Which is worse {Temps}

Are temp spikes worse for a laptop than sustained high temps? My initial reaction is no, but am unsure.

I had been experiencing high temps {90s at high on RealTemp which did not have an average function}. I blew out the sinks and fans and ports and loaded HWiNFO64 {which does have an average function}. Playing today I was getting temps that were low-mid 80s for highest and low-mid 70s for average. One short session had highs in the 90s with the only change being disabling ClevoEC on startup of HWiNFO64 {like it asks for}. Playing after this for sustained period had {and leaving ClevoEC enabled} resulted in the earlier temp range. I am not sure if this could have affected the temps or if that part of the game was just too intense and caused the spike, Averages for that session were still in the 70s.

 

certain games while using core temps and gpu-z show high temps in mid to high 95-98c but these are just intemitent spikes.
running msi afterburner graph in the background shows average mid 85c throughout game with the odd second or two hitting 95-98c so really nothing to worry about. its only if it stays in mid 90c throughout the game.

download msi from link below and just run the graph in the background and then at the end of the game run your mouse over the graph to see the actual temps throughout the whole game.

 

Opinions vary from person to person, so my ideal temp range would be 58-72'C for the GPU. Thanks to the throttling built into the vBios, my card runs cool and quiet. To further reduce temps (down to 55-60'c while gaming), I always set the FPS limit to 60, sometimes even to 45 (when on battery).

Judging by the forum posts in general, 90% of the guys who run their machines hot (85-90'C), have GPU failures 1-2 years after purchase. The opposite is also true - guys who rarely play games (or play old and non-intensive games) have machines that lasted them 4-5 years with almost no complaints.

Thats my personal observation.

 

sorry mine should have said max of 85c and not average.
those are some good temps bob1man

 

I think it's just random. Consistent high temps DO have wear and tear on a card. It's not deniable, but it doesn't mean the card'll just up and die from staying within safe temp limits but having fairly high temps. For example, my 280M lasted a full four years (before the mobo gave out) on my D900F. And that card ran HOT. I'm talking... I noticed over 105 degrees celcius in some days; had to turn off my games. Lots of the time I'd get well into the 90s with it. Still alive; just that the board is dead on the machine (due to voltage spikes in my house). Then there's people with 680Ms in alienwares that max at somewhere around 75 degrees and die in two years as well.

Of course the least-used machines don't get put through their paces and have a tendency to live, but it's also about good care. If you use your machine all the time like me but care for it properly, it should be just fine in the long run... but if a card feels it's time to die, it's time for it to die, you know? Can't really change that.

Personally however, I try to keep my temps as low as possible. If for any reason I'm hitting near 80 degrees on any part with auto fans, I just change to max fans. It's a practice I have. This is my second machine however, so... I can't really say it anything about longevity otherwise. Some people are lucky and some are not.