Laptop Overheating problem

Hi guys,


I'm not sure this is even a problem I can solve-

My laptop was intended for gaming, however, when playing ANY games, my inbuilt Geforce 7600gs gets hot (100C and then throttles...) The fan blows warm air out so hot that we can actually keep the heating off in the front room!

So at 100C I get framerate drops every second lasting for a second, during which time the temp drops back below 100c, then everything works for a second....

So- the laptops pretty useless for gaming essentially- which is dissapointing-

Are there any ways to keep this thing cooler? I just looked up "laptop coolers" but they seem like a waste of time (and incidentally I got bought a passive lap/system cooler for xmas last year, which doesn't seem to help much.

underclocking does nothing, just takes longer to overheat- Lowering the dx level/details wont work.


Or can I consider a laptop with a 7600gs built in a major design flaw?

I'm contemplating hardwiring a more powerful fan into the GFX fans position so it is always on (ACPI implementation is pretty naff and often doesn't kick the fan into gear when it should- I know this thanks to Ubuntu Linux... and I know when this happens and can then force it to start...)

Alternatively, I just buy a new laptop.

Clean the fans. With compressed, clean air.

Fans are cleaned. I voided my warranty to do that as they are positioned in a really stupid inaccessible place at the other side of a heatsink about 2" inside the chassis.

[edit]
Oh and thanks for the suggestion, many wouldnt think to do it.

How old is it? Have you contacted the company you bought it from?...cleaning the fans won't help as much as getting the carpet of dust off the card/chip if there is one, and it sounds like there is.

Almost a year, i've been lucky enough to get a replacement drive even though the warranty was void. I more than likely won't be able to get it cleaned for cheap. I opened it once, I might as well open it again and do it myself.

Oh, I should add, and this MIGHT be a major point here-

I'm using modified Nvidia drivers- the mobile drivers for this machine caused crashes every now and then. The latest nvidia drivers with modified INF files work fine- and the clock frequencies are the same as with the mobile ones (so I doubt the different drivers play with the clock frequencies unless the overclock module is enabled..)

Argh. The machine can't run ubuntu which I need for testing perposes. Maybe its just time for a new one- I really like mine though.

This was the beastie. Had nothing but problems on it- I used to moan about Ubuntu not having sound working (ACPI problem) until I had to reinstall windows!!! Windows was like, "um, what the hell? is this a computer i'm running on? OH NO!".

http://uk.computers.toshiba-europe.com/cgi-bin/ToshibaCSG/jsp/SUPPORTSECTION/discontinuedProductPage.do?service=UK&com.broadvision.session.new=Yes&PRODUCT_ID=119355

What you should have done, before you opened it, was take it back to the shop, an swap it fo one tgat didnt heat up so much.
And if all the ones of this spec did heat up so much, then get you money back

Also consider getting a cooling platform these can be bought cheaply and is basically looks like a docking station with extra usb powered fan(s) to blow/suck cool air under the laptop.
Failing that, placed on a thick metal tray (pref. black, not shiny) to act like a sort of heatsink does a similar job (thats what i use :)

h&k- i opened it before i noticed the issue. it doesn't get warm unless I play games-

Actually, i opened it to clean it last time.

*shrug* So it looks like my laptop tray is the only option- now if only my laptop base wasnt so damn wide! (laptops 17", base is for a 14-15" laptop)

ta guys

Try to raise the laptop from the ground... maybe place it on 2 books left and right.
It is important to get an airflow beneath the laptop. 2-3cm of room between the laptop and the table should suffice.

If that alone doesn't help maybe try setting up a ventilator next to it.

I had a Dell once (never ever again) and these measures helped.

Sad that a 'gaming notebook' has such problems.

Oh and i can recommend ASUS for sturdy, high performance notebooks.

Is this a known design flaw with this model of laptop? I mean, are other users suffereing the same problem?

If not, I guess it must be fixable. Are the cooling fans fitted directly onto the chips (sorry, I know nowt about modern lappy hardware design)? Maybe re-seating it/them with some decent thermal paste will help. I don't suppose the GFX hardware is modular at all? Changing that would probably be a good last resort.

'Laptop' is a bit of an ironic name - the last place you can put them when they get this hot, is on your lap. :P

Sadly, seating it up like that makes it overheat *faster*!

@big10p.

There are known issues with the laptops ACPI implementation and fan. but, in fact, i'm pretty certain things got *worse* after the last firmware / bios update....

I've already made a decision not to buy a tosh laptop before- because it's tosh. :P

Gah, years ago, tosh lappies used to be about the best you could get. That was when laptops cost thousands (my Gateway P150 was over 3 grand) and manufacturers didn't have to churn 'em out really cheaply. :(

I did have a similar problem with my ati 9800 laptop..the fans went absolutely crazy until I sorted out the drivers. Something not set right was sending my video card into a spin. Been okay ever since. You'd probably be wise to get some older drivers and start from there.

tried every set of drivers I can, and the ones that work best are modified Nvidia ones. the ones specific to my machine cause crashes where the newer ones will throttle everything- causing an FPS lag making playing the games impossible.

Do a control/ alt/ delete and see what you've got running while it's going crazy. You might get a clue you never know - maybe it's not the card, it could be your CPU going in circles over something or a dumb ass MS service or something.

Laptops are always a bit finnicky if you try and do anything with them. It's probably the manufacturers crummy drivers than anything else.

My C900 based Alienware Gaming Laptop is overheating like mad too. In my case it's the CPU, so I'm simply gonna go replace it one of these days. Cleaning the fans worked for me, although only for short periods of time (like 2-3 months).

OK, Tracked it down... I noticed it happened when I upgraded a bios. I was not the only person who has this problem (Evak found a thread on a forum..)

Turns out that I now HAVE to use the manufacturers crummy drivers or the fans just don't kick in!!!!!!

Rediculous.


I'm going to hard-mod the fan to the system I think, constantly on, constantly cool, cuz now i'm forced to use driver revision 84.xx!!!