Compal IFL90 Overheating

http://img258.imageshack.us/my.php?image=heatlw6.jpg

That ***** looks too hot. She's overheating my video card.

Really, though, it gets up there while playing CS:S, and as you could see, quickly. It takes its toll on my FPS, and surely the card's lifespan.

I've tried two different versions of drivers, and the fan in the back blows out hot air. I think the problem is the lack of AC in my house. It's about 100F in my room now.

When I get some time, besides making sure none of the fans are faulty, I'm going to seek and destroy dust, throw in some AS5, and buy a cooler pad. If that doesn't suffice, I'm going to down-clock, I suppose.

Any thoughts?

 

it was dust for me, between the actual case and exhaust grate for the hot air inside the laptop.

 

She is amazing, you have made muy day!

 

I found the reason, change your wallpaper and you'll see the temps decrease. ^^.
On a more serious note check your vents, I cleaned mine and now even though I'm overclocked I never reach to 90s. AS5 may help but I don't think you can apply it to the gpu...

Monkeyman: Wow, There was a time where you had less posts than me and suddenly I see you with more than twice a much post as me... What it your secret?

 

The secret is, to post more

BTW, I will be installing Ubuntu in my second HDD. I think that's the reason why is so slow, because I'm booting form the CD.

 

:facepalm:

 

If you are overheating... usually any temp over 90C degrees is bad.

when was the last time that you cleaned out the fans and vents thoroughly...?

if never, then thats why.

1) remove battery
2) remove/unscrew the panels on the bottom of the notebook to get to fans and vents
3) use flashlight to look through vents for the dust (if you cant see the light on the other end, then the vents are clogged up)
4) go outside, get some compressed air (cans or compressor @ 50 PSI) and give the vents a good airing out all directions (concentrating on the vents)
.... you might want to brace the fan blade(s) when airing it out (with anything to prevent it from spinning out too much)
.... or use short bursts (1-2 secs) of air instead of bracing the fans.
5) go get some Q-tips and swab the fan blades and the area around it
6) then go do a second airing with compressed air (all directions again focusing on the fans and vents) to push out the dust that was dislodged from the Q-tips

7*) Now go use the flashlight again and look through the vents (shine the flashlight from the fan, you look through the other end) for anymore dust clogs.

8) Then start up the notebook... and let the fans cycle up (use the Fan Toggle at max speed if your system has it) to push out any other dust that might have been stuck.

If all goes well you should be able to close up the notebook and...

you're done.

*repeat this step until its cleaned out.

Thats pretty much it.

Just make sure to do this every two-three months... it should take about 15-20min per cleaning if you want to be thorough.

________________________

Gaming notebooks are a new thing, you must realize that you have to take some extra care of them over typical use notebooks:

1) Battery: to maintain the longevity of any rechargeable battery
- you must NEVER overcharge it [especially for long durations of time] by keeping it plugged into AC
- when it reaches 100% you should unplug it and let it discharge to 5-15%, then plug it back to power
- OR you can just charge it to 50%+ and remove the battery and store in cool place.. not the fridge [remember to use it occasionally 3-4 time a year to charge and discharge it].

2.) Heat: to prevent a healthy notebook from overheating
- ALWAYS use the notebook on a clean, hard & flat surface
- RECOMMENDED to be used on a notebook cooler... namely the Zalman ZM-NC1000 or ZM-NC2000
- check your fans underneath occasionally (at least once a month or two) for any dust clogs [clean them out with Q-tips and air cans/compressors]
- ALWAYS monitor the temps (CPU, GPU, HDD, etc..) to watch for fluctuations, which would indicate overheating by dust usually
(for Clevo notebooks) use the Fan Toggle to switch all fans to Max Speed when gaming and such.

By doing these simple things, your entire system will easily last for more than 3 years.

 

Which GPU driver are you using?

 

I found a little dust bunny named Diablo. ;o It now idles 10C less at 60C. Is this temperature good? Under load my FPS hasn't been dropping. I'll get and post that temperature later.

I changed my driver version randomly to 156.65 to see if the original driver I had was the issue.

 

My temps dropped for a few when I changed driver from original 156.60 to 174.70.

 

Did you clean your vents too?

 

No I just changed the driver. The notebook is new so I assumed there was no need for that.

 

I would not say that there is no need.

You will need to clean out the vents once every two months at least to keep it healthy.

 

Well it is barely three weeks now. But will do so when the time comes.

 

That a good idle temperature. About the driver get the 175.75, it seems to be the best new one at the moment.

 

I think everything has to do in which environment you work with your laptop, I have mine already 7 months, and I haven't cleaned it, and I have temperatures in the 47-48C degrees. I also notice an improvement of 4-5C degrees after I installed SP1.

 

Assuming he is keeping it clean, the biggest problem is that he is operating it in a 100 degree ambient environment. I recommend better air conditioning in the room.

 

OK, so since this thread actually seems interesting to at least one person (the rating pushed me to that conclusion), I'll get into a little more detail and finally post the temperature of my GPU under load.

The idle temperature in roughly 100F heat wasn't exactly 60C. It was more around 63-64C, with a high-powered fan blowing at the back vent.

My room is rather cool at the moment, maybe around 60F. The GPU is idling 61-63C, and the computer likes 61C more.

Under load via CS:S for some time, I got around 77C, and the highest at 79, on D2.

I'll update my 156.65 drivers to 175.75 and post more temperatures later.

Edit: Office = 82C

 

A high powered fan pointing at the back vent will only help defeat the cooling system. That is an exhaust vent, not an intake vent, so your high powered fan pointed at it will be counter productive to its job of blowing the exhaust air out of the laptop...

Once you remove that fan if you are still getting those kinds of idle temperatures in a 60F ambient environment I would next look at the thermal compound between the processor and heatsink, and the thermal pads on your video card.

Finally, I would strongly recommend contacting your vendor's technical support. Where did you buy it?

 

What Donald is saying is very accurate.

Notebooks intake air from the bottom and exhausts the hot air through the back/side vents.

That is why he said its counter productive for the cooling system... overall.

Its better to have a fan underneath the system... via notebook cooler (like Zalman ZM-NC1000)

 

I didn't point the fan directly toward the vent. I'm not a bloody idiot. The fan was pointing--at an angle--to the vent because there is a roughly three-inch raised surface about four inches behind my laptop blocking the vented air from going straight back. And even if that raised area wasn't there, the fan would dissipate the hot air quicker, no?

61C was without the fan. I never turned the fan on when it was 60F in my room, and thus I didn't mention it within those parts of my last post.

I bought it used, and I've had it about a month now. The seller got it from ZipZoomFly.

Edit: 175.75 drivers are for Vista only, right?

 

Yes 175.75 are for Vista only.

 

Modesty in posting is key. ;]

And I'm thinkin about dusting out my IFL90.

My temps have been getting higher lately... I can feel it.

 

This is why we should get a hardware monitoring program bundled with our laptops. All manufacturers should do it, not just some. It gives you an early warning if your temps start to rise, you know it's time to clean your vents.

 

I notice that on power saver mode my IFL90 heat range is 50-52C.

 

167.58 drivers dropped my idle temperature down to about 58C in an ambient temperature of around 70F.

 

Summer is coming maybe? I don't know how high my temps are at the moment, but I'm sure of one thing I'm running my card at 600/410 and I hasn't downclocked itself yet nor did he shutdown by itself. Cleaning can make miracles.