NEED HELP with overheating HP

So I know there have been issues with the 8400 series gpus. I have sent my laptop off 3 times to HP to have it repaired and its just came back and is running at 197.6 degrees when playing 720p videos. It got hot enough to char a piece of paper that was sitting next to it on my desk, almost starting a fire if I wasn't there.

The kicker is this laptop was given to me by hp a year and a half ago as a replacement for another overheating laptop. I am now told they don't replace laptops. So I cant call up my credit card company and say I received a lemon, or go back to the store and say you sold me a lemon, as it was given to me by HP.

The case managers have been EXTREMELY rude. Essentially calling me stupid and that im not qualified to diagnose the computer, even though Im a computer technician by trade and have been building computers since I was 9 years old.

IS my only options small claims court? is there anyway to get ahold of anyone higher than their case managers? they claim there isnt. Is there a way to get ahold of the board or ceo?

This is getting ridiculous, any help would be great!

ah, I'm thinking of making this live and issuing a press report, www.hplikesfire.com

 

If you say that it damaged a piece of paper then the body itself is getting hot which means the cooling system is working properly but it's undersized. Solution? Undervolt it. You'll drop as much as 15 degrees C by doing it.

 

197.6-15 is still a long way off from acceptable temperature...
Seriously demand replacement or refund.
IMO this laptop you are holding violates safety standards.
1)ACPI is suppose to shut it down when it exceed 100 degrees or temperature in that range (safety standard fail)
2)The thermal module is suppose to dissipate heat generated by the laptop

 

Since this is a really wide spread issue you should try and get class action lawsuit going

 

He's talking Fahrenheit, you took it as Celsius. 197.6 = 92 degrees Celsius. My DV5 ran hotter than that with its stock settings.

A 10 degrees C (let's not say 15) reduction is almost guaranteed with undervolting, and there will be no problems with the laptop running at 82C which is 179.6F.

 

Is undervolting GPUs only for nvidia cards?

 

I don't know. As a matter of fact i have never undervolted a GPU - i prefer doing the opposite on desktop computers. I have only undervolted the CPUs of my laptops.

I remember there is a software method of lowering voltages on the 8400/8600 series and up, but i haven't used it therefore i can't comment on it. In principle, ALL gaming video cards have programmable voltage regulators, but whether they expose the control registers or not is a different matter.

 

Both ATI Card and Nvidia Card are undervoltable however it is complex because for OEM that have a discrete card the VGA BIOS is located on a ROM Chip on that card but certain OEM solder the GPU directly on the System Board so the VGA ROM is a embedded module in the system BIOS.
If you are interested and comfortable in BIOS flashing under DOS Mode I can provide the steps otherwise you should look for other alternatives.

 

shouldnt have to undervolt anything, and 170 degrees is not acceptable either, if it is thats ridiculous.

 

Then no use posting here either.
We can only assist you to do hardware/firmware/software modding with our hackish knowledge to resolve the issue not perform magic tricks or give you a one size fix all magic bullet.
We are also not affiliated with HP.

 

It is fully acceptable. I don't know about you but if you have surfaces that melt/burn at 170F there's something wrong with the surfaces not the laptop. You want it to run cooler, i told you the method. What more do you want?

EVERY laptop this size and with these parts runs at this kind of temperature. Go sue AMD, nVidia and Intel for making chips that run too hot. PS. Macs run at 200F+ and people are soooooo hype about them still. Apple even states that the Macbooks are NOT for use in your lap. At least a HP is still a laptop in the true sense of the word.

 

I was actually told by a HP case manager that their laptops are not meant for use in your lap. If damage occours to you or your laptop whil using it in this manor then it is not acceptable.

In my original post I asked for help contacting people at hp or resolving my situation with them. I figured others here have had similar issues and might have advice based on their story.

I do not want to open my laptop and void my extended warranty, or apply some software/hardware hack to cool it down. Thanks though, but when you buy a 1,000$ laptop you expect it wo work for longer than 3-4 months.

 

That applies if you take care of it.

FYI, the maximum ambient temperature that the laptops are guaranteed for is 35C. If it gets hotter where you live (here it's not uncommon to have 40C+ in the summer) you have to do something or the other to keep it cool. Buy a damn cooling pad, or does a cooling pad qualify as a "hardware hack"?

As far as i see you came here for solutions, you have been offered some but you rejected all of them. I'll let you sue HP while i keep enjoying my two undervolted laptops which cost me $1000 together. And i can hold them in my lap as well without getting my legs burnt.

 

There must be a down-side to this whole undervolting thing, no?

Lesser performance? I dont get it

 

There is NO downside.

Of course there's a risk of BSODs if you undervolt without testing for stability, but 15-20 minutes of IntelBurnTest is enough. At least for me, i undervolted more than half an year ago, tested with IBT and it's been rock stable ever since.

Alternatively if you don't like IBT, 6-8 hours of Orthos will do.

 

And you actually believed him?!!
**FacePalm**
He will say ANYTHING to get you off his back!

 

Its true, those vents arnt there for no reason you know.
Obstructing the air flow will cause temps to increase.

 

You mean your legs can actually block ALL THE VENTS?
This is only what they claim, it is not part of the warranty clause so if you actually buy their BS then I can only say you are rather naive.
Using it on your lap is within acceptable operating environment.
Using it on your bed will then result in blocking of all vents.

 

if it 'burnt' piece of paper call HP and tell them you will send then half the paper(keep the other half if you do take them to court). and you would like the machine replaced with a different unit... HP will do exchanges, you just need to make enough noise. Acer doesn't do exchanges but I go one out of them.

 

HP finally contacted me after Consumrist.com posted my story . I will keep ya'll updated with what happens. Wish me luck!

 

Erm Acer does exchange my current laptop is an evidence of that.