7970M Temps/Repasting

Hey guys,

Since getting an NP9150 with a 7970m, I was uncomfortable with the temperatures I was getting. The gpu would frequently reach temperatures well into the 80's, with peak temps reaching 87C several times. I know these were technically safe, but I decided I would repaste the cpu and gpu to try and get better temps. I ordered some Arctic Silver 5 with the two step cleaning solution and got to work. I cleaned both surfaces as well as I could, and experimented with different amounts of thermal paste, attempting to get as thin a layer as possible while covering the entire cpu and gpu surface (used the dot method.) After finishing up and testing temperatures, cpu temps looked good, but my gpu actually hit 93C while running 3DMark11! I immediately disassembled and repasted again. This time, my idle temperature dropped several degrees from around 40C to 36 or 37C. However, my gaming temperatures have increased. Temps regularly sit in the 80s, with some games running hotter than others. The worst offender is Sleeping Dogs, in which I've hit 91C (!) 3 times. This really isn't acceptable to me, but I'm not sure what to do.

I understand that the curing time for the AC5 is 200 hours and temps are supposed to drop in that time. If they dropped 6 or so degrees, I would be happy. That would mean peak temperature would hit 85 max and normally stay in the high 70s/80C. I'm pretty sure this is unlikely though, and the improvement will be less. My question is this: what do you 7970m owners generally see in terms of peak temps, and do you think I should wait and see if temps drop or go ahead and try another repaste. I really don't know what I could do differently, as I cleaned the surface really well with coffee filters and the 2 step solution. The only thing I can think might be causing the high temps is the odd black plastic around the gpu's heatsink contact area. I've never seen this on a gpu before and wasn't sure what the purpose was, but some of the old dried thermal paste was stuck under that plastic. I wouldn't find a way to get under it to clean the surface really well. Do you guys know what that plastic is for, and do you know of a good way to clean underneath it? I can provide pics for those who haven't seen it before if necessary.

Thanks!

Update: Well, I repasted once again, and there is no discernible difference. Temps playing Sleeping Dogs still hit 91C in a matter of minutes. I guess I'll order some different paste... this is driving me nuts though. I can't keep playing when temperatures are this high

Temps have actually risen a couple degrees since repasting again. It seems like every time I touch it things get worse lol. It's now idling at 40+ Celsius, and hits 93C under load.

I tired searching for the foil mod thread, but couldn't find it. Could anyone point me in the right direction? I would really appreciate it. Thanks.

 

i use ac diamond,wich is better than arctic silver,away better!!!!
and non conductive....
when im idle my temps are 33c and when i was trying to see the oc potential of my card 1010/1560 on bf3 multy 64 players ultra,i had max 76c!!!!
i use coolermaster notepad u3-and i have made a mod for the cover plate.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/619377-p151hm1-np8130-cooling-mod-4.html

 

Thanks for the reply and the links. I'll look into that cooling mod. I avoided IC diamond because I've read mixed reviews about it, like this test here: Thermal Compound Roundup - January 2012 | Hardware Secrets

Forgot to mention, I use a cooler master ergostand. I'm thinking about buying a different cooler as well. I mainly like this one because it is an adjustable stand.

 

im telling you the ac diamond because i made a test between the ac and arctic,and i saw big defferences!!!
the notepad u3 is the best because you configure the fans as you like....

 

I've heard good things about the u3, but I ordered the ergostand for my last laptop that didn't really need the cooling

If I do get another cooler the u3 is at the top of my list along with a couple others.

I'm still debating whether I should do another repaste or wait and see if things improve...

 

I've been using Arctic Silver 5 and regularly get up to 90C after 15 mintues of intensive gaming. (With a U3 cooler as well.) I just ordered some Gelid Extreme paste though so I'll see if that helps any.

 

So it sounds like it might be the paste then. Sucks that I have two tubes of the stuff. I'll start looking around online for different thermal compound. Let me know how the new paste works out for you. Thanks man.

 

Well, I repasted once again, and there is no discernible difference. Temps playing Sleeping Dogs still hit 91C in a matter of minutes. I guess I'll order some different paste... this is driving me nuts though. I can't keep playing when temperatures are this high

Edit: Temps have actually risen a couple degrees since repasting again. It seems like every time I touch it things get worse lol. It's now idling at 40+ Celsius, and hits 93C under load.

I tired searching for the foil mod thread, but couldn't find it. Could anyone point me in the right direction? I would really appreciate it. Thanks.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...g-systems-neglected-clevo-solutions-here.html

there's a link to it on this thread

 

Thanks man, I really appreciate it. I was looking at that thread a few minutes ago but missed the link. +rep

 

Cheers, did you try the tape method? if so, what are the temps you're getting?

