Reapplying thermal paste...

Hey fellas

Recently I've noticed my GPU getting progressively hotter, used to be playing Mass Effect 2 wouldnt push the temps above 68 degrees roughly, now playing it gets up to about 72-74, I havent changed any settings or anything, i did install the new beta drivers for BF3 (285.62) but no O/C. Is it just the thermal paste wearing out or what? Thanks!

Also been experiencing some random fps drops mid game...like maybe 1 second of sub 20 fps and then back to normal...any ideas?

 

Probably dust on the cooler...

 

do you think a standard hoover would work for cleaning it out?

 

if you hoover or blow the fans, make sure to block the movement of the fans. if not you may induct voltage (the princible of a van, just the other way) into the mainboard and damage it.

 

First of all..what kind of lappy are you using? (specs please) Second...how old is it. Third....in what kind of enviroment do you play BF3 and ME2?(indoors, outdoors, work, dusty conditions?) Are you making sure your vents are not covered?

 

its an i7 2630QM, 3.0 gig GPU, 6 gig RAM, 750GB HDD, i have it since July, and i mostly play it on a clean desk with a book under it so the fan is clear. I generally make sure its fairly well ventilated!

 

And this is the first time you have had an overheating issue? Or have you had this problem in the past?

 

Well if he/she post it in a M14x forum then he/she must have that laptop, and I know that this problem isnt new, but if it jump the temp then it might mean that either the air vent is block or the thermal paste is gone, whatever answer, I'm not sure.

But if you (OP) is going to reapply the thermal paste, there is a guide on how to take the parts out of the Laptop but that guide isnt for thermal paste reapply but it will be close enough to one because in that guide it show you how to disassembling and this is the link: Alienware M14x Disassembly/Teardown and Upgrade Guide!

 

Almost certainly a driver issue. Roll back to whatever driver you used when your temps were 68C.

Paste 'wearing out' and significant dust buildup doesn't happen overnight to cause a 4-6C temp increase. If the only thing he changed was drivers, that's clearly the issue.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions guys
I checked the fan, its definitly not a dust problem, and ive only had it since july, so I doubt it being the thermal paste wearing out...i'll try and roll back the driver to 275.33 and see if that helps.

 

i used Coolermaster thermalpaste and after that i have had no issues whatsoever . PS: its oc'd too!!

 

I rolled the driver back to 275.33, not much change really :/ Its kinda weird, its just been getting progressively hotter, I was monitoring the temps while gaming the other day and my CPU got to 97 degrees, GPU up to 79. Gone are the days it wouldnt go over 69 haha...Turbo Boost is already disabled.
Im a little worried about repasting in case I void the warranty, at least if the laptop cooks itself I can get Dell to take care of it...right?

 

I'm with him. Would doing a new paste-job yourself void the warranty? I've yet to get mine in, but I'm preparing for what all I want to do with it.

 

Re-pasting should not void warranty. There are no protective stickers when I did my re-paste, so no traces will be left. If something goes wrong, you do not have tell Dell you re-pasted. Anyways, I guess it is normal to re-paste on your own once every 6 months with good fan area clean.

I have to say, re-pasting was the most important thing I did for my M14X regarding temperatures. Dissasembly-repasting-assembly took me in total 1.5-2 hours first time I did it.