P-6860 FX GPU overheating problems..

I've recently started experiencing severe overheating issues with my GPU. I'm running a Gateway P-6860 FX with all original parts. I bought it.. probably at the end of last summer, when they were slashing the prices on it and moving it to clearance in best buy for the incoming new models.

To describe my problem, when playing graphics intensive games (even older ones made in the early 2000's), my GPU will raise to 100° c and higher. Eventually at around 105° c my laptop seems to lockup, go black, and get stuck in a sound loop, repeating about half a second of whatever sounds were playing when it first went black. I'm forced to manually hold the power button till it forces a reset of my laptop. When it's stuck like this the computer is entirely unresponsive, it's most definitly a temperature issue with my GPU. I've seen my GPU get as hot as 109°c with HWmonitor.

More often than not lately, it's skipping getting stuck in the soundloop/freeze, and just resets itself when it reaches extreme temperatures.

When this problem first started I was running 181 forceware, I downgraded to the most recent gateway suggested video driver (167), and this has failed to resolve the issue. I've also purchased an antec laptop cooler, but the temperature still rockets.

From my understanding a good portion of the Nvidia 8000M series were shipped defective, causing overheating problems. I'm assuming this is probably what's wrong with my laptop. I'd thought I'd make a post before I call technical support and see if they'll replace it. If I do end up sending the laptop in for repair, I'll purchase another HD and do a fresh vista/driver install on it, run a game, and see if it does indeed still have temperature issues (Although the main reason for the harddrive switch would be so I don't have to send gateway my files).

I'm hoping you guys can either confirm my assumption of a defective gpu, or possibly suggest some things that may help to resolve my issue. I appreciate any help, and I thank you in advance.

 

1. Clean Install Vista
2. Update drivers

 

If you haven't already cleaned out the laptop for dust and debris, I would agree; you should send it to Gateway for repair.

 

I didn't take it apart or anything, but I did some compressed air in the vents. It seemed relatively clean.

Thanks for the responses.

 

I've had my P-6860 FX for half a year now and never had any problems with the GPU. I've been gaming (HL2, Age of Conan, Oblivion, Fallout 3) I just got Empire: Total War today and it seems to completely overload my GPU. I've never had my laptop get stuck in a sound loop, I've only had it reset itself (I thought that was due to the CPU overheating) and it seems now the GPU is overheating.

Does anyone think changing drivers might help?

What else could help?

 

Use Hwmonitor to check the temperatures. If it is overheating, check the usual causes for such issues:

1) Ensure that the fans are working, unobstructed, and free of dust/debris
2) Ensure that you're running the latest video driver *from the manufacturer*
3) Patch the game (if possible)
4) Ensure that your HD is defragged
5) Ensure that Vista is not on some power saving profile (obviously this would not be the case if you *are* overheating)

If these don't help, then...

6) Try alternative drivers
7) Check forums for similar problems (looping audio)

 

Here's what it looks like under the chassis. The bottom right (front right) gets really warm. I assume that's the southbridge (the interface to the CPU from all the add on components like GPU).



The top right (back right) has a fan but it doesn't exhaust hot air like the top left (back left) does. This is where the CPU and memory is at and shouldn't have any heat issue. The left side (looking at it from the top in normal use) has the GPU which should be blowing very hot air. Block that airflow and you're going to be running into overheat problems. My P-6831FX GPU reaches 100C and at that point, the ACPI freaks out and also overheats, causing an emergency shut down.

If I can manage to keep a cool room, it's ok, but keeping the GPU under 100 C seems vital unless I can turn off ACPI to prevent random shut downs. The GPU seems to peak at 100 C, so I'm not worried and nVidia's specs say that it'll work well up to the 11x C range.

And for reference, here's the underside. I use an Antec cooling pad as I know the underside can get hot (using it on my lap to play), but it doesn't seem to help the GPU from getting so hot.



A simple fix is to blow the hell out of all the dust in the fans. Unplug everything, get a can of compressed air and shoot air into the exhaust and watch for dust blowing out of the underside port. Once no more dust is coming out, no matter what angle you shoot at, it should be good. Another simple fix is to lower all graphics settings and enable vertical sync. This will make it so your GPU is able to churn out 100+ FPS, but instead only churns out 60 or 30 FPS, which might very well be halving it's load.

Hope this helps. My GPU is running at 45C and 55-60C in game after these quick fixes.

 

Im new to this forum. But with my 6860 I just started having the overheating problem. Today I took the plate off that covers the heat sink, and I noticed that that fan that blows across the heatsink doesnt work anymore. Do yall know where I can get a new fan for this. thanks

jason

 

Try eBay.

10 characters

 

I had sound stutter/looping issues on my old Sager gaming laptop which I long suspected was due to overheating issues.

In any case, your GPU is way too hot. I wouldn't suspect the driver unless it happened after a driver version change. Does the GPU fan run full blast?