 

I haven't done that yet, I need to go grab some foil tape from Home Depot tomorrow; I'll update once I finish.

I realized I was making two mistakes that were causing my temps to go crazy: the ambient temps in my room were way too high (about 80 Fahrenheit) and somehow the power button on my laptop cooler was shut off lol. I lowered the thermostat and turned my cooler back on and temps are much better. Max temps are only in the mid 80s now in demanding games like Sleeping Dogs. Most games don't break 80C anymore I feel really stupid for not realizing those things were negatively affecting temps before now, but I'm happy they're better. I'll let you know how temps improve with the foil mod tomorrow.

 

I did a repaste today and Sleeping Dogs still hits 88-91c. The only difference is the GPU actually throttles down. So it will go up as high as 91, but right back to 88 depending on the on-screen action.

I'm going to order some foil tape this week. But as far as repasting goes. I doubt I could do a better job. I've used both Arctic silver and PK-1.

 

I did a lot of testing with re-pasting on the 7970m in my p-170em a few months ago and might be worth reading. I found that there isn't a huge difference between the premium pastes as long as they were applied correctly. The biggest difference was noticed in the rate at which it took to reach certain temperatures, but the max temperatures were all pretty close. Using the foil tape definitely helped and the fan profiles obviously had a lot to do with the max temps obtained. The link to my test is in my signature.

 

Now that I've got my cooler turned back on (lol) my temps are much better. The highest I hit was 90C during a cutscene, and that was after playing for hours. Cutscenes always make the gpu hotter. Normal gameplay temps are between 78-85, so they've improve a lot. I've noticed this game runs hotter than anything else I've played, even BF3, Crysis, etc. I play it maxed out and with the high def texture download activated, so that may be part of the reason.

Thanks Hobbs, really nice thread. You may have persuaded me to just stick with Arctic Silver. My temps are much more reasonable now anyway. I'm definitely doing the foil mod though.

 

one thing that helps a lot, is keeping the back of the laptop elevated for proper airflow for the fans. Use a laptop cooler, two decks of cards, it doesn't really matter just keep the bad boy elevated off the desk.

In my experience, the temps drop from a max of 93 to a max of 84 playing crysis 2, massive difference.

& misterhobbs, great read!

 

I've also noticed major differences when elevating the back of the laptop. It wouldn't surprise me if it were more effective than using certain laptop coolers. There's not a whole lot of room for airflow underneath a laptop when it's sitting flat on desk or table.

 

Hi, just to make an old thread active. I recently bought a p150em with a7970m and want to share my findings: Did some repasting (took off the default paste, and put on my noctua thermal paste that I was still having. I also did the aluminium tape mod. with msi afterburner I could reach overclockings of 1030 on the core and 1400 on the memory (benchmarks in games run 20% faster now). In Far cry 3, my main game I am running now temperatures would rise to 84,85 degrees overclocked that is. I still wasn't happy, so I ordered AC diamond, like someone else posted on this topic. I repasted this yesterday, and I have to say: WOW. Seriously good paste: some details:
- Far cry went from 85 to 75 degrees max with the overclock active (that's 10° less!!!). When I did the msi kombustor test, gpu burn in test, with 1920x1080, msi Direct3D11 burn in test, temperatures would hit the roof with the noctua paste (going to 95 degrees, putting the cooler fan in superfast). Now I only reach 81 degrees when the test runs much longer also)

I did the same with the cpu cooler: prime95 on my 3610qm reached 86 degrees with the noctua paste, now 78 max after running much longer. 8 degrees better.

I read pK1 prolimatech would even be better, if I read the reviews. But I will stick to this AC diamond paste. PK1 is also expensive if I want to buy some (almost 18 euro with shipping for 5g).

I also want to add I always raise the back of the laptop for better air flow.

 

You might try undervolting the GPU. There are tools like ATI Tray Tools that can do that. Together with Furmark you can test the stability of your system when using lower voltages.

My undervolted GPU runs 8 to 10 degrees cooler than it does normally.

 

Hi, maybe I am not clear, but I am very happy now with the new paste. Temps are great even when overclocked. Just the 13.2 beta 6 drivers give a bluescreen sometimes after a restart. It is a beta off course...

 

Yeah, those are excellent temps. Good job with the cooling upgrades. And no, you don't need to undervolt, especially since you're running a heavy overclock (you could boost your memory clocks up to 1500mhz safely though.)

 

I ddo both, cooler with supports matched to the feet so its raised up. Gives a nice angle and while the fans never go on my cooler is a usb hub for my devices.