Gateway P-6831FX Laptop shuts down while playing games?

Hey guys, I have had this laptop for awhile, it has never given me any problems (Besides sucky vista..). I used to use the laptop to game hardcore and play graphic intense MMO's and FPS's but that was about a year ago, I haven't played any games since but I recently ordered the Orange Box..

I started off playing portal and about 10 minutes into the game, my laptop completely shut off, I was confused, so since I lost my progress on Portal I fired up Team Fortress 2, again.. About 20 minutes in my computer shut off.. I download HWmonitor, and check my temperatures while playing, my core GPU temperature was at 90 degrees Celsius before it shut off again.. After an hour on google I found that I might need to clean out my GPU fan, so I did, I pulled out a hunk of dust the size of a quarter with a Q-Tip and tried again, and once again.. It shut off. I updated my NVidia drivers to the latest version, and you guessed it, it shut off, what is wrong? It always shuts off while about 15-30 minutes into a game, is this a GPU overheating problem or is 90 degrees Celsius a normal temperature while in a game? Team Fortress 2 isn't a graphic intense game so I am very confused. I don't think my laptop is under warranty so sending it in isn't an option right now, and I definitely don't have any spare money to get it fixed, please help me out.

 

Via HWMonitor or other, what are your CPU temps while gaming?

I don't think the GPU has the authority inside the system to shut down the computer.

 

CPU temps are normal, they stay around 60 degrees Celsius while playing.

 

Clean out your heatsink fins and fans with COMPRESSED AIR. If that doesn't fix your problem then try reformatting the OS.

 

1. Clean install vista
2. install gateway website drivers
3. windows update
4. black viper vista tweak

 

1. Done
2. Done
3. Done
4. Did most of the tweaks on his website

Still happening, is there a major problem with my GPU? What is wrong?

 

The GPU should Slow protect when over 100C. Are your fans running high before shut down? You may have a power problem, try removing battery and run on AC brick. Any problems charging?

Then again it could be a heating problem elsewhere on the motherboard. Sorry, kind of guessing here. Let us know.

 

Well, finally after awhile of updating drivers/cleaning out dust and switching outlets I was able to play TF2 without it shutting down, I kept an eye on my GPU temperature and it was still around 80-90 degrees cels, what is the average GPU temperature for gaming? Is it possible the vista is cramming to much information into my gfx card and it is just giving out? Even after black viper's tweaks, Vista still seems to use an excessive amount of resources, Vista is a huge pain in the .

 

back when i had my gateway fx 6831


also when cleaning with compressed air. one needs to blow through the fans underneath along with through the heat sinks. and you can prop the back up about 1/2 a inch for more air flow.

 

Then, as others, I would venture you had a heat problem. If you feel it was the GPU you can use nTune to monitor and log temps, to a text file, before and during play. You have to open and close the txt file within nTune but can save it for study.

Here is what one of my old files look like but don't remember ever hitting 85C.

View attachment Stock Clocks F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate.zip

 

I thought my problem was fixed, I opened my laptop, got a little dust out, propped up the back and it ran a few games fine, the next day however, it started shutting down again, what am I suppose to do? Is it possible to get to the gpu and see what the problem is? I am lost and I am worried that my laptop that I spent $1,600 on is now useless. Please someone help me out.

 

I think my P-6860FX now gets somewhere between 60-70C when gaming. Undervolting helped both my CPU and GPU temps; the undervolting guide is in this forum.

My old Sager's CPU started overheating when the CPU heatsink compound dried up. Might be worthwhile for you to open it up and check it out. I've not had to check the GPU on my Gateway, but I know I've seen instructions online somewhere that tell how to access it. AS5 normal or ceramic seem to be the top compound choices, but they are expensive.

If cleaning the old compound off and putting new compound on doesn't help, then you may have a defective GPU. Supposedly Nvidia released some bad one's: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=336544.

 

Ya got two choices, dissemble laptop and reapply compound. Send laptop back to Gateway..check to see if they have any flat rate plans.

Are you handy with tools? Pulling the GPU heat pipe is a PITA with P-68xx cases. The GPU is soldered; only the heat pipe can be removed and cleaned.

This is why I love the Clevo chassis and why it can save you money in repairs; none of the above, most components are easy to change out.

Let us know what you end up doing. Good Luck!

 

WOW, I have the exact same problem. I just got this notebook from a seller on ebay. He installed a Intel Xtreme processor, 2x 320gb hard drives on raid 0, and 4 gb ocz ram. Since day one, I've had the same problem as the other guy, no matter what game I play, the video card at idle will stay in 51c to 52c, but when I play, it will raise the temps until it reaches 100 and the laptop shutdowns, and this happens when doing 3 to 5 minutes of gaming. Any idea If by buying a new motherboard for this machine, would that solve the problem ?, Im not clear if the video card comes integrated with the motherboard or is It a separate part ?.

 

I highly urge you both to send it to gateway, taking mine apart and messing around with it put me back $600 on a new mb

 

I have a 6860fx. I did disassemble it and reapplied compound to the GPU. I've got a thread about it somewhere around here. It does require complete disassembly, but it's not that hard. I stuck some ceramique on the GPU and it worked.

 

I fixed my heating issues. I opened the notebook completely, I took out the fans of the gpu and cpu, took a can compresssed air, cleaned them, then I cleaned the heatsinks, using the can and a toothpick. There was so much dust on the gpu heatsink, that I ended up using about 10 toothpicks to make sure no dust was left. When I turn the notebook back on, I launch hw monitor, to check the temps, and no matter what game I played and what settings I choosed, the GPU never exceeded 65C, when before the Temp in 2 minutes will reach 100C and shutdown imediately. So If you have a similar issue, try having the GPU AND CPU heatsinks cleaned, as well as the fans. It worked for me.