The M14x Temperature Debate

I, like many of you, have the Core i7 2630QM processor in my M14X. This series of processor has been known to run very hot. According to the manufacturer, this processor series can handle temps up to 120°C and the bios is coded to shut down at 100°C to provide a "cushion" of safety.

For most processors, these temperatures are too high so it has caused many users to freak out when they monitor their CPU and see temps as high as 99°C. But, apparently, the i72600 series was built to handle these high temps.

For me, during gaming without Turbo Boost enabled for my CPU and without overclocking my GPU, the max temps I get while gaming are ~80°C for the CPU and ~70°C for the GPU. However, with Turbo Boost on and overclocking the GPU to 750/1500/1000, I get max CPU temps of 95°C with good ventilation and up at 99°C when sitting on my lap and GPU temps at ~75°C. I don't use a cooler and I haven't repasted my CPU or modified my system in any way. I use nVidia system tools with HWinfo for overclocking and monitoring. Even at my highest temps I have not experienced any throttling, freezing, or shut downs to to high CPU temps even at 99°C. Additionally, I have not experienced any damage to my system or the surrounding chassis due to these allegedly high temperatures.

Let's find out what's normal. Please post your data for max temperatures while gaming.

Guidelines for Posting

• Post your max CPU and GPU temps while gaming.
• Remember to include whether you're overclocking or using Turbo Boost and what settings you're using.
• Include whether you're using a laptop cooler or have done a repaste or other system modification.
• If you've experienced any system shut downs, throttling, or damage to your system due to high temps, please include details.
• Only post information if you're using an M14X with one of the i7 2600 line of processors!

Hopefully, once we collectively compare all of our data, we will see that the high temperatures are normal and not causing any real damage so that we can stop worrying and run Turbo Boost and overclock comfortably and safely. If we do find that high temperatures are indeed causing damage, we can find out what the real limits are and take the necessary steps to keep our CPU at safe temperatures.

 

My 2630qm seems to handle high temps okay. Rarely does a game crash because of heat, probably close to zero. Before I started using a cooling pad, normal browsing, word processing, made my computer very warm, too warm sometimes for the task. During gaming it was too hot to touch the bottom. I overclock the gpu to your settings, except my memory is 1050, and it gets around 75-82 degrees, cpu around 85 while gaming. With the cooler, those numbers are down 5 degrees Celsius, but the bottom is only slightly warm, which is a win in my book.

 

Nathan - ok lets do it again lol

Very useful thread.

Post your max CPU and GPU temps while gaming.
83 and 66

Remember to include whether you're overclocking or using Turbo Boost and what settings you're using.
GPU OC 750/1050, Proc. Turbo boost YES, Bios settings processor 55-56-99

Include whether you're using a laptop cooler or have done a repaste or other system modification.
Laptop cooler NO, re-pasted 3 months ago with IC7 both CPU and GPU

If you've experienced any system shut downs, throttling, or damage to your system due to high temps, please include details.
Never
​
Only post information if you're using an M14X with one of the i7 2600 line of processors!
2630QM


Peace

 

no turbo boost and i hit max 85-87 on the CPU and average 68-72 on GPU with an overclock on 830mhz, except in the snowy regions of skyrim then my gpu gets in the 80's

 

Hi, do you mind explaining which Bios settings the 55-56-99 are?

 

I have the newer i7 2670QM. Turbo boost is off in bios, I use cooler master U2 cooling stand and have repasted with IC diamond. I have seen peak temperatures of about 80 degrees C playing skyrim.

I would say that the cooling stand is good for about 5-10 degrees C worth of temperature reduction. I bought the m14x with IC diamond already applied so I'm not sure what difference it makes. I have not had any thermal problems.

 

Processor - i7 2670, Turbo boost in on, haven't repasted (yet).

Before, with no ventilation (i.e sitting the laptop flat on a desk) I would max out at 98C playing games like skyrim and around 90C when playing less intensive games like L4D2 and TF2.

After noticing the tempatures under HWMonitor I grabbed some nearby books and propped my m14x up on both sides. Immideatly I got a my max tempature down to around 80-85 degrees in Skyrim and mid to high 70's in other games.

