

    My video card runs way cooler than 80 C, and my processor also.

    You have nothing to worry about with the 80 C.
     
    SniperTNT, Dec 31, 2011
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  6. masafi73

    masafi73 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Ok thanks that clears that up but I still can't game for longer than 20 mins without crashing and getting the display driver warning message it (GPU) seems to crash at around 78 - 80 c
     
    masafi73, Jan 1, 2012
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  7. el_corsez

    el_corsez Notebook Geek

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    That's strange, it still seems as an acceptable temperature for a laptop GPU... the Geforce 280 in the m15 hits around 100°C

    Which driver version are you using by the way?
     
    el_corsez, Jan 1, 2012
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  8. Ari3sgr3gg0

    Ari3sgr3gg0 Notebook Consultant

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    Sorry seems your gpu is finally failing, try a light game that doesn't bump up your temps to see if it still crashes. Also you could try underclocking and undervolting your card to get it to last longer.
     
    Ari3sgr3gg0, Jan 3, 2012
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  9. masafi73

    masafi73 Notebook Enthusiast

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    What choice of cards can I get to go in this laptop ?
     
    masafi73, Jan 5, 2012
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  10. Ari3sgr3gg0

    Ari3sgr3gg0 Notebook Consultant

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    Your options(to the best of my knowledge) are the 8600m gt, 8700m gt, 8800m gtx, 9800m gt, 260m, 280m, quadro fx3600m, quadro fx 3600m, radeon 3870. In my opinion the radeon 3870 is the best option to use in this laptop since it runs cool and you don't have to deal with special drivers for it
     
    Ari3sgr3gg0, Jan 6, 2012
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  11. el_corsez

    el_corsez Notebook Geek

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    Plus, they are less prone to solder defects seen on the earlier nvidia cards.

    Coming from a 9800, you'll have to cut the heatsink a little for the card to fit though...
     
    el_corsez, Jan 6, 2012
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  12. masafi73

    masafi73 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thanks for all the help... i will think it over a little more :D
     
    masafi73, Jan 9, 2012
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  13. masafi73

    masafi73 Notebook Enthusiast

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    masafi73, Jan 9, 2012
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  14. el_corsez

    el_corsez Notebook Geek

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    The card in the link is an MXM Type 3 Socket, it's not compatible with the old m15x. You need MXM Type 2.1.
     
    el_corsez, Jan 9, 2012
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  15. masafi73

    masafi73 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Any links or suggestions on where best to buy one from im in UK bearing in mind i don't really want to be spending too much on this ageing laptop however im am hoping it can play guildwars 2
     
    masafi73, Jan 9, 2012
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  16. el_corsez

    el_corsez Notebook Geek

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    Depends really of your budget, you could try mxm-upgrade, they're located in Belgium so it's not too far for shipping.
     
    el_corsez, Jan 9, 2012
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  17. masafi73

    masafi73 Notebook Enthusiast

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    MXM B is 2.1 ?
     
    masafi73, Jan 9, 2012
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  18. el_corsez

    el_corsez Notebook Geek

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    I am not familiar with that name, where did you see it? MXM technical before 3.0 here you have the technical information too.
     
    el_corsez, Jan 9, 2012
    #18