GTA IV finally killed my 8800gtx

After couple of weeks playing GTA IV (not non-stop ) on my m15x the game finally killed my 8800gtx.
It constantly ran with about 89 - 90°C but sometimes I got temperatures of about 95° (only for a few seconds). Today - while playing GTA - the display turned black and after a reboot there was no way to activate the 8800gtx. So now I'm running on internal.I already talked with the support and will get a new one after I've send my dead in.
I expected that to happen at these temperatures but I fail to see to buy a laptop cooler to be able to play current games without burning my graphic card. I already raised the back of the m15x for a more effective air-flow but that was apparently not enough.
At least I can keep the m15x and just send the graphic card to alienware. Maybe better for my exams in 3 weeks that I'm not able to play games for a while.
I assume that I get one-year-guarantee for the new 8800gtx too?

 

One little question:
Are your vents clean?
(for good cooling)

 

Yes, I recently cleaned them but there was not too much dust and the temperature didn't decrease after that...

 

Schnaker,

Regarding to your question about the warranty, the new video card will be covered under the warranty your system currently has. Feel free to send me a PM if you have other concerns.

Thank you.

 

Alienware send me a new card but without thermal paste.
Even though they said that I must not remove the paste from the heatsink there is only a bit left on it, most of it sticked to the card.
I don't think I should insert the card without new thermal paste?

 

definitely not...you should clean the thermal surfaces on the heatsink and the gpu and re-apply thermal paste...these gpu's run hot...Arctic Silver 5 seems to be pretty much the standard...

 

You should invest $14 and buy 2 extra 12cm coolers and place them near your video card

you can also invest $40 and have a ventilator controller, so you can make the ventilators run faster/slower

I have my GTX 260 Core 216 SLI at 54C iddle

I have 2 ventilators in the middle of the cards
and 2 120mm ventilators right on the side of the cards

it's called

CHEAP SLI COOLING

but it definitively works

 

pics or it never happened....

 

I think he might be talking about a desktop....

funny, 'cause he's on NOTEBOOK Review dotCOM...

 

I think so too! there is definetely no more space for at least one extra cooler ^^
Strange the support never said anything about thermal paste... If I were a absolute layman I would just insert the card again and after 10 mins of playing I would need a new one again and I'm sure they would say that it was my fault and I have to pay the new card...maybe they just expect that a noob not own a m15x... who knows
Even though thermal paste isn't expensive... I'm on warranty ... lets see what the support says...

 

Today I tried to insert the new 8800M GTX (hadn't time before, cause of exams and thought therefore it would be a good idea to wait)....
Then I saw that the square mounting bracket I send in with the graphics card is missing - the support only said I should keep the heatsink, but they did not say anything about the square mounting bracket under the card so I just send it in, too.
And now they are trying to find my old card, because they don't have these square mounting brackets seperately, but they don't think they have it cause its a month ago I send it in! but at least I can run my 2200€ notebook with the onboard card and play solitaire or minesweeper
Mh

 

I don't blame you for complaining. But in most other gaming laptops, if youre graphics card died at all, you wouldn't be able to boot up, because not all of them have an intergrated chip!

 

tis a shame you broke your card on a game that doesn't work well for PC's

 

Tis why you should only play gta4 on 360 =)

 

'tis a disgrace that the game is so poorly optimised for PC.