Why is my GPU getting so hot?

I was playing CoD4 for less than 20 minutes and my temps already reached 90C... Is this supposed to be normal? I know my room is actually fairly hot, but I still don't think it should be quite that high. My room temp is 80F right now.

I was thinking of getting a notebook cooler but I really would think that the notebook should be able to cool itself, especially since I'm not overclocking or anything of that sort. I was running it with everything maxed out, but I still don't think the temps should reach that high..

I was using the 174.93 drivers at the time, and I know people are going to say I should clean my vents so I'll respond with the fact that I just cleaned them last weekend.

 

please visit the NBR Cooling Central.

but I think you have to double check on the vents.

Other than that, getting a good notebook cooler would be a good idea.

I would also check in to see if your heatsink/pipes are properly secured, looseness can cause serious heat issues.

 

lol mine hit 95c after gaming for ~5 minutes and start throttling, which ticks me off. Probably related to why my notebook is ready to die again (only 4 months old).

-J.B.

 

start by lifting the rear end of your laptop by an inch or two, make sure you don't block any of the vents on the bottom / rear side of the laptop.

if your room is hot, you can use a small fan that will keep air circulating around your laptop, that will make a difference.

what is your idle temps gpu / cpu wise ?
how do you monitor your temps ?

 

Thanks Gophn, I've already visited the cooling central thing but I would have just thought that my laptop should be able to keep the temps low on its own... but apparently not I suppose.

Anyhow, I'll check to see if my heatsink/pipes are secured

and I use rivatuner to monitor temps

 

kidpro, checking that heatsink pipes is not as easy as you might think
you need to take the whole cover apart, there is no easy access to the gpu.
so if you comfortable with it, do take some pictures while you are at it, as far as this forum goes, i cant recall being done before.

last point how old is it ? consider replacing it if its an option.
my gpu overclocked maxed out at 73, so something is wrong there.

 

errr it's really new? I mean.. maybe 2 months at most? it's a P6831FX sorry I forgot to mention that..

oh yeah my idle temp is like 59C but this is with a different driver. And.. thank you for telling me that the heatsink/pipe is not easy to find... maybe I'll just forget about that then..

 

well there goes our pictures...
was it that hot since you bought it ?

idle 60 is not good, if only gateway support where more helpful
i would think the easiest way for you is to find a good laptop shop and ask them a price offer on redoing the whole gpu thermal stuff.
if its worth your peace of mind do it.

or do it yourself and take pictures

 

i 2nd royk50 with the idea of elevating the notebook, to get some extra airflow underneath it first and see

cheers ...

 

I'd much rather do it myself.. what are normal idle temps? And, I'll try elevating the notebook but I really don't know what to elevate it with haha..

 

you can use eraser or post-its on the back corners.

 

my gpu idles around 40-42.
i read other p-68xx users who report same temps, its seems your running around 20+, how about using another program just to make sure your not barking at a non existent tree ?

u can use gpuz , hwmonitor or even the ntune internal nvmonitor.
just to be sure...

 

My GPU idles around 50-55 in general. It's a little higher than you guys, but not really giving me issues yet.

 

yeah I just got ntune and checked. the temps are the same... now I just have to think about whether I really want to open it up or not.. I mean it's going to be tough, and nobody's even done it before, so I won't even have any guidance or anything, but I also don't want to pay someone to open up my notebook for me and do it just because I don't really trust anyone with my notebook =]

And plus, if I were to pay them to do it for me, I might as well just buy a notebook cooler. What do you guys think I should do? I'd just leave it alone, but getting to 90+ is really hot, and it gets there only after maybe 30 minutes of CoD4. I also don't want to ruin my computer or lower its life span..

 

My GPU idles at 56c so 60c is not that far off. I think these things just run HOT.

 

Using HWMonitor mine is idling at 43-44C this is with a T9300 proc over the stock processor.

 

I don't think that having the T9300 would make the GPU any hotter though, or at least not by much, but then again, your temps are still lower than mine..

I'm running on Windows XP too, so I guess it really must just be a manufacturing error or something that's making my notebook so hot. I suppose you get what you pay for though, but I'm not complaining still =] I love my notebook.

 

Mine idles at mid 40s. Blast your vent with compressed air, and help me find a guide to take the laptop apart to put as5 on the gpu! Lots of work but totally worth it for me.

 

check out one of the 175 or 177 drivers. so far, the 177.35 work great for me. gpu will get as low as 39c while idling.

blow out your gpu heat pipe and vent underneath the laptop.

on hot days, put something under the battery to lift it off the desk about 3/4 of an inch. does wonders and cost nothing to lower your temps. it gives the fan breathing room to really work on them hot days or serious long term gaming.

 

I already have blasted my vents with compressed air as I stated in my original post, but anyway, I tried the 175 drivers and I must say that they are better at keeping my temps lower. I'm gonna keep benchmarking to see what driver keeps my temps the lowest without sacrificing too much performance.

 

try the 177.35 driver and tell me what you get. my temp as of right now is between 41-43 idling as we speak. this is my 8800m gts card temps

now my 8600m gs card temps are a bit higher. 52-54 idling. but before i switched drivers it was in the low 60's

 

tried it, so far the best one for me in terms of performance and heat is the 175.80.

On a side note.. I kept playing CoD4 after the 90 mark, and eventually I reached around 93. It took a while to get from 90 to 93, but then.. around there.. maybe at 94 or 95 my notebook just completely froze. I actually emailed Gateway customer support because this is somewhat of an issue for me.

Hmm.. I think I already voided my warranty though by installing XP on this computer, so I hope they won't be able to tell if I just reinstall Vista again..

Oh, question for you guys that idle way lower than I do. Do you guys keep your battery in when it's plugged in? I was thinking that it might cool down if I just didn't use the battery?

 

Why would you void your warranty with a XP install?

 

Because you're not allowed to on the P-6831FX and I think the other FX models too. At least, that's if memory serves.

oh yeah, after I started using the 175.80 driver, my idle temp dropped to 45! Amazing.. but it still goes up to 90+ and then crashes the computer after maybe 95

 

wow those are off the chart temps, I say take it apart and clean it nicely, compressed air is your friend. Mine never goes above 60C, even when overclocking.

 

Wow.. I didn't realize my temps were THAT off.. But, I doubt that cleaning it could possibly lower it 30C or more.. that's just unreasonable if you ask me. I really think the problem lies in the possibility that they just did not put AS5 properly? Or maybe the heat sink is just messed up?

 

how about your gpu fan ? you didn't mention anything about it.
can you hear it kick in ? on what temp? if you put your hand next to the gpu exhaust, does it blow out hot air ?

if you reinstall vista before sending it to service they will never be able to tell you had xp, don't worry about that, just don't mention xp when talking to them.

 

where is everyone getting their drivers? The only one i can find on the nvidia site is 175.19

 

Various Places. 3D guru, Laptopvideo2go http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/
or this place:
http://www.vaguetech.com/forum/downloads.php?do=file&id=248
You will need a modified .inf file to make those drivers work with your lappy.