Treating gaming notebooks like turbo-charged performance cars?

This HP DV7 my first 'gaming' notebook and I just had a thought - it's probably not a good idea to turn it off right after a gaming session. Are notebooks with higher-end discrete graphics kind of like high performance turbo-charged cars where it's a good idea to let the engine idle for a minute or two (while the fans cool it off) before turning them off completely? I think some cars actually stay on for a bit automatically to ensure that engine's been properly cooled off before totally shutting down. Should I allow my CPU and GPU to cool to an adequate temperature before shutting off my system? What do you guys do?

 

I personally don't see the need. After all your components assuming that they are running at safe temperatures were made to be as hot as they get while gaming. When you turn your notebook off your components won't get hotter since they will no longer be generating heat. So I say, shut it off when you want to, it won't make a difference either way.

 

Well, while gaming your temps can go up to the 80s-100s depending on the hardware and cooling system.

If you leave it running after a game the cooling system/ fans actively cool the components
Turning it off immediately, means it will cool down much more slowly, since cooling is passive

It will cool down eventually both ways eventually, but I would say leave it on to cool down faster.
Temps for me return to normal within 5 minutes most of the time.

Hope this helps

 

The main difference here is that laptops do not use internal combustion engines.

 

I usually browse the web for a while after gaming and turn it off after the fan stops spinning or is spinning at the lowest speed. On the other hand, I do not leave my American muscle idling after I drive it because I don't want it to guzzle any more gas than the ridiculous amount it burns when I feather the pedal.

I do, however, change the oil every 3000 miles. Yes, three thousand miles. On a laptop equivalent, you should use a can of compressed air to blow out all the dust in GPU fan once every 30 hours (of gaming).

 

Combustion engines and solid-state electronics are two very different cups of tea. There is no need to allow your laptop to "cool down" before turning it off as long as your temps are in the safe operating range still.

 

hehe. I was just thinking that comparing my discrete GPU to some integrated solution was similar to comparing an NA engine to something that was turbocharged with high performance in mind.

 

FYI turbocharged engines aren't that much hotter than naturally aspirated engines. Remember the package that comes with turbos (FMIC, SMIC, etc) that helps to cool the engine. And performance laptops usually have those intercooler equivalents (bigger/faster fans, thermal compounds, liquid cooling, notebook coolers, better ventilation system, etc).

 

I always thought it was the turbo itself that heats up a lot more than the actual engine.

 

If your laptop is say 80c under full load (gaming) and you close the game suddenly, leaving your laptop on, it could go from 80c to 40c in just a few minutes. This would depend on bios fan control.

High temperatures like 80c are not necessarily dangerous, but when you go from a high temp to a low temp too quickly... well then you can have problems. your GPU board and die will expand, contract, and eventually warp, breaking the solder.

So potentially, turning your laptop off immediately after gaming could have a less destructive effect on your GPU if those temps are getting up there.

 

That is sometimes true, dependant on many factors, but the engine puts out WAY more heat (hence why it needs a radiator). If the engine had no cooling then it would probably glow red hot after a while.

 

The main reason people let turbos cool down is because they are oiled and sometimes water cooled. Hot oil left in the turbo is a no-no and can cause you some problems. Turbos can spin 50k rpms and the oil will burn and clog/cake the turbo.

 

I have a nice W700 with a "non deffective" nVidia card which i am loving, but coming from a T61p with that problem, the habit of waiting till my GPU temps go down to the 50's at least before turning it off carried over to my W700. I think it may slow down GPU death and electromigration, but only in the long long run, at least for all "normal" GPU's without major known heat cycle concerns (think 8M series...). Cars with turbochargers can have an idle/shutdown timer, usually 2 minutes is enough, but only for high boost, large compressor fan applications is this necessary, this was more necessary with the more primitive turbocharger's of the early 80's (eg. 1983 Porsche 944S) where the bearing casing was oil cooled rather than water cooled, since the bearing casing needed to wait for the engine to cool so that the oil could cool so that it could cool down the bearing casing, since an oil cooled turbo uses the engine oil (via separate input and return line to oil pan).

 

as soon as the current stops going through the GPU the heat stops building, so it can only get cooler.

 

This is what I was thinking. Though you're not likely to encounter any sort of damage after regular use for multiple years, if you are going to encounter thermal damage, it's going to be from too much heating/cooling. Thermal expansion of laptop hardware is minimal (it's been engineered just for those conditions!), but it does happen, and after hundreds of cycles of rapid heating and cooling, it's possible to get cracks in the solder just like you see cracks in the pavement from too many hot summers.

But the bottom line is, I wouldn't worry about it. The odds of habits like this affecting laptop longevity are very tiny, otherwise laptop CPUs wouldn't last for years and years!

 

With nVidia's old graphics cards problems, I'd say the long passive cooling is safer, lol

 

I prefer using PC than LAPTOP..... That's a fact

 

I always make it a habit to cooldown the notebook after gaming by surfing for a while or listening to music. The airflow will cooldown other parts of the notebook.

 

correct. the turbine itself, and manifold, can get so hot sometimes that they will glow a fiery red. that hot air is then cooled via charge pipes and intercooler(s) before they are forced into your cylinder heads. i usually don't have to have a "cooldown" period after some heavy gaming cuz i have a cooler. my temps go back to normal pretty much instantly. if i didn't, it might be a different story.

p.s. - the device that helps forced induction vehicles cool down after some abuse is called a turbo timer.