P170HM / NP 8170Overheating?

Alright, Im really not sure whats going on with my Sager NP 8170 with 485m GPU. I typically have it sitting on a laptop cooler, and I run two monitors off of it at the same time (one via USB 3.0 one via HDMI). Look, I UNDERSTAND if it runs hot then. Right now i have firefox x64 and XBMC, and I am at 77c according to speed fan. Thats not to bad to me. But Im having to pretty major problems. I want you guys to know, I JUST changed the thermal paste and cleared out the fan.


1. Gaming
-Alright when Im playing games like Saints Row 3 or Arma 2, I turn off laptop monitor, and just run of one of the external monitors. My GPU is screaming hot. Its at 100c the entire time. From what Ive read for the 485m, 80c is more where it should be, ESPECIALLY when I have it ontop of a laptop cooler.

2. Mobile use
-When I take the laptop to school, just sitting on my desk, its running at like 80c, just sitting there.


As I said, I just cleaned and applied new thermal paste. Any suggestions?

 

Sounds like maybe the thermal paste may not have applied correctly, possibly some air bubbles in it that's causing poor heat transfer. I'd give that another shot and see if you have any improvements.

 

I applied by placing a line down the middle, and placed the heatsink on top as the instructions said

 

Yeah but sometimes even when doing things exactly right something can go wrong.If the temps are still up there and the system is otherwise cleaned out, it's most likely going to be a thermal paste issue. I'd try it one more time, see if you have a difference from temps and go from there.

 

Is it better to do too much or too little on the thermal paste?

 

Both can be detrimental to optimum levels, but it's better to err on the too much side than too little. What I always do is put a pea sized dot in the center of the metal on the CPU, Apply even pressure without letting up on the heatsink when putting it back on, then screw it down in an X pattern.

 

Derek nailed it. Improper pasting and heat sink pressure can really make or break heat dissipation. And those temps are far too high for any GPU, let alone the 485M.

 

Redid the thermal paste, booted up arma 2 (dayz mod) and saints row, was running about 84c. Hot, but not as hot. Ill do some just general computing in a bit, see what comes up

 

Redid the thermal paste, booted up arma 2 (dayz mod) and saints row, was running about 84c. Hot, but not as hot. Ill do some just general computing in a bit, see what comes up

 

That's actually about what I'd expect, with a little curing you should be seeing a little better yet still.