I plan on buying a cooling pad/repasting in the future, but for now I'm quite happy with the temp reduction I got from simply sticking a pair of books underneath the notebook.

I haven't noticed any errors so far that relate to overheating, but I also haven't overclocked anything just yet.

Cheers.

 

Posting a pic for you. Please keep the values only at 55-56-99. Anything over that will be defaulted.

 

Great. Thanks for the posts everyone. I think the most valuable piece of information that I'm gathering from this is that it's definitely normal for the CPU to run in the 80-90s and this apparently does not cause any real problems. Please continue posting!

 

IMO you can say that it's "normal" to run so hot and have such high variances in heat (and such obvious differences - such as 10c colder when repasted with a decent thermal paste)... but i think that alienware just did a shoddy job and idc if they say "120 c" is normal... when you find your paste literally blobbed onto your cpu and gpu it's just not conducive to running intensive programs (or the price of a $1100 + laptop!)... idk i would say that none of these scores should be considered "normal" unless repasted DECENTLY (if they even did it decently with their own brand of alienware paste or w/e they use, temps would be wayyy down).

 

I agree, the CPU runs hot.

99c (Dell paste) versus 83c (IC7), that is 16c !!!

And, the processor throttles at 97-99c I believe, so FPS go down a lot.
Does anyone know what temp GPU throttles? I cannot bring it over 66c even if I run MSI Kombustor and Throttlestop Bench at the same time.

 

Based on the information posted here thus far and the many other threads that I have posted on multiple different m14x related forums, it is safe to say that it is "normal" for it to run as high as the high 90s during gaming.

Overclocking the GPU and using Turbo boost is what generally gets people into the high 90s with the stock paste job and no modifications or coolers but there are some processor intensive games that will get the CPU that hot even without the aforementioned options enabled. It is collectively understood that it is common for the stock paste jobs to be done poorly. Thus far though, there has been no common report of damage to the system or chassis as a result of high CPU temperatures. According to the results and official statements made by the manufacturer, it is normal for this processor to run "hot" in comparison to other CPUs. It was built to handle the temperatures that the majority of us are seeing and so far we have no reason to believe that these temperatures are going to cause us any real problems. There are very few reports of restarts/crashes/throttling and so far no reports of damage in non-defective units.

 

I just finished playing bf3(running on 900p everything wither high or ultra) on campaign for about an hour, my CPU max temp was 73, and my GPU was about 70, funny I played Gears of war(the first one) on my bed for about 30mins and the CPU/GPU shot up to about 85 on max, then I moved to my pc wooden desk and the temps immediately went down 10-15 degrees. I think the surface has a lot 2 do with the temps from my experience. anyone have the same effect?

 

@Kris - as posted elsewhere, I would have everyone post:
1. system specs
2. bios (a01, a03, or a05) or unlocked and ver
3. Using 3rd party apps for fan control
4. What app/game was used to push the cpu/gpu for temps (and details)
5. Environment (any external fans/lapdesk, etc.)

Good Luck

 

Mine seems to top out at 91 degrees:

i7 7630
6gb 1600
750gb
1.5gb 555m
a05 bios
simple laptop cooler (one big fan in center blowing upward at bottom of laptop)
no special software
no overclocking
(purchased as refurb)
I've not touched the laptop yet, so whatever goop is on it is what it came with.

This past weekend I played a lot of the swtor beta and also WoW. In both cases it never went past 91 degrees. I did have to white list it for swtor. I keep them generally at high settings but with shadows turned down. I couldn't tell you any specifics at this point though.

 

I thought of doing this originally but the additional information can really only be used for those who are attempting to run cooler and seek out extraneous variables causing high heat and there are other threads for that. I want to really discover what "normal" temps are for the average user whether they are overclocking or not and if the reportedly "high" temps are causing any damage.

So far it seems we are all in the clear. Compared to other CPUs, our CPU runs hot. However, for us, high 80s to 90s is apparently normal and nothing for us to be worrying too much about.