CPU throttling issue on i7 m11x r2, help please

When I am playing dawn of war 2 or fifa 11, some terrible delay happened occasionally. After some investigation, I found the cpu was throttling(its multiplier went down to X8) and the temp was 80+ C

I dont overlock anything, and I also use cooling pad which is made in metal and has many holes. Video card driver is lastest 266.44(but its CPU throttling so...)

Please give me some help and advice. Thank you very much!

 

It will be much appreciated if anyone can help me here. I searched the forum but no solution has been mentioned to this overheat/throttling problem...

Btw, when the cpu is idling, that says I exited the game for a few min and the cpu usage is below 15%, the temp is about 55-60C.

On the other hand, the GPU is barely 70C when ingame, and 55C when idling.

 

55-60 is too high for idling. I idle at 45-50 with my i7 @ 166Mhz, much lower with a laptop cooler.

Nothing unusual about reaching 80C (I've observed 84-85C when gaming on occasion), but it shouldn't be throttling at those temperatures.

 

Thank you very much for the reply.

the cpu is throttling at 85C(or 84/83C?), or higher, as I observed. I think it is default setting and to be safe I dont really want to change that. The problem is when I am playing dow2 I never experience this problem before, this only happen recently.

any tips?

also, I am thinking to limit the cpu frequency to 1.6g or something, where it can run without reaching 80C, so I can game normally. how to do that?

Thank you

 

Clean the dust inside / check for loose radiators or other cooling elements. Though 1st variant is most possible, as I had same issues and it really helped me (81 -> 71 average gaming t)
Check this: http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/545836-random-game-stuttering-fix.html#post7030281

 

Hey, your post is really really helpful.

But, I am so hesitated to open my laptop. also I dunno how to use vacuum cleaner on laptop...

 

Well, if dust is the reason of throttling, than you'll be fine without opening it. Just put your laptop facedown and use vacuum cleaner at air intake fan. Even if you won't do it throughly there should be a change. I can't see any way to damage your laptop this way)

 

I see. Will try it tomorrow. Thank you for the advice.

But maybe its not dust that cause the throttling..

 

I have no problems running DoW2. I'm running everything on ultra and I get 30-60+ fps in game. I'm using the 260.99 drivers

 

Thanks for telling me the info.

 

IT does seem rather warm for gaming , and u said you were using a cooling pad?

In any case, what pad are you using? I use a Zalman NC Series, and my CPU rarely tops 70 degrees Celsius, and i play most new games out (Black ops, starcraft, wow, just cause 2, mafia ii, etc...)

also, if you are in a naturally warm climate (like tropics), this could be assisting the naturally high idle temp.

you can also try the new R2 BIOS (A03 i believe), which updates the Fan Tables....

 

Good advice, though it depends on fan quality and speeds it's designed to work on. Didn't do any harm to me (not holding it from rotating), but frankly speaking I hadn't thought of it =), so yes, better block it with something to avoid rotation.

 

same as Xsonic.

i have m11x-r2 i5 processor over clocked to 167mhz at bios, then throttlestopped to x12 maximum settings. idles at about 45-50c and works it way upto 70c during DOW2. i'm also using driver 260.99 and with everything on ultra get at least 30fps in game.

 

Use throttlestop!
I had that throttling issue but with throttlestop I run every games smoothly....
HOWEVER, my laptop will get reallll hot and it will shutdown itself automatically on almost all games...... *OMG* T_T
But how come it shuts down itself even if the CPU is below 100C? I'm wondering..... Is there any software that can log my CPU temperature?

 

Suggest you post your findings (in detail - meaning steps/apps used/etc.). Also, as others have suggested, get a can of compressed air and blow out the exhaust/intake. Be sure the system has proper free airflow (if needed, prop the rear of the system up on a CD jewel case or two and re-check temps). If overclocking (either CPU or GPU, return it to stock clocks and re-test). If running Throttlestop - disable it and re-check.

