Temperature differences between 8700 GT and 8800 GTX cards

Hi everyone,

Not sure if this thread has been around before. I'm sure it has been, so forgive me for repeating anyone. I just wanted to know what the maximum recorded temperatures of these cards ran to.

I'm debating which card to choose out of the two really. I like gaming... not too fussed about playing Crysis (altough I wouldn't say no)... but I'd certainly like to play Bioshock, and play my Orange Box once again. I've played my Orange Box on a ROCK laptop with a X9000 processor and a 8800 GTX inside. ROCK have had no major overheating issues that I know of, and their Clevo chassis are pretty much rock solid (no pun intended).

I'm just concerned by all the talk of cards overheating in the M15x. The 8800 GTX is supposed to be double the performance of the 8700 GT, so it would be nice to use that card once again. (Not that I am a World of Warcraft head much, but the 8800 GTX made WoW look so beautiful when I set everything to high). I just want great performance, but without any concern of my laptop melting itself by any hinges.

 

The 8800M GTX gets up in the high 85s, whereas the 8700M GT would probably not get over 75-80C, worst case scenario.

 

The 8800m GTX hits 95 degrees Celsius when playing COD4 and Crysis; in source games however, temperatures hardly go above 87 degree in Team Fortress 2 and Portal, and never above 83 in Counter Strike Source.

For the 8700 GT, temperatures hit 84 degree (max) in Crysis on the m1730; I don't know what will the temperatures be on the m15x.

 

I've never broken 90C on my m15x while playing COD4 or Crysis. On idle I get temps of around 66-68C.

You need to get some air circulating around the lappy to help the cooling.

I have a fan oscillating in my room. Ambient temps right now are about 71F (22C).

 

would a laptop cooler like zalman help keep the temp down? I may get one for college if its going to help extend the life of my laptop.

 

Yep. The primary method of cooling the laptop's components is using fans - airflow to dissipate the heat. Using a cooler to aid this process by forcing cool air up into the laptop's intake grilles can only help. It can only help so much - it won't cure an overheating problem. But if your GPU isn't overheating, a cooler will help with general heat-maintanence.

 

As Alienware-Steve said a long time ago, the M15x should be used on a flat surface without the need for a laptop cooler. This were an AW representative own words.

People are still refusing to accept, but most of the GPUs out there are working at around 95C-100C on games like crysis. But well... if people refuse to see the truth, who am I to say anything?

Oh... and sorry for the off topic.

 

just go with the 8700gt to be safe...games like crysis only can be played on medium all other games COD4...etc your playing on high, but on the same note, if you're playing, you would playing for hours with out worry of overheating issues....my vote 8700GT

 

Yea, but what's the point of having the fastest 15 incher around if you'll cripple it with a slower card?
I think AW should redesign the thing or add bigger fans.

 

you may have a slower card but that only really matters for gaming the rest of it will still be damn fast! I played it safe with teh 8700 (and needed to save the $$$)

 

i was using the zalman nc1000 and it made no difference to the temps.

 

well I guess I"ll post my temps. I average high 80s when playing COD4, but I did have downclocking on my card before I updated to the new bios. So on average after a while of gaming my card will be between 80c-91c

 

My rooms temperature is between 60-70F since my AC is always on. The idle temperature of my m15x is around 66 degree C, but when it happens that my AC is not on (room temperature becomes around 80 degree F) then, the idle temperature is 80 degree C...yes, I am serious.

 

thats a pretty high idle temperature. during the spring when the temperatures were alot cooler i had 68 max on idle. now during the summer i get 73 or 74 on idle. 80 is a bit high for idle temperatures.

 

80C for idle is NOT HEALTHY. I'd call AW right away,or get to cleaning the fans ..
Also,get a notebook cooler and raise the bac of the laptop.
Wuosh, 80C idle, my MAX temp is 65C ...

 

Here's a tip that I hope helps...

leave it in stealth mode if you are leaving your m15x on idle. The GPU will be downclocked and the CPU as well greatly cooling the system. Temps of my GPU drop to 54C-58C on idle. CPU about 24C on idle.

 

I've read a lot about the m15x and its heating problems but i was wondering if a m15x with the 8600 or 8700 would have these heating issues also? i know i could get another laptop with the 8600 or 8700 for much cheaper but i was just wondering if anyone had the m15x without the 8800 and had heating issues

 

As far as I know, not since the new BIOS (and I believe that Tacomenace was the only one with an 8700 that reported it). Except on the CPU. The extreme CPU's will downclock irregardless.

 

There were reported overheating issues even with the 8700 as well. If you don't plan on getting the 8800, i would advise you to stear clear from the m15x. One of it's main attractions is that it fits the 8800 in a 15.4" chassis. There are plenty of other laptops that can handle weaker GPUs at that size, or plenty of larger laptops that can hold the 8800. In fact, Sager is on the verge of releasing a 15.4" system that has the 8800. I'm not bashing AW here, but the m15x is a risky investment the way things stand now. More people are having problems with it than any other system that comes to mind. If you don't want the 8800, I would strongly advise you think about another machine.

 

if you do plan on the 8600 i would recommend the m1530 since the m15x will be too heavy and big with the 8600. the m1530 would be a better choice since its so much lighter.

 

i was thinking about the M1530 but i kinda wanted the 8800 or 8700, im leaning towards the 8700 because of the heat problems. Do you know any other 15.4inch laptops that are already out that have the 8700?

 

Just to confirm something: THERE IS NO DOWNCLOCKING OF THE 8800M GTX ANYMORE. The x30 bios fixed this (however x32RC1 is recommended). Does it get hot? Yes, of course it does, BUT IT DOES NOT DOWNCLOCK.

