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    Framerate drops

    Discussion in 'Alienware' started by Shiftehh, Aug 25, 2009.

  1. Shiftehh

    Shiftehh Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi guys, I have a 1.5 year old alienware M9750 laptop, and I'm still very happy with it. The last week or so I'm having sudden framerate drops during gaming.. The game runs smooth as butter and then suddenly it's staggering slow.. Then after 5 mins or so it goes smooth again, etc etc. Where is it coming from? I had driver crashes some time ago and thnx to your advice I got it solved.. But now this?
    Could it be a heat problem? Isn't that weird that I never experienced that before.. The vents look clean and the fans are running at full throttle!

    I have 2 GeForce M7950 GTX 512Mb cards btw.. Running windows vista 32
     
    Shiftehh, Aug 25, 2009
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  2. The_Moo™

    The_Moo™ Here we go again.....

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    sounds like overheating, download HWmonitor and post the temps
     
    The_Moo™, Aug 25, 2009
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  3. Shiftehh

    Shiftehh Notebook Enthusiast

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    The GPU's are both around 95 degrees celsius, the highest it's been is 102 degrees! The CPU's cores temps are the same.. 95 and also a 102 spike.. Sounds hot..
     
    Shiftehh, Aug 25, 2009
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  4. The_Moo™

    The_Moo™ Here we go again.....

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    yes that is your problem have you cleaned your heatsinks and blew out your fans ?


    also you may want to reapply thermal paste with like MX 2
     
    The_Moo™, Aug 25, 2009
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  5. Shiftehh

    Shiftehh Notebook Enthusiast

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    wow.. what?
    sorry i'm no computer tech, heat sink? thermal paste?
    lol, is there any dummy's guide to how? and where do i get thermal paste? the local computer shop?
    Thanks for the help guys!
     
    Shiftehh, Aug 25, 2009
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  6. The_Moo™

    The_Moo™ Here we go again.....

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    um on the bottom of your computer there is some screws and a @ the top is a panel unscrew that panel and the clean the dust out :)
     
    The_Moo™, Aug 25, 2009
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  7. The_Moo™

    The_Moo™ Here we go again.....

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    here is a picture

    that is with the panel off so with that you should know which screws to unscrew ....


    now get some canned air and clean ...


    remove the battery and ac adapter first !!!!


    [​IMG]
     
    The_Moo™, Aug 25, 2009
    #7
  8. sleey0

    sleey0 R.I.P. AW Side Topics

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    The amazing MOO, to the rescue!

    Good job, Moo :p
     
    sleey0, Aug 25, 2009
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  9. Shiftehh

    Shiftehh Notebook Enthusiast

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    thanks man! i'll name my first born son after you!
    guess he'll have a difficult childhood being named MOO.. but who cares!!
     
    Shiftehh, Aug 25, 2009
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  10. The_Moo™

    The_Moo™ Here we go again.....

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    lol poor kid :)

    make sure to post a pic how dirty it is
     
    The_Moo™, Aug 25, 2009
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  11. Shiftehh

    Shiftehh Notebook Enthusiast

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    ok! update..
    after cleaning the dust out of the fans and grills, i also cleaned the filters. Now the core temperatures stay at a steady 80 degrees, with a 90 degree spike.. are these temperatures acceptable?

    you just saved my 2 videocards MOO.. thank you! :D
     
    Shiftehh, Aug 25, 2009
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  12. The_Moo™

    The_Moo™ Here we go again.....

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    Now if you reapply the thermal paste they will drop ALO T more
     
    The_Moo™, Aug 25, 2009
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  13. Shiftehh

    Shiftehh Notebook Enthusiast

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    hmm.. this is weird.. i cant see all the posts in this thread, it stops and post 8, why's that?
     
    Shiftehh, Aug 25, 2009
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  14. The_Moo™

    The_Moo™ Here we go again.....

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    Maybe a bug reload the page ... If u need a guide to reapply thermal paste I can help.

    I would try to get you temps down another 10-15c hopefully the pAste should/would since it's been year at least with stock
     
    The_Moo™, Aug 25, 2009
    #14
  15. Shiftehh

    Shiftehh Notebook Enthusiast

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    yeah a dummy's guide to apply the paste would be great! your help is priceless MOO, i thank you for that!
     
    Shiftehh, Aug 25, 2009
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  16. The_Moo™

    The_Moo™ Here we go again.....

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    simaliar laptop guide

    http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=373496


    normal guide with how it works and whats best

    http://www.techpowerup.com/printarticle.php?id=134

    mx-2

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020

    Guide for the m9750

    http://4help.alienware.com/cgi-bin/...SZwX3NlYXJjaF90ZXh0PW05NzUw&p_li=&p_topview=1

    Removal

    *
    Turn off the computer.

    *
    Disconnect the AC adapter. Click Here to learn how to connect and disconnect the AC Adapter from an Alienware Area-51™ m9750 mobile desktop.

    *
    Flip the computer upside down. Alienware recommends placing a dry towel on the table to prevent damage to the computer's finish.

    *
    Remove the battery. Click Here to learn how to remove and install the battery on an Alienware Area-51™ m9750 mobile desktop.

    *
    Remove the service cover. Click Here for detailed instructions on how to perform this step. Image 1 shows how the computer will look once the service cover has been removed:



    Image 1

     [​IMG] [​IMG]

    *
    Locate the SLI cable connecting the video cards (installed by default on dual video card configurations only) and disconnect it. Hold the connector from the black plastic tab and pull it upwards (see Images 2, 3, 4 and 5)



    Image 2
    [​IMG]

    Image 3

    [​IMG]

    Image 4

    [​IMG]
    Image 5


    [​IMG]
    *
    Disconnect the fan cable by pulling it from the connector itself (white piece of plastic), do not pull it from the cable (see Images 6 and 7).

    [​IMG]

    Image 6

    [​IMG]

    Image 7



    *
    See Image 8. Remove the fan screw (marked in yellow), the two chipset screws (marked in orange), the four CPU screws (marked in Blue), and the four screws holding the heat sink to the video card (marked in red). Finally, carefully pull the heat sink upwards (See Images 9, 10 and 11).


    Please remember to make sure that the system is completely cooled down before removing or reseating the video card.

    [​IMG]

    Image 8


    [​IMG]
    Image 9

    [​IMG]

    Image 10


    [​IMG]
     
    The_Moo™, Aug 25, 2009
    #16