SZ6 abruptly powers off. Nvidia 8400M GS problem?

I had assumed, but I want to make sure that my SZ6's problem is due to the Nvidia temp defect thing everyone's talking about.

Basically my computer is always very hot. Just downloaded SpeedFan and the GPU and both Cores are 78C and i've just been surfing the web for a few hours. The problem happens when I play games (like Civ4 or Half-life 2) for a few hours or sometimes less if its a hot day. The laptop will abruptly power off as if I pulled the battery and power cord out.

When I reboot, I get that error message that says Windows did not shut down properly, do you want to reboot normally or in safe mode. If i immediately boot normally and start the game back up it usually crashes in the same way in 10-20 minutes.

I dont know what the temps are when im playing a game, but considering my idle temps and how hot it feels, its really ********* hot.

 

ok ive now heard that this is a different problem than the mass problem everyone else has. anyone have a clue whats going on with me or how i should look/proceed?

ive reformated twice and in all three iterations its been having this issue

 

It is not a solution but have you thought about using a cooling pad when you game? You might have some overheating problem.
If i were you i would reapply thermal paste on the CPU and also the GPU. I would recommend something like ICD7.
Also, may be you could look into undervolting.
I would restrict my usage to using speed mode for gaming only.

I don't know if you have any warranty left but if you did i would just send it in. I assume that this problem has not always been like this?

 

issue I am too familiar with, happens often in summer.
It is disappointing if not shocking that Sony never bothered about overheating issue, Vaios either hang or shutdown unproperly depending on model.
On Thinkpad you get timely warning and have various option:
1. stop the application (in my case mostly video renderings)
2. shutdown manually, let it cool down.
3. Grab table fan and point it at the notebook ( indeed used it often) till rendering finishes
4. Auto shutdown but in proper manner.
The worst Vaios, impossible to use without proper pad - GR- those 16` P4 beasts and FZ .
Never had it on any SZ, worst case would go into mega noisy but never hang or shutdown. Maybe time for some cleaning and reaplication of the cooling paste.
Cooling pad is good solution, bigger fans are not so noisy, lower frequency, not so irritating and will prevent the Vaio to go to the noisy (obnoxious due to small size fans) top gear.

 

Thanks for the tips. I've never undervolted or applied thermal paste before but Ill give both a shot. Any recommendations for undervolting programs you found particularly good/easy?

This laptop used to belong to my sister who never games. So i dont know if the overheating has always been this way. Ive had the computer for 1 year, but I didnt really play games that much either during that time bc i was in college. now that ive graduated i find myself with less things to do and also ive missed out on playing many games released in the past 4 years so i was hoping to game once again more

 

This thread is the official undervolting thread. You will find lots of helpful tips in that thread.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=235824

 

wow i just did a stress test for 10 minutes as that guide suggested and my cpu temps maxed out at 96 while my GUP maxed at 87!!!

right now theyre idling at 78 and 81 respectively.

I opened up my SZ and the fan looks pretty clean. granted its hard to see, but i dont see much dust.

 

How about the heat-sink grill?

 

something is very wrong.

call Sony. your computer is shutting down most likely due to thermal events.

repair or replace. something is up with the thermal paste, heat sink, fan, or some combination therein.

 

i'll call sony, but i dont think im under warranty any more. balls

I did some undervolting for the max multiplier. Only shaved off the temp 3 degrees before errors (it now maxes at 93)! Thats not even worth it.

also I have windows 7 installed and ubuntu as a dual boot. The heat problems were there with plain ol vista though so that aint the problem. However, will those operating systems void my warranty?

Update: When I opened it up before I didnt know how to access the heatsink but this time i was able to. It was clogged alright. Stress cpu temp is down to 84! (although today is a lot cooler than yesterday).

also i looked at the thermal paste and will upload some photos. im not sure if theres enough.

http://img156.imageshack.us/i/img0003nzh.jpg
http://img200.imageshack.us/i/img0008rzw.jpg

 

That's too hot for what you're doing. The only thing I can think of is that your browser plug-ins are really using the cores. (Flash used to do this a lot but other plug-ins may be CPU intensive as well).

When I first got my SZ it idled around 70° (iirc). It's now does that at 75° which I suspect is because the GPU chipset is failing.

At 78° though (and not gaming) something is definitely wrong with your notebook.

It sounds like you exceeded the temperature limit. The computer is actually behaving correctly by shutting itself down. You're real issue isn't that it shuts down - it's the high temperatures that trigger this.

You really need to know what the temperatures are - especially while playing games. If you continue the same behavior and a game pushes the GPU past 90° you'll soon be out of a notebook.

