Laptop's video card is overheating -> ~100

[Jose_49]

Hi people!

I have a Dell XPS M1530:

Nvidia Geforce 8600m GT

Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.4 GHz - 3 MB L2 Cache

4 GB DDR2 RAM

Windows 8 Pro 64-bit

Since 2 days ago I have been experiencing overheating issues with my laptop. Up to the point that it shuts down. I need help. I?ve tried the following to no avail.

1. Decided to take a look to the vents since I thought it was the accumulation of dust. I was half wrong. There were lots of dust piled up on the vents but that didn?t help at all. Not even at the slightest.
   
2. I installed Speccy to check the Video Card Temperature. It showed me that the computer idling it would display around 80?C, and when I opened any type of program, be it firefox, File Explorer, Microsoft Word, etc. it would hit 95+?C
   
3. I tried reinstalling the video card driver. It didn?t work. At first it said it was unsuccessful, but then I tried again and it reinstalled it correctly.
   
4. I installed Malwarebytes. I don?t know why, but every problem that anyone has on the forums, somebody must recommend this program. I saved that person the time and effort to suggest me the same thing.
   
5. I installed Dell Support Assistant to run the inner checkups. It was not possible. When I sent the checkup for the video card, it wouldn?t finish the test: the computer would shut down before I did something. (This ruined my Malwarebytes scan :s )
   

Symptoms:

1. Huge fan noise due to the speed.
   
2. Computer is cool, except for the bottom, which is a LITTLE warm.
   
3. Any program which can be GPU dependable and a little intensive would shut down the computer. Example: 1080p Video on Media Player Classic.
   
4. Computer performance is sloppy.
   

I?m currently re-running (after a failed attempt, see the first list?s step #5) a full scan with Malwarebytes.

My laptop is on crappy mode; it has difficulties on establishing a decent connection to the Internet, so I?ll try doing a restore point later (to see if that helps at all).

Any suggestions... or death sentence :s?

[Detection]

Dismantle > Check heatsink is not loose > reapply thermal paste > reassemble

[Jose_49]

Dismantle > Check heatsink is not loose > reapply thermal paste > reassemble

Hmm... Going to take a picture later to see if it needs thermal paste, but I'm sure that the heat-sink is properly attached because I dismantled it yesterday to clean the vents.

[crispkreme]

You may be suffering from the famous 8600 series overheating problem...

From Wikipedia:

Problems

Some chips of the GeForce 8 series (concretely those from the G84 and G86 series) may suffer from an overheating problem. NVIDIA states this issue should not affect many chips,^[40] whereas others assert that all of the chips in these series are potentially affected.^[40] NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang and CFO Marvin Burkett were involved in a lawsuit filed on 9 September 2008 alleging that their knowledge of the flaw, and their intent to hide it. ^[41]

One reason for the high failure rate was because of improper selection of the underfill material for the chip. Underfill materials are a type of glue that keeps the silicon die firmly attached to the packaging material, which is where the connection to the actual pins takes place. On the affected chips, the working temperature of the underfill material was too low and allowed the chip to move slightly if the temperature was raised above a certain level, weakening the solder joints by which the die is attached. This eventually leads to a catastrophic failure, although the way the chip fails is quite random. The primary reason for the failures listed above, that allowed the solder joints to literally melt, is an overlooked software problem^{[citation needed]}. NVIDIA's drivers assume that every card is based on a set reference design and the software controls the fan speed, as it should, based on that reference design. However, many 3rd party NVIDIA based video cards and especially laptops (where most of the failures occur^{[citation needed]}) deviate from this reference design and the drivers often set the fan speed far too low, or even shut the fan off entirely. This in turn causes the overheating issues mentioned above, and leads to failure of the chip. The solution is to switch the fan control from "automatic" to "manual" in the NVIDIA control panel, and select a fan speed that can adequately cool the video card, preventing failure.

The result of these failures was a class action lawsuit and subsequent settlement to address problems with Dell, HP and Apple computers.^[42] Unfortunately, Toshiba did not participate in the recall process although some Toshiba Forum posters ^[43] report that Toshiba has assisted them in resolving the issue.

[Jose_49]

You may be suffering from the famous 8600 series overheating problem...

From Wikipedia:

I know about that problem. I think that trying to solve that problem is what killed my laptop's motherboard in the first place. I did NOT apply the can of compressed air correctly (suggested by the Internet):

I let a little drop of water fall on the motherboard, I clean it with my cloth and said: what could go wrong? Everything went better afterwards! I didn't hear the fan at all! It took 3 days to the computer to completely die. The fan didn't diminished its speed... it died...

My laptop's motherboard is from last year's. I managed to snatch one from Dell from an extended warranty period I paid for 2 years ago.

