Temperatures while gaming

Hi everyone,

I have checked the gaming forum and used the search facility but cannot find a definitive answer to my next question:

Got my AW M9750 back yesterday and reinstalled EVE Online, along with RivaTuner to check the termeratures.

Running EVE in fullscreen mode with Premium graphics gives out the following temperatures:

Vid Card 1 : 78 degrees celcius
Vid Card 2 : 95 degrees celcius

Is this considered high? Raising the laptop off the table (using the old pencil or book trick) reduces it by a couple of degrees.

Another thing I just though of is that since it has just come back from AW I doubt it has the updated vid drivers so I guess I could try those too..

Any idea much appreciated.

t1c

 

you should be fine with those temps. GPU's can withstand temps over 100 degrees celsius. kinda wierd though that one card runs so much hotter than the other. maybe you can even that out in the SLI settings, might even get you some more performance.

 

wow, the second videocard seems to be in the danger temp zone.

make sure to clean out the VENTS and fans with compressed air (and a flashlight to check) every two months.

 

why would there be almost 20c difference ?
i would be very suspicious on that, make sure your fans are running as they should.

does it run constant on these temps or just spikes up there ?

 

Sounds like a Fan issue or Heatsink not on the Grapics card right.

 

Hi,

Thanks for your replies.

The laptop only came back from AW yesterday so the fans are all clean etc (it went in to be repaired after it went pop - I didnt get a report so I dont know what caused it).

The temperatures remain about that temperature while I am playing EVE. When the application is minimized or I stop playing the temperatures BOTH drop down to 65 degrees c.

I am confused - is it an acceptible temperature or is it dangerious?

Cheers,

t1c

 

78 is ok but 95 is way too hot.
i would send it back ask them to take care of it.

 

Hmm,

That is rather annoying as it has only just come back from being repaired!

t1c

 

rather annoying is quite the understatement.
some phone shouting is due.

 

LOL just got off the phone from technical support.

The guy seems to think it is an acceptible temperature as long as it does not cause the laptop/game to freeze etc.

He did however suggest to check to make sure nothing had come loose during transit, especially as one temperature differed so much from the other, which I guess is plausable as it was not brilliantly packaged.

Oh he also said that ntune etc were not accurate so could be mis-reporting the temperature!

I am begining to regret buying this laptop now I am debating asking for a refund!

t1c

 

I dont think that tech is right. I had a laptop run at 110C from Alienware. I had many dumb excuses. I told All of them they where wrong.. So I started to take pictures and useins paint program and send them the Pictures faults.

DO NOT LET THIS COMPANY FOOL YOU.

My frist laptop ran at 110c it replaced 3 mother boards. 5 or 6 heatsinks One gpu and 3 Wlan cards.

Where was the fault?

 

Well sadly my confience in AW has dropped significantly, I dont expec to pay the amount paid for such an item for it to go wrong so soon after it being purchased.

Granted it is the top end gaming system, but I expect it to be able to actually run games without overheating etc.

I will do some more testing this evening and over the weekend, if it remains in the high 90's then it is going back again for good

t1c

 

i think you should call roswell(assuming you live in the u.s). if the video card is over heating and that is your only problem you wont have to send it in. you just have to wait until they send you a new video card.

 

Exiled,

I live in the UK, shame since it sounds like your tech guys are slightly more clued up

t1c

 

yea roswell is the best customer service AW has to offer. the UK can use the service but you will have to pay the phone charges so the longer you are on the phone the more it will cost. In the U.S the call is free.

 

never played eve online but afak mmorpg arnt that gpu intensive.
how about try running something more notorious ?
what nvidia drivers u use?

 

Royk50,

It only came back from AW yesterday so when I tested it last night it was was with their default driver, when I get home tonight I need to make sure everything is seated correctly and update the driver to the recommended one.

Sadly when I played EVE before it went wrong I never bothered to look at the temperatures so sadly I have no comparision, I have tried to see if anyone else plays it and what temps they get, but to no avail.

Cheers,

t1c

 

hope all goes well.
i always run cpuid hwmonitor in the background as to check what happened while i was gaming

 

Well I installed nTune and RivaTuner - both reported the same information - as you would expect.

I really do hope it is something really obvious and simple

t1c

 

The temps are fine. SLI doesn't equally utilize both gpu's as one is set as primary and the other secondary. The primary gpu does most of the work and the temps will be higher. This is more noticeable in certain games where the load discrepancy is greater. In others the temps might be closer to equal. You can see the same phenomenon in this review where the writers are equally unaware of this fact. Just relax, it seems to be working as designed. My 8800mgtx got up to 101C in Crysis before I undervolted it and it now maxes out at 96C. There's nothing wrong with your computer, it just runs hot.

If the temps continue to bother you, follow my undervolting guide to lower the temps ~5C.

 

Groove75,

Your response is very much apprecaited, I have already read a number of threads that you have made comment about cooling devices and undervolting.

Thank you. It is good to get some reasurances.

t1c

 

No problem, let us know if you have any more concerns.

Also, double check to make sure it's utilizing both gpu's. I'm assuming you've turned on the SLI load bar and visualized it within game and made sure multi-gpu is supported and selected within the driver settings. Also, you could force SFR vs AFR to see if that also made a difference.

 

Groove75,

Again, many thanks, can you confirm how to do the following please:

Many thanks,

t1c

 

that's what i was thinking, that maybe the SLI is set up in some wierd way so the GPU's aren't stressed the same.

 

These are all settings in the nvidia control panel under "Manage 3d settings". Multi-gpu settings should be available under the "global settings" tab. I don't have SLI anymore, so I can't remember the exact name of the setting but it should be obvious. Then select the "program settings" tab. Select "eve online" from the drop down list entitled "Select a program to customize." AFR vs SFR should be under "sli performance mode".

Do you get the same temp discrepancy within 3dmark06?

 

Hi,

Just a quick update:

With the standard drivers installed by AW the laptop jumps to 95+ degrees C
With the latest drivers it is 75 degrees C
With the laptop raised off the desk slightly it drops to 71-72 degrees C

So looks like all is well - touch wood!

Thank you everyone for your help

t1c

 

game on

 

gratz!
but i am needing to ask you this....(understanding from me that you expect an item to run as planned or expected considering the cost value.)

why did you jump so fast as to begin a dislike towards the product and/or services?
seems people nowadays jump before they leap and therefore cloud themselves in misery and do nothing to help the situation....

i am just curious is all....nothing personal, but i have seen this time and time again.

 

Ryujin,

It is a fair question, and the answer is simple - information.

The complete lack of response from AW, the lack of fault log/report. When it comes to support the critical key is information, keeping your clients informed of any progress with their issue, even if there is no new developments.

Drop the point the laptop was picked up I heard nothing from AW, if it was not for AW_James I would not have had a clue what was going on.

I sent emails, updated the online support process and got no answers.

All it would have taken was to let me know what the problem was, that it had been fixed and I would have been happy. Simply not knowing what was going on and then for it to arrive back with me and to instantly have the temps jump up to over 95 degrees C just frustrated me.

I just expected more from AW and perhaps that is were my problem was, by setting my expectations to high - albeit the original support engineer I talked to was by far and away one of the best support person's I have spoken too.

For the time being I am happy with the laptop, however my confidence in it has been shaken....lets just hope it does not go wrong again.

And perhaps I just used the forum as a way of venting my frustration...

t1c