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    7970m on m15x, pretty hot and automatic shutdown!

    Discussion in 'Alienware M15x' started by twin snakes, Oct 28, 2012.

  1. twin snakes

    twin snakes Notebook Consultant

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    i have installed 7970m on my m15x system following slv7's guide, including backplate grinding and heatpipe modding. So far everything went ok, 3dmark score ok, game playing ok.
    But when i play some heavy game like sleeping dogs, medal of honor 2012 and stress test using furmark, the system automatic shutdown when gpu's temp goes beyond 87 degrees!
    have tried undervolt to 0.95 but nothing change, still shutdown when temp reach 86-87 degrees!
    please give me an advise guy!
     
  2. LannBot

    LannBot Notebook Consultant

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    How did you apply your paste? Are you sure you are free from bubbles etc? Try reseating/repasting your 7970M. Hopefully that'll solve your overheat issues.
     
  3. donkeynuts

    donkeynuts Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi twin snakes. Sorry to hear your gaming is tuned down due to high temps. I have ordered a 7970M and am awaiting delivery to do my own testing but I can share my experience of GPU cooling in the M15x. A few months back I upgraded my GPU to a GTX670M, and it is a roaster of a GPU. I installed the card with thermal paste I had from years ago rated at 1.3W/mK, it stated for PC use. When playing modern titles at full settings, GPU max load, I noticed the temperature hitting 90C via Hwinfo. I immediately stopped and had a rethink.

    I went to my local Maplin store and bought the best paste they had in stock, rated at 3.8W/mK. Paste applied and back gaming I peaked at 82C. Quite an improvement, I could live with that. Prior to all this I contacted Nvidia live online chat support and was informed that 85C is the danger point for the 670M. 105C to quote them, is when you may see smoke coming from your laptop….!

    I did some research and decided to buy Artic Silver 5 rated at 7.5W/mk. I also decided to change out the GPU VRAM thermal pads to 7.5W/mK rated pads. (the best I could source, Ebay for both) With Artic Silver 5 and new pads replaced I can now game for hours playing the same titles as before and my GPU sits at 74C. That is a huge improvement. I had no idea the thermal paste could make such a difference but there you go. I also checked that my air vents and fans were free from dust and dirt.

    Hope this helps.
     
  4. Haramdar

    Haramdar Notebook Enthusiast

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    http://www.frozencpu.com/products/7...mond_7_Carat_Thermal_Compound_-_15_Grams.html

    That's the best paste, I use and recommend it. Also, if you purchased a proper back plate, such as the one that fits the 6990m, then there was no grinding necessary. If not I suggest checking eBay for a proper backplate. Also make sure the proper screws come with it as the ones from your current plate will be too short and not hold the plate down well enough. With my 7970m I never....never... Get over 73C. If you have any other questions feel free to pm me.
     
  5. donkeynuts

    donkeynuts Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi Haramdar. You sound well pleased with your 7970M, and at 73C with custom cooling, that is impressive. I feel more confident that I made the right decision to buy one. To give me a helping start do you mind sharing at what voltage are you running the core? If you have over clocked, what is a realistic and stable everyday gaming over clock the card will operate at? I have been reading the posts on this site and Tech Inferno and some people have really pushed the OC on this card, but it’s probably just for benchmarking. To me some of the OCs seem too extreme for stable gaming in the M15x. From memory some of the more extreme OCs have been on the Alienware M17x machines who seem to handle the 100W rated GPU cards better, perhaps I am being pessimistic. (Shame on me) Anyways, thanks for posting your temps. Can I just ask are you playing games with Vsync enabled?
     
  6. Haramdar

    Haramdar Notebook Enthusiast

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    I'll have to get back to you when I get home this evening but I think it's running at 1.08v ( could be completely wrong! ) I don't OC my stuff honestly, between the 920xm and the 7970m I haven't had any reason to OC. I will say that I do have a 240W Power supply just in case as well as 16gb of ram. I will get back on the specifics and upload a shot of GPU-Z. Oh also, I'm running Windows 8 Pro ( love it! )
     
  7. donkeynuts

    donkeynuts Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thanks Haramdar, that is really good of you to take the time to do that. I appreciate it.
     
