Uhoh Temps

Recently called Alienware support for help on recent EXTREME performance drops. I got the laptop last Christmas. It's an M11xR2. The first few months after i got the laptop it was absolutely amazing. I played Starcraft 2 on highest settings with no problem at all but I decided to keep the settings lower just to ensure no lag. I average 40+ fps and then it dropped to 30fps maybe 20fps in the late game fights.

Well, as of a couple months ago the laptop started to lag during a game of 2v2. I was shocked because it never lagged like that before. My frames dropped to about 10fps and it was pretty much unplayable, especially in a game like Starcraft 2 where precision and speed is important. I kept playing on it for a while, 1v1 was good but team games got to be very frustrating to the point where I never played them again because of low fps.

I began playing on my desktop that I upgraded and it was perfect on there. I decided to go back and try Starcraft on my laptop, 1v1, about 5-10 minutes into the game it was 10fps and below. Unbelievable.

I ran virus scans and every other scan you could think of and there was nothing. I turned graphics down to as low as the could go and nothing helped.

Now I am in college and would really like to enjoy playing Starcraft 2 on my laptop but it gets too frustrating so I have to resort to watching streams. Here is a picture of my temperatures 30 minutes after playing 1 game:



I'm assuming that it is overheating and it's causing damage to my video card/motherboard. The fans must not be working properly or something but I hear them running so they are not completely off. Any ideas why there was such a HUGE performance drop?

Alienware M11XR2
Intel Core i7 CPU @ 1.2 GHz
4 GB Memory
Windows 7
Intel HD Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce GT 335M

 

hmm those temps are a bit high i would suggest using some canned air and blowing out the vents and try again, i might be overheating

 

I have done that and it didn't change anything. I think its either too late and the video card is already damaged or since the temperature is so high, the computer is automatically limiting the performance of the laptop so that the temperatures do not get any higher

 

Don't blow air from outside, you'll only push it inside and it won't magically disappear.
Just open it up, clean the heatsink and replace your thermal paste

 

The GPU is only hitting 76 and the CPU is barely over 80. When I had my R2 that wasn't uncommon if the air wasn't circulating or the room temp was not necessarily comfortable.

HOWEVER, you could still be right about the damaged hardware. It could be an issue with the GPU or CPU; however I hate inciting this speculation because there is not much to definitively say. DOesn't help that Dell has terrible customer service.

Those temps are not exceedingly hot. My R2 got to 80 easily in a unventilated area.

The only test I could say is using a cooling pad or getting good air running to see if performance still drops. If it does then chances are its something to do with the hardware.

The reason I am saying this is because typically when someone on this thread posts something about hot temps its well above 90 most of the time OR at least 85 whereas yours is maxing out at 82.

In summary: increase airflow some how. If performance still lags call dell and tell them you noticed considerably higher temps and performance drops. 8 times out of 10 if you stay on long enough you will get a new motherboard. (heck I got 3 motherboards before they replaced my entire computer).

 

it was at 93 when the game finished, i didnt get a picture then tho

 

Ah. Then you should definitely call. Make sure to clear at least 2hours to talk. Coming from a pro with Dell (source: http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/599327-worst-luck-ever.html)

 

idle after i slept woke up ran a test and :


I called them and they ran some tests and it showed running hot I'm supposed to call back after a couple days of testing and see if them downloading some more stuff will help fix the temps all they did last time was redownload drivers for the video cards for the dropped performance. I'm in college at the moment, so i gotta wait til Chrismas break for a technician to come out if they send one.

Thanks for the tips guys but I think I'm going to have to get the fans replaced and maybe the video cards too depending on the state.

 

Max I have got in the CPU was 84°C, and it was a very hot day, with no stand for the laptop, the first picture temps are normal, the R2 is the hotter of the 3 models, the R1 CPU is less powerful, so the temps, even with heavy gaming, are not that high, and the R3 uses Sandy Bridge, and is cooler than the standard i5/i7 that the R2 models have...

The problem with this forum is that someone with a R1 see your temps and is gonna tell you to call support, when maybe you have an R2 and your temps are right...

Still, reaching 93°C is not normal, getting 82-84°C in the CPU is "normal" for the R2 model...

 

any idea about why I am getting such low FPS? It was an amazing laptop up until a couple months ago. The performance is just heartbreaking and really is pathetic when I play games. They are unplayable because of how much lag there is.

No viruses or anything, only thing I can think of is that the laptop is damaged from poor cooling.

 

your cpu or GPU mite have took a dump, either way you need a new MOBO. if its still under warrenty call dell and keep complaining untill they agree to install a new one. if its not you can find some r2 MOBO's on ebay for about 200-300 bucks used, heres one: Alienware M11x R2 Intel SLBQP CPU Motherboard 1KK46 LA-5812P Bluetooth RM948 | eBay

 

Performance drops?
One of the reasons is that you are not using Throttlestop.

 

Spoiler

have you ever replaced the thermal paste? What makes you think it wac properly done when the system was built?
I would do that before anything else first, it'll save you time. Heck, there was a guy here that had a sticky note between his heatsink and CPU on a NEW build, I'm not saying you do too but I personally trust only myself with this.

 

I Will say , i had a similar issue, and (fortunately?) my solution was buying a Cooler (NC-1000 from Zalman). When i play any game with the cooler, it runs flawlessly, but the minute im off the cooler, within 10-20 minutes i get huge performance drops.

I used to log it, and when the GPU hit 76c, it'd throttle down until it was b ack at like 70c, and then rinse an repeat. A cooler fixed this issue.

Unfortunately, it renders the idea of a laptop somewhat moot, as u need the cooler to play extensively.

 

I wouldn't look at any bandaid fixes on here unfortunately.

Get a repair / replacement from Dell.

And with the new one, put on some Arctic 7 thermal compound on the GPU & CPU.

My temps are drastically lower with it.

 

I'll call again and try and get a new mobo. I've never really trusted myself with opening laptops because I figured if I screwed something up the warranty wouldn't cover it because I messed with the insides.

For now I'll just try and get a new mobo from dell. A technician should be comin out around Christmas break because they can't do dorms since I'm in college.

Maybe on the visit I'll get a new mobo then. I'll try to thermal paste but I dont like messing with the inside of a laptop

 

Then you have a problem, since you need to take your pc completly apart to reach the mobo, and remove the heatsink, so you can repaste it...

 

Managed to get a pic while I was playing a game ... don't you think the laptop should have shut down by now?

 

No, shut down is at 105c if i'm not mistaken

 

Intel designs their CPUs with a shutdown temperature of 130C but most laptop manufacturers set a lower value like 100C or 105C in the bios. An M11x-R2 will not run this hot if the heatsink is properly attached and the paste was applied correctly.

 

I used a hoover to clean my fans... Helped with temps considerably.

You using throttlestop?
OC'd your CPU/GPU?
Disabled unnecessary Windows Services?
Closed all other programs?
Disabled your AV?

 

Definitely way too toasty there. I played a fair bit of starcraft 2 last night on my R2. CPU reached 73C maximum and GPU reached 61C maximum.

CPU is overclocked but GPU is not.

Starcraft II is notorious for frying unsufficiently cooled GFX cards since it didn't cap framerate on menu screens meaning it pushed the GPU to max all the time. I imagine cramped laptop innards would be more susceptible to this than a spacious desktop machine.

I don't know if they have implemented the 'fix' themselves already so I have edited the My Document\Starcraft II\variables.txt and added these two lines to cap the fps:

frameratecap=60
frameratecapglue=30

Also depending on where you have been using the laptop could be just airflow is really impaired by dust, pet animal hair etc.