You have to be a bit more specific before just posting that the system throttles. The forum cant really reply back without all of the information.

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If its shutting down I wouldn't say its running 'smooth'. See my suggestions above.

 

Thank you very much for the detailed advice of how to post my question.

Here is some info about my case:

I was not using any overlock, all in default;

BIOS was A02, updated to A03 and nothing had changed;

using a cooling pad, which provide proper angle and space for air flow;

the cpu temp range from 40-55 when I am browsing web, write mail etc;

when I was playing dow2 in med settings, the fps was initially very good, says 40-60(from fraps), after 15 min or so, game started to drop fps to 10-20. The cpuid hardware monitor indicated that the cpu temp was 80-85; and the gpu temp was 65-75. The cpu-z said the frequency was down to 1.0 ghz, from 2.2 ghz, because of the multiplier went down to only X 7.

I don't have any experience in opening and cleaning the laptop, so I am not sure if I should do it myself. also I dont know where to buy a can of compressed air.

If you can offer me some help it will be much appreciated.

 

Might I ask, what cooler are you using with your M11x-R2? I have mine at home elevated on a (broken) NZXT stand, but that just helps flow now.... I am looking for something portable, any suggestions?

 

sounds like hardware failure somewhere. my machine is max overclocked both cpu and gpu and i had a hardcore session of DOW2 for about 8hours and never saw the temp go above 71c. and i dont using a cooling device either. I'd get dell to have a look.

 

My CPU is 60~67 (throttlestop, speedfan always report 20C lower than throttlestop) while idle and around 90C while gaming (overclocked @ 150mhz)
Should i call support for that?

 

60-67C at idle is higher than it ought to be. Those temps are reported throttlestop? What's your ambient room temperature?

 

I seem to have similar issue. Right now my cores are 64 and 55 with just chrome open. I was just playing sc2 and it inevitably does the same thing he is having. It will hit 80+ degrees and get super choppy. I'm talking .5-1 fps for extended periods of time. I've used throttlestop before but it isnt currently on. I find heat becomes an issue much more quickly while using it. I dont hear my fan spin up as fast I would expect it to at all. Is there a utility that will report the fan speed? Using 260.99 on an r2.

EDIT: idles at about 60 degrees

 

Oops, just saw this.

I use a Titan TTC-G6TZ. I bought it for around $10, and it's the best laptop cooler I have ever used (and I've tried many). I originally bought it to cool down an old 17" hp I had - most coolers that supported 17"ers were huge, and I wanted something small - this was perfect because it supported multiple sizes because of its extendability (and it was dirt cheap). I've gone through about half a dozen laptop coolers since I bought this (all were considerably more expensive, a couple were "premium" brands) - and all of them have been sent back to the shops, because they just didn't perform as well as this one.

As an example... at full load my m11x can climb to beyond 80C, but with the cooler I've never seen anything above 70 (and most of the time hovers around 67C). That's just ridiculous. It even gets the idle temps down by >5C (I switched it on as I was typing this, and my idle went from ~50C to 39C).

So whether by design or by chance, this cooler works like magic. The only negative comment I have about it is that it's really loud - given it has 4 fans that's not too surprising.

 

Hi, I had a similar issue, my cpu went to 90C while playing GTA4 and using ThrotleStop.
I had my CPU OD to 150Mhzs but as i read in these forums my temps werent "typical".
I just give DELL a call, reporta that my laptos was crashing aftear and hour or so of gaming and that the computer got to hot. I make a couple of test with the tech rep (none of the test give a fault) but i insist that was after an hour of gaming.
They change the mombo, heat sink and fan.
My temps are idle 40~50C and gaming 75C MAX.
Try giving DELL a call if you still got warranty.

 

As above its pretty simple figures really. If it idles at 60C+ and when gaming is at 80C+ then there is a problem. If in warranty call Dell, engineer comes out, sorted