  8. twin snakes

    twin snakes Notebook Consultant

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    thanks for reply
    the backplate i use is the backplate that come with the 7970m itself on m17x r4, so the screw holes is way to high for the m15x's heatsink screw to match, i have to grind it much lower in order for the core to contact with the heatsink, so far everything is ok when idle is around 45-50, playing mw3 around 70-75, but when stressing using furmark the system automatic shutdown when temp slowly reach beyond 86-87*.
    Will try to use another thermal paste, i have a tube of Prolimatech PK3, hope it help!
     
  9. twin snakes

    twin snakes Notebook Consultant

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    still hopeless
    things i have tried:
    - Grinding the backplate's holes a bit to make the core contact with the heatsink better
    - Use Coolaboratory's Liquid Ultra for the core and the Laird's thermal pad for the memory, VRM...
    Stress with furmark still shutdown when temp reach 86*
    is there anything i still can do?
     
  10. donkeynuts

    donkeynuts Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi Twin Snakes. I notice you posted on Tech Inferno. I agree with SVL7 that Furmark is an extreme benchmarking tool. Gaming will peak the GPU but won't constantly hold it at peak load like Furmark will.

    To be honest I'm trying to offer advice without the experience of testing a 7970, still waiting on delivery.

    Do you monitor the GPU fan speed? It should run at 4500 rpm.

    Automatic shutdown at 87+C is annoying but on the safe side it's stopping your GPU from thermal damage.

    I've read of some gamers using fan pads to help increase air flow. Just out of interest are you gaming on an ultra high definition display with a 120Hz refresh rate? You may well be pushing this card harder than anyone else currently is.

    What CPU have you and are you using a 180 or 240 watt power supply?
     
  11. twin snakes

    twin snakes Notebook Consultant

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    No i just use Furmark as an example, games like Sleeping Dogs or MoH Warfighter still shutdown midgame!

    GPU fan speed is around 4500rpm, i even tried set max speed (~4900rpm) via hwinfo64 but it's no use.

    no, i use an external display with fullhd-res and 60hz refresh rate (same as internal display right?) so it won't be a problem

    i have an 720qm with an 150w psu that come with the system, even 240w one of m17x won't help!
     
  12. donkeynuts

    donkeynuts Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi Twin Snakes. I am running a 720QM myself, and from what I've read others are running extreme CPUs on stock power supplies with the 7970.

    The internal display is 60Hz. I game with vertical sync On and triple buffering enabled to eliminate screen tearing. This caps my GPU at a maximum of 60 frames per second. If the GPU is capable of more than 60 fps for a game then vertical sync effectively reduces / caps the load on the GPU. I see free running frame rates that are higher than your displays refresh rate as a waste. Sorry if you know all this already but vertical sync could reduce the load on your GPU without affecting the gaming experience.

    Next thing I would check is the version of driver you are running. Drivers can make a significant difference in how a card performs.

    When I get up and running with the 7970 I will post my temperatures here so you can see. I should have it by the weekend.

    One last thought. Could the 720QM be placing more in gaming dependency onto the GPU than a more powerful CPU would? Load produces heat, and it's heat issues we are discussing here.
     
  13. dez8509

    dez8509 Newbie

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    hi guys im new to the site but dint want to repost some of the same problems as other ppl have had right so i dissided to upgrade my m15x gpu to a 7970m but i keeped my cpu to 17 720 qm well the problem is as soon as i run a bench mark test or even a windows experience test it runs in to the 85c range and shuts down any tricks on how to keep this card cool if so could u walk me thought the steps please if possible thanks in advance :D
     
  14. ozanyeah12

    ozanyeah12 Newbie

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    i7 740qm a09 bios 8gb 1066mhz ram 4x2
    my 7970m 425-600 %100 load max 80 degrees / but 850-1200 %100 load max 85 + and shotdown :(
    my old card gtx 460m
    thermal paste was tested
    I tried hwinfo64
    What was left :(