Questionable performance - Heat?

My computer, which I have owned for almost a year now, begins to progressively become worse and worse. When I bought it, it was marketed as a future proof gaming laptop that could last me.

In the beginning things where good. COD4, and Crysis, ran okay. But as time went on, games started being more demanding. Age of Conan was the first example, of my(at that time) 3 month old computer, could not really run it, even at lowest settings. Then reports started coming from everywhere, that the 8600m GT was part of a lineup of mobile GPUs that where flawed. Nothing could be done.


GTA4 has recently been the final knot in the coffin. The game is virtually on playable on my system. Core 2 Duo Penryn 2.6 Ghz T9500, 4 Gig DDR2, 8600m GT 512 DDR2, Vista Home 64 Bit.

I didn't understand why it looked so much worse than on Xbox 360. Xbox 360 has like a Geforce 7 series graphics card. But to my understanding, it seems that Rockstar in their infinitite wisdom ported the game to take advantage of Quad-Core processors, since XBox 360 has 3 cores. My Core 2 Duo, only has two, but only one thread(whatever the hell that is).

I am now getting random crashes after heavy use. The system seems to get poorer after each defragmentation, reformatting, and optimization I throw at it.


I just downloaded a program called Speedfan. It measures the temps on my system. Here is what it has been at for the last hour. Idle. No programs running:

GPU: 72-75 degrees
Harddrive: 40-50 Degrees
Core 1 processor: 60-70
core 2 processor: 60-70
cpu load: 0%-2%


Are these temperatures high?

I think I might have ruined my computer. I recall installing rivatuner a while ago, and changed the fan speeds to 100% all the time. I am afraid that I might have broken them, and thus the system doesn't cool probably, which would explain crashes and slowdown in games, which is getting worse and worse.

I seem to have already worn out the system... I don't know what to do.

 

Run HWmonitor while gaming to record the maximum temp your card reaches.

Also run gpu-z in the background to see if your card is downclocking.

 

all your components are running too hot for idle use IMO. solutions:

1) for GPU: update to a new driver. i suggest 179.28 from Nvidia. with dynamic downclocking, your GPU shouldn't go past 40-50°C on idle/light use.

2) your HDD isn't running far too hot, just close to the safe maximum (55°C). if you're worried, invest in a good external cooler (Zalman NC2000, NZXT Cryo LX, Enermax Aeolus). this will lower the other temps as well.

3) for CPU: your temps are very high for idle use. i would suggest using a program like Thermofan to measure how fast your fans are running, since your CPU fan might really be broken. as before, a good external cooler can work wonders for temps.

4) download HWMonitor. won't help with the heating problem, but it'll be good to double-check the figures Speedfan is giving you.

 

I dont think the temperature is too high but its more than normal. Different computer have different temperature. My laptop normally runs at:

GPU: 70-75 degrees
Harddrive: 40-45 Degrees
Core 1 processor: 50-60
core 2 processor: 50-60
My dad computer cpu at idle is always 32 degrees. It depends in computer configuration. i think u better check your cooling system.
Thanks

 

While playing price of persia, and then exitting immediately to check temps:


GPU: 95
processor core 1: 82
processor core 2: 82



thanks for your advice. I'll try it and get back to you.


my current driver is the latest one, 81.84 i think it is?

 

both those temps are high. GPU temp is more concerning IMO. my recommendation still is to invest in a good notebook cooler, it'll lower all your system's temps.

here's my review of the Zalman NC2000:
http://www.hookedgamers.com/articles/special/44/review_-_zalman_nc2000_notebook_cooler

as you can read in the summary at the end of the article, temps went down by as much as 20% when using the cooler.

 

you said its slowly getting worse and worse. the CPUs are a little hot at idle. 2 symptoms of dust in the computer. have you tried to blow out your fans with a can of air? i do it about once a month and alot of dust comes out.

worst case - if you have alot of dust in your fans, it could ruin them. as long as they are spinning though, they should still be working.

 

Buddy this looks little bit more concerning. Mine temperature doesn't rise so fast to this while playing games too. One thing that gpu can handle more temperature than cpu. Still you need to check it out as others said to check for dust

 

the funny thing is that this computer(zepto) was very noisy in the beginning when gaming. first time i played crysis the fans where so loud it sounded like a jet engine. I havent heard that for months.


how do I blow it out with a can of air? what does that mean?

a while ago I tried using a vacum cleaner but heard it was bad for the system!!!

 

81.84?

i hope you meant 181.84.

still, its time to reinstall windows and install 179.28 from nvidia.com

you might find that helps with your temps a bit. if you data is all fragmented and your hard drive has to work to find everything all the time, its going to be on, and its going to generate more heat. plus the driver itself might do some good. try that. try cleaning your computer also.

 

I'm surprised nobody has yet said that GTA4 PC has extreme performances problems. The port is badly done and you can't do anything about it.

On a side note, the Xbox 360's GPU is based on the Radeon X1950 series but with Unified Shaders rather than Pixel & Vertex shaders. Technically speaking, it's stronger than a 8600M GT but since the consoles need the run their games at a solid 60FPS @1280x720 (native 720p for most games), you see better graphics on a mid-range GF8 based computer.

It's true those temps are too high for the card's good.
However, they are perfectly average for a 8600M GT

 

Those temps are way to high, what make\model laptop do you have and have you upgraded it or done anything to void the warranty?

 

Before you go out and spend money on a cooler (which would be a good investment btw), clean out your laptop vents with a compressed air in a can.

You can buy it at virtually any computer store for a cheap price.
Make sure you turn off the computer before using the air, and also push out some air from the can before using it on the laptop's air vents (in order to release any remainder of liquids).

You can also try vacuuming your laptop air vents, and also open up the lower part of the laptop casing and just clean out the fans yourself with light brush.

Your higher temperatures are probably consistent with the 8600m GT... but all the same, you have been running the laptop for over a year now without cleaning it's air vents, and that my friend is important.

 

i idled at 52 on my dell vostro 1700 with 8600m gt ddr2

 

It's a 17 inches, and Dell's laptop with the 8600M GT are like, the ones running cool.

 

id also recommend opening it up and cleaning out the fan. i just did that with my computer and the temps dropped 10 degrees from where u are at now.

 

I can't open it up. dammit. if I open I break warranty.


I went into rivatuner and speefan and changed the fan speed to 100% all the time.

I heard it will reduce the fan's life, but will I be okay?

the temps on the CPU dropped 5-20 degrees, and the GPU is also 5-10 degrees less hot in idle. the system does not craash now while doing benchmark or intensive games.

I get like 3500 in 3dmark 06. Very little lol.


I just need this laptop to last me 6 more months at least.. it's a lost cause. I can't sell it, or return it:/ been a bad experience, but I just need it to hold out a bit longer, before I can replace.