The GPU in my undervolted P6860-FX only gets into the mid sixties while 3D gaming, and only about 70 prior to undervolting. You might have a defective GPU, but it could still be something else. Your heatsink might have a loose connection, or it could be that a bubble has formed in the cooling compound and caused the compound to dry out; try checking the heatsink.

 

I'm trying to open the bottom on my Gateway now, how did you do it? I removed all the screws but it doesn't seem to pry open.

 

You can usually use an old credit card or library card to open the chassis without damaging it. Insert it between the two parts and run it along the border.

 

That's actually the top, with the keyboard and upper portion removed.

The bottom looks like this:



Wasn't me taking it apart, but it's AnandTech's gallery of when they dissected it. Mine's still working except maybe for the GPU fan at times.



When the GPU hits 100C, the ACPI freaks out and also goes to about 98C and if it doesn't stop freaking out, it eventually causes everything to shut down (safe emergency shutdown).

 

Ok.... The problem is most likely a bunch of dust caked behind the heatsink on the back left side. Take a bobbie pin or something similar and run it through the cracks of the heatsink, then blow air from underneath towards it... That probably won't work if it's as bad as mine was, but it may do the trick. Also, taking the chassis off first requires you to take the volume/power button panel off, then the keyboard, there are a few screws in there. The chassis is held down by those screws. It's a really involved process to get it apart.

 

I've been playing Empire Total War windowed so that I can watch the temperatures from HWMonitor at the same time. They are constantly between 90-99 Celsius. I believe the max is 101 as the max I had recorded without it shutting down was 100.

I'll have to try to undervolt my GPU cos I've dedusted the whole laptop so unless its what you said with the heatsink then I have no options.

 

You need to pry the panel with the power button up. You have to open the laptop as far as it will go, then pry the panel up by the plastic humps (where the screen swivels) note: only attempt this if you have the screws that are under the battery removed. To go any further than this, you have to really get into disassembling a lot of stuff. The monitor and keyboard will be off, the power button unhooked, and... well everything that has a plug will be unplugged. I did this last night.

 

Undervoltaing may keep it from getting hot enough to shut down, but your temps will still be too high. At 90+ I suspect the GPU won't last long, so I would recommend that you take a look at the heatsink despite the work involved.

 

I just spent 1hr+ dissasembling the notebook from the top. Unplugged the keyboard and power button. I dissassembeld the display but could not figure out how to unplug it?? is the only way to get access to the GPU from the top by disconnecting the display?

Or can this be done in an easier way from the bottom?

 

Not only do you have to remove the display (really no big deal,) you have to remove the heatsink from the CPU in order to get the board off of the chassis. I was serious when I said you have to disconnect everything. The wifi card, ram, and cpu are the only things that I recall staying in their place.

 

This is slightly off topic but can you replace the GPU? I was just thinking because its MXM 3 that you could replace it with a slightly better more efficent card, I know it undermines the 'budget laptop' ethos but just out of curiosity.

 

This is incorrect, the back right side is the CPU and northbridge, the center left is the GPU.

 

Yeah, idiotpilot is right, I recently opened my case since I believe my CPU overheats, and the CPU is in the back right of the laptop. Speaking of which, does the CPU temperature get pretty high for anyone else with this laptop, and does that back right fan ever really kick in? It seems almost as if the fan for my CPU isn't working, but I'm pretty sure it at least spins. My computer runs TF2 maxed out just fine, but it appears to overheat with Guild Wars no matter what, with the screen going blank and the sound stuck in a loop.

On topic, my GPU seems to work just fine, with the temp never hitting much higher than 80C.

 

To add to this thread instead of making a new one, I have a similar issue but unsure if it is from over-heating.

I've had the P6860-FX since June of last year, and just in the past few months it has been shutting off during sessions of Red Alert 3, one time only during Crysis. I then got a zalman laptop cooler that does a tremendous job of keeping the laptop cool (while boosting framrate), but I would still get the crashes, though not as much. This led me to believe it is somewhat of a heating problem.

After the 7-8 months of continual use, I decided to reformat. Red Alert 3 did fine for a long time, but after the SP1 install, Red Alert 3 crashes, even during the in-game menu. This could be RA3, SP1, or how my computer processes the programming of RA3.

Any ideas or other tests I could run to figure this out?

 

Yeah, get a temp monitor and alt-tab out of RA3 during the game, see what your temps are.

 

Using Speedfan:

RA3, Ultra High with 2x AA. Did not shut down over the weekend before SP1 update. My Vista install seemed to wait a bit before Windows update showed it as available. Checked about every 30 seconds, stopped right before the time it usually shuts down. Showing beginning temp in-game, and last:





Crysis, all on High, no AA medium motion blur. Never shuts down.





I don't understand the whole Crysis thing, but I'm curious if this has to do with SP1? The shutdowns bugged me so much that I formatted, I was fine over the weekend at a LAN, then SP1 showed up, then this week in my nice, cool room, RA3 is doing this.

Could be some caked dust since this started 5 months after purchase, or something else entirely. That's all the info I have and reading around has helped, but there seems to be different outcomes/options.