So technically, since the video card is welded to the motherboard, the video card is kind of new... It will be a pity if I fall to this kind of problem AGAIN....

The difference is that the temperature is lower.... Before the motherboard replacement, the little ****** would reach 110?C before going numb!

[Detection]

Hmm... Going to take a picture later to see if it needs thermal paste, but I'm sure that the heat-sink is properly attached because I dismantled it yesterday to clean the vents.

Not sure how much truth there is in this, but the boss from a pc repair shop I worked at said the numbers marked on the screw holes on the CPU part of a laptops heatsink were there to tell you which order to tighten them in, I asked what happened if I tightened them in the wrong order and he said they can overheat.

He was a bit of a Billy bulls***ter so take it with a pinch of salt, but I followed the numbering and never had a problem

[Jose_49]

Not sure how much truth there is in this, but the boss from a pc repair shop I worked at said the numbers marked on the screw holes on the CPU part of a laptops heatsink were there to tell you which order to tighten them in, I asked what happened if I tightened them in the wrong order and he said they can overheat.

He was a bit of a Billy bulls***ter so take it with a pinch of salt, but I followed the numbering and never had a problem

...

:/

At least the problem was before that I unscrewed everything.....

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

Not sure how much truth there is in this, but the boss from a pc repair shop I worked at said the numbers marked on the screw holes on the CPU part of a laptops heatsink were there to tell you which order to tighten them in, I asked what happened if I tightened them in the wrong order and he said they can overheat.

He was a bit of a Billy bulls***ter so take it with a pinch of salt, but I followed the numbering and never had a problem

As per dell's instructions, that is exactly what you're supposed to do. Go in numbered order to prevent warpage/incorrect replacement of the heat sink. I'm not feeding Billy Bull*****er's theories, or anything, but technically you are supposed to for a reason. And just a heads up...make sure you use the correct amount of thermal paste when replacing it. It may take you a few tries, just get yourself a good temperature monitoring software, and watch it closely. I just had to re-apply thermal grease to my Dell Inspiron 1545, and at first, I didn't quite use enough to do a good job, so I had to re-do it. There are plenty of videos out there to help you with that part...just be sure you put it back together in the proper order, else you might either warp the heatsink, or mount it in a way that is not optimally keeping the CPU cooled enough. Also, a good time to check your fan(s) and make sure they are free of obstructions too. Sorry if this doesn't help, just doing what I know to do (I'm Dell Portable certified, freshly)

[Jose_49]

Guys. I'm really appreciating everything you've done :)

Before trying anything else... about the heatsink... I did try a system restore, and to my surprise, the PC does not shut down any more when I throw at it 1080p video... I'll try uninstalling Windows Update one by one to see which is the real culprit of all of this.

[Jose_49]

Holy mother of God! I'm seeing the numbers!

Not sure how much truth there is in this, but the boss from a pc repair shop I worked at said the numbers marked on the screw holes on the CPU part of a laptops heatsink were there to tell you which order to tighten them in, I asked what happened if I tightened them in the wrong order and he said they can overheat.

He was a bit of a Billy bulls***ter so take it with a pinch of salt, but I followed the numbering and never had a problem

I'm now seeing the numbers! :o

Now... Back to the problem... I tried all the software alternatives and it didn't work. Seems it is a video card related problem.

I've found this:

http://www.insidemylaptop.com/clean-replace-cooling-fan-dell-xps-m1530-laptop/

And I believe that by "Thermal Grease" he's referring to thermal paste, isn't he?

I'm taking a picture and posting it right now to see if that's the problem...

[Jose_49]

Well well... Afterunscrewing everything for taking some pictures, I decided to screw it the way "it's meant" by screwing following the numbers.... Boom! The computer does not make a loud sound to boot up! :o

It's still scorching hot though. Here are the images... I believe that the Thermal Paste is the true culprit....

[f0rk_b0mb]

And I believe that by "Thermal Grease" he's referring to thermal paste, isn't he?

I'm taking a picture and posting it right now to see if that's the problem...

Yup. You might also want to check into getting a thermal mat. This is the one I have. Very quit and does the job. http://www.target.co...page.vertical_1

It won't solve your issue, but it might stop your computer from shutting down on you.

What paste are you using? Try some Arctic Silver on it. Be sure to wipe all the old paste off too. I wipe all the larger globs off with a paper towel and clean it up with some rubbing alcohol.

[Detection]

Yea you definately need to clean off and then reapply the thermal paste

[Ambroos]

Also, try clocking down your GPU. Unless you're gaming it shouldn't affect performance but it will reduce temps. Just reducing all (max) speeds by around 30% can be a huge improvement. You can use this to do that: http://www.nvidia.com/object/nvidia-system-tools-6.08-driver.html - it adds an extra category in your nVidia CP.