Getting sick and tired of people saying that, honestly.

 

i never said anything about downclocking im just worried about the life of the laptop itself because of the high temps

 

By the time it dies (not due to fault, which is entirely possible) you will have replaced it. My Inspiron 1000 is chugging along, but it's battery doesn't work anymore (can't even turn on if plugged into the AC with the battery in, works with just AC). That thing ran freaking hot, it was rediculous.

 

Bios X30 does not fix the downclock at all. X32RC1 does, X30 not at all.

 

x30 did for me, but I'm running x32rc1 anyway.

 

x30 worked for me with games like assassins creed. Crysis, Stalker, Bioshock... they all downclocked. But anyway... that's not the point. X30 didn't fixed anything and that's why they released X32RC1.

Back to topic please...

 

So, stealth mode is great indeed and lowers the temperatures of both GPU and CPU. One day though, I left it in Stealth mode and when I came back the GPU fan forgot to switch on and the GPU was at 107C. How cool?

More... I bought the M15x to have peace of mind. If I have to switch it to integrated and put it in stealth at all times... What's the point on having bought the computer I did?

 

I have an 8700M GT. pre-x32 (BIOS) the card would downclock around 85 degrees C. thus, I don't think I've seen it above that limit.

some of the 8800 owners have seen 100+ degree temps... that was before the updates. now we're all in a safer 80ish rage.

 

i have the 8700M GT. pre x32 bios, my card downclocked. now, not so much. thanks AW for the new bios.

heat? not a big deal. i wouldn't recommend running this thing on you lap regardless of the GPU you choose. the intake fans on the bottom need to be uncovered.

if you don't mind that, then go for it. the lighting and FX are head turners, and gives you more to talk about than just specs.

 

This has never happened to me, milcs. And it's NOT supposed to happen. You aren't kidding right? The fan always comes on at about 63C and it never gets any warmer than that. I used nvidia monitor and logged the temps myself.
The GPU is downclocked to around 275 and 300 in stealth mode so it can't get that high. Your fans should be working. I can't believe this.

 

you say that i should not run my laptop on my lap because of the fans being covered, does that mean i cannot run it on my desk without some sort of a stand or cooling pad to elevate it?

 

I'm not fabricating stories obviously. And I'm sure I'm as well informed regarding the M15x as it comes.

But, to clear away suggestions of fabrication, here it goes:



And here are the temps at which my GPU operates during gameplay:



These pictures have been posted before, but obviously people do not want to be informed. I guess not wanting to know it's a good way of keeping yourself happy.

 

The laptop has some feet that maintain it elevated to allow air to be drawn in the computer (from underneat).

 

No offense milcs, it's not that I didn't want to believe you. But, we have to be aware since there are some here who don't even own an m15x and are making up stories to bash AW.

Btw, in the first pic above, it does show that fans are spinning as they should to cool the laptop. However you are right the temps are higher than mines. Is this in idle or right after gaming? And what are the temps in your environment where the m15x sits? There are a lot of factors that play in the cooling. Your temps while gaming are normal though. Infact they are cooler than mines.

 

The pic above is this one incident I had with Stealth mode. I left it in Stealth mode (as you can see from the Clock speeds) and the fan only started spinning when the GPU reached 107C. That's why you see thermofan's info on the spinning fans at that point. I marked the 105C point and then the temps come down.

While gaming I reach 100C. I live in London and the temp hasn't been above 24C. So it's quite cool. But I doubt someone has temps abouve mine while playing (notice I marked temps from 96 to 100C).

Anyway... TS phoned me the other day to tell me that the GPU thermal profile was messed up and they would put a new one in.

It would be good for all new users to monitor temps to avoid nasty complications in the future.

 

Temps here are in the 22C since I have the Air Conditioner running in my room.

I agree with that. Definitely monitor your temps to make sure the GPU and CPU are running at proper speeds. My previous m5550 was a catastrophe when it came to overheating.

 

Thanks for the input everyone. From what I've read here, it looks like I would still be fine if I were to choose the 8800 GTX, because a lot of you are saying that the latest BIOS release has fixed overheating issues. Do yo get that latest BIOS patch from the AW website? Or do you have to e-mail them for it?

 

You get them from the website, but I would go through it with them, just to make sure they won't come back to you in matters of voiding warranty. It's really dead simple, but let them guide you through.

Regarding the Bios, please be aware that it wasn't meant to fix any overheating problem. It was designed to deal with the GPU downclocking that people were experiencing. In my case, the new bios actually increased the temperatures at which all laptop would operate (both CPU and GPU). Downclocking and Overheating are completely different issues and AW didn't try to work out any overheating problem (I think they don't even acknowledge it as it doesn't seem to be as a common feature as the GPU downclocking was).

 

if the temps are going to "kill" a Gpu it will be sooner rather than later... i think alienware is quite content with the temps its running at... i will be interested to see what temps the Clevo15's 8800m GTX runs at.. its insides look ALOT more cramped than the m15x however it does have a considerable bigger Heat sink fan combo set up... its ventialation looks less open. My guess is if the 8800m GTX runs but the 9800m GTX does not (which is what a overclocked 8800m GTX with 1gig of ram?... i asume?) the 8800m is prob pushing 90 or so max in that soon to be released laptop also using the above guess work.

I know your worried about your m15x dieing after your warranty runs out.... my advice game heavy on it for the next year and enjoy it.. keep a ear to make sure no fans die and you should be ok imo...

in short if your overheating is not effecting performance or creating gfx glitches u should really just enjoy what you have and push it to the limit with some hardcore gaming! i don't think silicon ages with heat quite how you fear.

 

as long as temps don't exceed 90C-95C, I think you're safe.