 

Dude, pop the panel off the bottom, and Arctic Silver the chipset and the CPU, unless you're worried about the warranty. I can personally guarantee that the GPU heatsink (the extremely difficult one to reach) is caked up with grime and needs to be cleaned, but this is difficult, if not impossible, to do without some disassembly. Nevertheless, you need to clean that thing. If you continue running at those temps, you can kiss the hardware goodbye in a short amount of time.

 

Ok, that has pretty much been said in this thread a few times, I guess I just needed the verification. I found a thread showing the dissassembly and it looked insane, and I'm willing to do it.

Has anyone had Gateway successfully fix this exact issue? Sounds like it needs to be done personally.

 

I did it. It was probably my thread that you saw with the disassembly.

 

Those temps are VERY hot, especially those cpu temps. I'd say clean that bad boy out, squirt some thermal grease into it and then undervolt the cpu.

 

Ok, so I did it. The thing ran sooo cool. My temps are great. A few minutes into RA3 and it shut off again...this time around 65. And it won't turn back on.

Is there some component I should double check that was secured right? The USB ports on the left weren't working so I have to get back into it anyway. Also, for some reason the cdrom drive was impossible to remove. I had to remove the motherboard from it. Is that common?

 

Um, there's a rubber stopper on the bottom of the laptop that will allow you to remove a screw that attaches the cd-rom drive. I'd check the power button hookup first, that's probably your best bet. As far as the usb ports, they're on board, so you shouldn't have had any problems with them. How far down did you disassemble it?

 

All the way. To the point where I can put the Arctic Silver on the GPU. I decided to call it a night and I'll get back to it tonight. I guess worst-case scenario is spending a few hundred on some new parts?

Though, I really think it's something I can fix. This has actually been very fun and exciting. Thanks for the help.

 

Hey all,

This thread is a few days old, but came up in my search. My GPU has recently started to skyrocket when I boot up World of Warcraft. It always ran around 70-80 after playing that game for a decent amount of time, but recently its been getting up to what the original poster said of 105 degrees Celsius.

The laptop CPU and gpu temps all idle around 50 celsius but as soon as I start up wow the CPU goes up steadily to around 75-80 (which I think is ok) but the fan on the GPU steadily goes faster and faster and after just a few minutes its running full blast and the GPU temp is in the high nineties and reaching over 100. At around 105 the computer just shuts down completely and when I press the power button to turn it back on (after giving it a while to cool) it tells me windows has unexpectedly shutdown please choose how I want to start, etc.

The drivers have been the same since the first day I got it (when I updated to 177.41. And the idle temperatures still seem the same. Its just when I game on it, the temperatures just shoot up so fast and reach such a crazy high level.

I've blown air through the bottom of the laptop aimed outward toward the vents on the side of both the CPU and GPU. There doesn't seem to be a lot of dust in there. The last time I did this was a few days ago.

Thanks,

Rotz

 

I read an undervolting guide on the forums here, maybe I should try that for the CPU and see if it lowers the temp of the whole case and thus the gpu. Or is there a way to lower the voltage of the gpu too.

Not really wanting to play more games at this rate, these temperature are scaring me.

 

IMO the single most common cause of this is dust in the GPU's heatsink. Seriously. I was astounded at the difference in temperature. I got a good 40 degree decrease.

 

Alright, I'm an idiot. I had cleaned out my gpu / and cpu fans with what someone else posted, a hairdryer and noticed a small temperature difference but it was still overheating. Yesterday i went and bought a can of air and sprayed the hell out of the fan (I had thought spraying air into the intake on the bottom and then out the side would be better, but contrary to my thoughts, i noticed way more dust coming out if I sparyed into the side and let it come out the bottom.

Anyway, can of air is apparently the way to go about it. Good deal of dust came out. GPU is down to <60 celsius under load. Down from 95-105.....

Ridiculous. Definitely keeping a can of air handy for 3 months from now when i might need it again. Thanks all!

Again... i'm very dumb

 

OH, also i followed the undervolting guide to lower the cpu voltage. Noticed a nice 12 degree celsius drop there on the cpu temp, just from undervolting, before cleaning out the cpu fan/heatsink.

Was able to lower all the multipliers voltages to the min allowed by my cpu. o.0

Laptop is so quiet now.

 

Thanks. I should've known that since I upgraded my CPU to a T9300. Updated the first page post so skimmers looking for fancy images don't get bad info.

 

I was having overheating problems with my GPU and it got ok after cleaning the vents... I thought it was some driver problem... thanks guys!

 

Or a highly regarded one you see on the forums. I found that Nvidia's latest drivers have caused (minor) heating issues and in one case a BSOD on a game, which did not happen before I updated to the latest, and stopped happening when I went back to Xfastest's latest.

 

Anyone have a link to a step by step on how to get to the GPU? I'm fairly new at this, have done it before a couple of times but both cases, the CPU and GPU were easy to get to in comparison to the GPU for the 6860