GPU Overheating ~ Laptop

Post » Thu Dec 08, 2011 3:00 am

ok so I have a Radeon Mobility HD 4650 in my Cyberpower laptop and its been randomly overheating during gameplay. I don't think it has its own dedicated fan. I think the CPU fan cools the entire rig. Anywho I can play fallout 3 for about 2-3 hours before the laptop goes nuclear and shuts down. With far cry 2, it will last anywhere from 20 minutes to 4 hours. I know its my GPU because when I use FurMark the GPU will go up to about 115 degree C and shutdown. The laptop runs great accept for this minor issue. A note worthy occurrence happened when my sibling was upset with me so said sibling flipped my laptop across the room and stomped on it. The only thing I thought was damaged was the cracked screen. I threw a new screen in the old laptop and it ran great, but then these overheating issues started occurring.

Also a problem I had before "the incident" was that my laptop would randomly stop using the auxiliary power and go to battery mode while still plugged in and the dummy lights and power buttons would start flashing. Not really a big deal, because unplugging and plugging the power back into it fixed the problem. It would just do it frequently sometimes and would get really annoying. This problem hasn't happened for awhile though.

Did I mention I hate computers? :brokencomputer:
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Carolyne Bolt
 
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Post » Thu Dec 08, 2011 2:44 pm

Make sure the vents aren't filled with dust and stuffs. If they are, clean 'em out. Also, make sure nothing's blocking them when you're gaming. Cooling pads can help.
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Peter lopez
 
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Post » Thu Dec 08, 2011 7:46 am

The vents are clean as far as I can see. I'll try taking a vacuum to them and see what happens though. I always keep that laptop on either my lap while making sure the CPU vent isn't blocked by my leg or I keep it on a hard surface. If the problem keeps happening I think I'll take the laptop apart. :sad:
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Chloe :)
 
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Post » Thu Dec 08, 2011 5:18 am

Don't take it apart unless you know what you're doing. Friendly word of caution :P
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Hilm Music
 
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Post » Thu Dec 08, 2011 1:48 pm

If you can, check to make sure all the fans are running and weren't damaged by your sibling's temper tantrum. :P If one of them is failing or just not running, that would explain the overheating.

Also definitely check for dust and clogs. I will second the recommendation for a cooling pad or fan, and to keep the laptop elevated a little (a proper pad/fan will do this for you)--not just sitting on your lap or directly on a desk. If the primary exhaust fan is on the bottom of the case, it needs somewhere to push that hot air to. Otherwise it'll get trapped and cause overheating.

Is this a new problem with these games? (IE, you've played them before, at the same settings, without your laptop overheating.) If it isn't I might just look into turning the settings down a little if none of the above fixes the problem.
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Charles Weber
 
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Post » Thu Dec 08, 2011 9:35 am

"Gaming" laptops always overheat. It's to be expected when you stuff that kind of horsepower into a tiny box without any cooling (a single [censored] fan is not cooling in my book)
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Daniel Lozano
 
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Post » Thu Dec 08, 2011 3:10 am

The vents are clean as far as I can see. I'll try taking a vacuum to them and see what happens though. I always keep that laptop on either my lap while making sure the CPU vent isn't blocked by my leg or I keep it on a hard surface. If the problem keeps happening I think I'll take the laptop apart. :sad:

Not just the vents, the heatsink itself. Mine was shutting down trying to run youtube videos, so I turned it upside down, took the bottom off and cleaned all the dust and crap off the heatsink with a cotton bud. It runs much colder now.

Obviously, don't do that if you're afraid of breaking it. I was nervous enough having to unscrew the fan to get to the heatsink.
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lexy
 
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Post » Thu Dec 08, 2011 2:30 pm

I just remembered, my laptop would make an alarmingly loud grinding sound if I tipped the laptop backward. It hasn't done that for awhile though.
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Lynette Wilson
 
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Post » Thu Dec 08, 2011 12:16 am

http://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j334/EchoPapa91/DSC00153.jpg
Here's the laptop from the bottom. I'm pretty sure the GPU is the one on the top left corner with the copper tube going to it. Maybe I could buy a more efficient fan? Everything looks very clean and intact. I guess if all else fails I'll have to buy a cooling pad.
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Facebook me
 
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Post » Thu Dec 08, 2011 2:53 pm

get a cooling pad or fan you can set your laptop on... Those are required for gaming laptops, and will cool it down -10 degrees or so mostly.