If you aren't already using RivaTurner you should download and install it.

Not only can you put the temperature in the system tray but there's also an on screen display option while gaming (also displays FPS as well). Great program and highly recommended.

Back to your issue:

It might be helpful to know what OS you're using as well as the version of the Nvidia driver. If you've upgraded the stock drive what brand and model did you choose? Power management software or default OS power scheme? Is Powermizer (Nvidia) enabled?

Vent and fan are the next suspects. To really clean it you need to lift up the keyboard and slide the palm rest off. Vents problems are pretty easy to identify but fan problems less so (especially if you've become accustomed to the sound the fan makes). You need to determine if the fan is going. If it's not performing the way it should you need to order a part to replace it (~$75 on the Sony Parts and Service site)

At this point - if you've ruled out software issues, the drive, vents and fan I would suggest contacting Sony to see if they'll extend your warranty by including the SZ in with the Nvidia issue. They may decline but it's important for you (and other SZ owners) that they become aware when each of these machines fail.

If this doesn't get you anywhere then I'd also recommend swapping in better thermal paste. It will also give you ca chance to check for charring and (with the aid of a lens) cracks/fissures on/around the processors.

My buddy swears by his notebook cooling stand. Personally I think it's ugly and bulky but it actually does keep the temperature down about 5° when he plays UT. If you're using your SZ as a desktop replacement (and it rarely moves) maybe this might be an option?

I hope that I'm wrong but it sounds like there's already damage done to your notebook and (if it's the GPU) then no matter how hard you try to prevent it - it's going to get worse the more you use it. If you can't afford a new notebook right away you may want to consider running it permanently under integrated graphics (Stamina Mode). This may buy you time. At the very least you can compare temperatures with the Nivida chipset (Speed Mode) to determine which is the culprit.

Whatever you do don't be suckered into paying for a new motherboard. If it's the Nvidia chipset that failed Sony should replace it for free.

 

Thanks for the detailed reply. I really appreciate your help.

The fan is definitely working. I can feel some air moving.

Right now I'm running the latest Windows 7 RC, but the heat problems were still there before when I was running Vista. I had reformatted twice and have always had heat issues so I doubt it has to do with the OS. The power scheme is normal.

I don't remember what drivers I was using under Vista (probably the sony ones), but right now under Windows 7 I'm using the "prerelease WDDM 1.1" drivers 8.15.11.8171. These are the latest drivers under Windows update. My sz has a 8400M GS. I don't know if powermizer is on or off; I looked all over the settings and couldnt find it. I'm not sure that powermizer is available with these drivers.

As I stated in a previous post, today I opened my computer up for a second time to clean out the heatsink, which I had missed on my first round of cleaning a few days ago. The heatsink had a lot of dust and afterward my CPU stress temps were reduced to around 87 degrees with no undervolting.

Before this 2nd cleaning job I had downloaded ORTHOS, HWMonitor, and RMClock as someone else suggested. At that time my undervolting only shaved my CPU stress temps from about 96 to 93. Now that I had cleaned out the heatsink, I decided to give the undervolting another go. This time i was able to achieve stable settings at much much much lower voltages. I need to run some long tests to determine what my new cpu stress temps are. Once I do that I'll update again, but I think they'll be mid-70s! Thats pretty livable, especially considering i was previously putting up with 96 degrees!

 

wow. after testing it seems my cpu stress temps are now about 73 degrees!

I wonder why my undervolting was so much better this time. maybe warnings from the stress tests were actually overheating warnings rather than undervoltage warnings.

 

Hi rfii

I have exactly the same problem with my SZ. It showed the same symptoms exactly as yours only mine went one step further and after powering down over several days, the nVidia chip set then DIED. stopped. the Sz will now only boot in stamina mode and I cannot find any trace of the nVidia in device manager. its as if it no longer exists. regardless of the position of the stamina/speed switch the intel graphics chip is all that works. the sz is of course now running much cooler.
I have been fighting with Sony to try and get a repair because of course I am now out of warranty. - bought late 2007. They swear that the problem is not the nVidia despite their problems with all the other models. To me its obvious that it is the nVidia that was running too hot! and has probably now burnt out.
As it is an integral part of the mother board apparently they are saying that they want € 850.00 before picking it up to repair. OUITRAGEOUS!!!
I refuse to buy that. I can go to PCWorld and buy a new MacBook for the same money.
ANybody got any further news on how to pressure Sony into doing the honourable thing with our SZs. As some other poster said this was the top end expensive model!!