[Jose_49]

Thanks guys! I'll be looking for some Artic Silver 5 and Isopropyl Alcohol to clean and replace it ASAP!

Regarding the Mat.... I'm already using one... :p It doesn't help at all....

Also, try clocking down your GPU. Unless you're gaming it shouldn't affect performance but it will reduce temps. Just reducing all (max) speeds by around 30% can be a huge improvement. You can use this to do that: http://www.nvidia.co....08-driver.html - it adds an extra category in your nVidia CP.

I've previously used NTuner to try to play Dead Space on Higher frequencies, but dished that since I lost the mood on the game. :p

I need to have them set at that speed because if lower, the DXVA wouldn't work so well :/.... And MPC uses the Video Card as main rendering device

[Jose_49]

Hey people, another question: which thermal padte should I buy?

I've heard that Artic Silver 5 is excellent, though I am open to any alternatives

[Ambroos]

Arctic Silver is probably the best you can get.

By the way, if you use MPC-HC, try Haali as a renderer instead of the default EVR. Haali looks better (in my opinion) and uses way less resources. It doesn't use DXVA but is at least as efficient. You can get it here: http://haali.su/mkv/MatroskaSplitter.exe - in the setup make sure to uncheck "disable MPC-HC's internal splitter". You don't actually need the Haali splitter, just the renderer that comes with the setup. Also avoid the setting that makes Windows Media Player the default for MKV's. After the install is done, check the MPC-HC Settings for Output and set it to Haali renderer. Restart MPC-HC and you'll see what I mean :)

[Jose_49]

Arctic Silver is probably the best you can get.

By the way, if you use MPC-HC, try Haali as a renderer instead of the default EVR. Haali looks better (in my opinion) and uses way less resources. It doesn't use DXVA but is at least as efficient. You can get it here: http://haali.su/mkv/...skaSplitter.exe - in the setup make sure to uncheck "disable MPC-HC's internal splitter". You don't actually need the Haali splitter, just the renderer that comes with the setup. Also avoid the setting that makes Windows Media Player the default for MKV's. After the install is done, check the MPC-HC Settings for Output and set it to Haali renderer. Restart MPC-HC and you'll see what I mean :)

Thanks for the heads up! :p

I was looking for ways to improve video performance! I hope this helps!

Regarding the Artic Silver. I'm going to look for one tomorrow to have it as Backup. I have one that my friend gave me, just so I could try to see if that was the problem.

On the other hand... I'm into the replacing the thermal paste. FOR CHRIST SAKE! This MUST BE THE PROBLEM, because the DAMN THING is hard as steel. It looks like the paste was soldered to the heatsink (The GPU end). On the other hand, the CPU went off flawlessly....

[Jose_49]

So! 1 hour and a half later I came up to the conclusion that it IS indeed the Thermal Paste which was the problematic here. I applied a small layer to the GPU as the Internet suggested. The results were great! The idling temperatures went down from 68?C to 60-62?C. The Computer didn?t make a single noise when it booted!

But? When I threw it a 1080p video it skyrocketed to 95?C!

I then decided to apply more thermal paste to see if it would work.

Before that, I decided to run a ?pre-boot System Assessment Build?, which it usually failed before applying the thermal paste and has yet finished.

When is finished I?ll post back the video performance and temperatures.

So far? THANK YOU GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

I?m happy again. I thought I would need to replace the laptop due to this crappy issue :p. So this means that my goal for building a desktop next year stands!

P.S: If it still giving me trouble, I?ll just put it some Artic Silver 5 after I get some, and that?ll finish the job ;)

[f0rk_b0mb]

So! 1 hour and a half later I came up to the conclusion that it IS indeed the Thermal Paste which was the problematic here. I applied a small layer to the GPU as the Internet suggested. The results were great! The idling temperatures went down from 68?C to 60-62?C. The Computer didn?t make a single noise when it booted!

But? When I threw it a 1080p video it skyrocketed to 95?C!

I then decided to apply more thermal paste to see if it would work.

Before that, I decided to run a ?pre-boot System Assessment Build?, which it usually failed before applying the thermal paste and has yet finished.

When is finished I?ll post back the video performance and temperatures.

So far? THANK YOU GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

I?m happy again. I thought I would need to replace the laptop due to this crappy issue :p. So this means that my goal for building a desktop next year stands!

P.S: If it still giving me trouble, I?ll just put it some Artic Silver 5 after I get some, and that?ll finish the job ;)

Glad to hear that! Good luck with your build next year! :)