My laptop has a geforce 8600M, which was gaming laptop like 3 yrs ago... It use to get to 80c max before I got a 15 dollar belkin fan for it to sit on. Now it is usually 60-70 degrees tops.

115c is madness. That is what my desktop got to when my gpu fan broke. You need to cool that laptop BIG TIME. 90-100c temprature for a long period of time will prob fry your laptop.
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Ross Zombie
 
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Post » Thu Dec 08, 2011 3:01 am

get a cooling pad or fan you can set your laptop on... Those are required for gaming laptops, and will cool it down -10 degrees or so mostly.

My laptop has a geforce 8600M, which was gaming laptop like 3 yrs ago... It use to get to 80c max before I got a 15 dollar belkin fan for it to sit on. Now it is usually 60-70 degrees tops.

115c is madness. That is what my desktop got to when my gpu fan broke. You need to cool that laptop BIG TIME. 90-100c temprature for a long period of time will prob fry your laptop.

Optimally I'd like to buy a new graphic card I think I could easily replace the card as you can directly get to it from removing a panel on the bottom of the laptop. Though I'm not sure if I would have to disconnect any cables.
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Farrah Lee
 
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Post » Thu Dec 08, 2011 12:14 am

Optimally I'd like to buy a new graphic card I think I could easily replace the card as you can directly get to it from removing a panel on the bottom of the laptop. Though I'm not sure if I would have to disconnect any cables.

Most laptop video cards are soldered in place. Good luck replacing it.
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Destinyscharm
 
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Post » Thu Dec 08, 2011 12:22 am

Well I'm [censored]. I took the heat sink off to clean it out and now when I run furmark shoots to 110 degrees in 2 seconds... No skyrim for me :nope:
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jessica Villacis
 
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Post » Thu Dec 08, 2011 11:34 am

I think I need to replace the thermal paste on the gpu heat sink.
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Kat Ives
 
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Post » Thu Dec 08, 2011 8:02 am

Yea, if you removed the heatsink and didn't reapply thermal paste you seriously need too. If you spin the fan with your finger does it keep spinning or stop real fast?

Your GPU is soldered on the board under that larger heatsink, you need thermal paste on it, your CPU and then there's prolly a thermal pad under the metal piece right above the CPU.


And don't play with it in your lap if you do.
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Richus Dude
 
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Post » Thu Dec 08, 2011 4:54 am

Yea, if you removed the heatsink and didn't reapply thermal paste you seriously need too. If you spin the fan with your finger does it keep spinning or stop real fast?

Your GPU is soldered on the board under that larger heatsink, you need thermal paste on it, your CPU and then there's prolly a thermal pad under the metal piece right above the CPU.


And don't play with it in your lap if you do.

Yeah, I'm going to swing by the local radioshack and pick up some thermal paste. Can't be too hard to apply, but I'll probably google how to properly use it just to be safe.
And yeah, the fan bearing is still good and keeps spinning.
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Nancy RIP
 
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Post » Thu Dec 08, 2011 6:49 am

Yeah, I'm going to swing by the local radioshack and pick up some thermal paste. Can't be too hard to apply, but I'll probably google how to properly use it just to be safe.
And yeah, the fan bearing is still good and keeps spinning.



Grab some "Blue shower" too, use that to clean the GPU and CPU and the heatsink of any old thermal paste and then just apply a small pea size amount on GPU little less on CPU. CPU should have a shiny spot on top.
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Charlotte Lloyd-Jones
 
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Post » Thu Dec 08, 2011 8:50 am

Grab some "Blue shower" too, use that to clean the GPU and CPU and the heatsink of any old thermal paste and then just apply a small pea size amount on GPU little less on CPU. CPU should have a shiny spot on top.

I noticed there was thermal paste around the edges of the CPU but none on the center of the chip. Why would this be?
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Miss K
 
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Post » Thu Dec 08, 2011 2:27 pm

I noticed there was thermal paste around the edges of the CPU but none on the center of the chip. Why would this be?



It's been pushed to the sides when it was manufactured since they put a big glob on it and the old thermal paste had cooked in the middle of the chip to nothingness.
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Anthony Rand
 
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Post » Thu Dec 08, 2011 10:03 am

It's been pushed to the sides when it was manufactured since they put a big glob on it and the old thermal paste had cooked in the middle of the chip to nothingness.

haha wow, I'm lucky my computer still runs. I put some Arctic silver 5 on the GPU and processor. The processor now stabilizes at 65 degree at 100 percent but the GPU still creeps its way into the 100s. I haven't let it stabilized yet.
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Cat Haines
 
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