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    Any tips on reducing temps while playing

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by newtr0n, May 9, 2010.

  1. newtr0n

    newtr0n Notebook Guru

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    Is the GPU temp reduced if i play in 800x600 instead of 1200x800 ?
    Do you have any tip for reducing the temps while playing?

    Thanks
     
  2. gpig

    gpig Notebook Deity

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    Get a temperature monitor and see if your GPU is hitting 84C. If it's not there is no throttling to worry about. Graphics settings like resolution may or may not affect temperature, since the game may just run the card as intensely but instead of better picture, it's more frames per second.

    A setting like Vertical Sync (on) should make games that were giving you more than 60fps run slightly cooler, since it is actually limiting something.
     
  3. Dellienware

    Dellienware Workstations & Ultrabooks

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    get a cooler. they often help a lot
     
  4. Dellienware

    Dellienware Workstations & Ultrabooks

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    i mean why would you pay so much for all the goodies and have to limit that access just cause of some heating issue
     
  5. funky monk

    funky monk Notebook Deity

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    Undervolt and make sure you have a clean heatsink, changing the thermal compound is a possibility too (I did it).
     
  6. cbaty08

    cbaty08 Notebook Evangelist

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    Has anyone removed the screens over the intake holes????
     
  7. wangbrother

    wangbrother Notebook Enthusiast

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    do not change anything on the card
    only just try to replace the cooler with a good one
     
  8. m715

    m715 Notebook Consultant

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    Has anyone had an warranty issues after changing the thermal compound themselves?
     
  9. RacingGun

    RacingGun Notebook Consultant

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    As someone has already said, I don't think changing the resolution will have a big affect on your GPU temperatures. Are you experiencing throttling?

    In terms of running cool, what is your desk space like? Having the laptop of a flat, clean surface with no obstructions around the sides or back will definitely help. You'd be surprised how much airflow can be affected by small obstructions. We all can agree the "out vent" on the XPS16 is poorly designed, but you can help the situation by making sure there is nothing blocking cool air from coming into the laptop.

    If you aren't too concerned about performance, and just want your laptop to be cooler, you can try running it in a different power mode, like "balanced" or "Dell"... or even go into the advanced power settings and tweak the options in there to limit the speed of your CPU to help the system as a whole run cooler.
     
  10. gpig

    gpig Notebook Deity

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    Bill from Dell posted on these forums a while back and basically said as long as you don't break anything during the process of opening your laptop and changing the paste, it will not void your warranty.

    The reports vary greatly on how much changing the paste actually does for your laptop.
     
  11. subtle_rage

    subtle_rage Newbie

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    Use the bottle cap method! Get four bottle caps, place one underneath each the rubber feet of your laptop, so that its elevated a bit. Works perfectly for me.
     
  12. funky monk

    funky monk Notebook Deity

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    N00b speak much?

    Also, as for the warranty with changing the compound it can vary. I would be better to assume that it will be void if you do although I think that the dell one is something like what gpig said, provided you don't break anything they don't care. I'd be a bit more wary of companies like sony for example, from what I've experienced of them they seem to try to make it impossible not to break your warrenty so they don't have to pay up. However, even if it is technically void, it's not reall in the tech mans interest to tell tales on you, they get their money either way (and possibly a bonus for not being a tell tale).