Shutdown and very hot

Hey Folks,

I recently bought a laptop cooling pad with 3 fans because my laptop was getting so hot with OC (No TS) that games were slowing down. Now it works pretty well, although its still hot as hell after an hour of gameplay in Bulletstorm (with TS) and sometimes it just shuts down like if the battery is empty.

Another strange thing: in Bulletstorm with maxed out on 1360x768 with shadows on low it is running with 30-40Fps perfectly smooth <3

In AC:B with all settings to medium/low it is running with 15-22 Fps and sometimes drops to 5-9 Fps. What the hell? I play in 1360 with OC to 160mhZ and sometimes TS so my 1,2Ghz are going up to 1,9-2,2 Ghz which is pretty awesome but because of the heat I am aware I am damaging my m11x r2.
Got a core i7 btw

 

The shutting down is your computer overheating. It shuts down to prevent damage, but normally it starts to underclock itself before it shutsdown. It would be a good idea to record your temperatures for awhile, idle and while gaming.

I have the exact same problem and after a lot of research it probably is a bad motherboard ( which isn't that bad as replacements are covered under warranty ).

 

Okay, I saw when It is in TS with 2-2,2 Ghz the Core is going up to 90°, I play around now with the normal OC and mesure it

 

Yea that is the problem. For me my computer likes to start underclocking at 85° and turns off around the 100s. Although my main problem is the fan only turns on when it wants to ( it likes to be on when its 60° but turns off when it gets past 80° ).

 

Okay, even without TS and just 160MhZ OC my Laptop gets higher than 90°C, I measured it with CoreTemp and it warned me...I mean that is why I bouht the damn cooling pad...

 

Also if I have to say the laptop isn't feeling very hot...Normally it hurts because it is so hot, now it is medium...
Here is the log, you can see the °C very wel going up

 

how about with oc turned off? It your still getting high temps call alienware up and have them replace your motherboard cause it could be faulty if its producing high temps like that.

 

before you go off replacing things... i would try reapplying themal paste on the cpu, under the heatsink.

 

If the heatsink is properly installed, the core temperature should not be going up to 90C with or without ThrottleStop. Call Dell or better yet, clean and reinstall the heatsink yourself so there will be a good chance that it's done correctly. You'll love your M11x when you reduce the core temperature. It won't need to thermal throttle or slow down when gaming after you fix that.

 

iv seen cases where the themal paste is very poorly applied on the m11x, its rare but it does happen.

 

So, I just checked it and even without OC at all (Disabled in BIOS) my temp goes up to 88°C when gaming AC:B...Is there a tutorial for heatsink with the M11X or should I call Dell? The M11X is an expsensive toy to play around with, don't want to damage it although I can work with computer pretty well

 

If you are having problems with the fan turning off try this program HWiNFO32. It lets you control the fan speed.
1) Click to launch.
2) Click "Run"
3) Close the window that has info about your processor and video card.
4) In the main window click "Sensors"
5) There is a little Fan icon on the bottom, it's orange. Click it.
6) Roll up the fan speed to as 6900. (Note as the slider goes to 7200, I have only been able to use 6900)
7) Click "Set Manual"
8) Close program.

When you are finished repeat the steps back to the fan contoller window and click "Set Auto"

When I play Lord of the Rings Online, the machine gets really hot so i crank the fan to 6900 rpms to keep it cool. CoD BO doesn't make the machine run that hot so I just let the fan run on auto. I also prop my machine up with a bit of paper right under the HDMI to get some better airflow on my desk.

 

Fyi, if you're OCing 160, you should be going up to 2.7Ghz with or without TS. Stock speeds automatically turboboost up to 2.2Ghz. Once you get the heat reduced, you should see an increase in speed.

Another thing, do you live in an area where it's more warmer? Warmer areas without sufficient cooling will cause the m11x to get hotter. For example, in the summer time, and you don't have air condition, the m11x temperature will go up.

 

Well, I contacted Dell and sent them an error report, going to game now a little bit with the fan on 6900 although I am afraid of it (exploding? )

 

Dell isn#t answering, sent the third email now, will call again at the support center. I can't play anything because with/without OC/TS/No OC/No TS he is shutting down with 85°C after playing 15min...Damn...

 

You're M11x is shutting down at 85c even with the fan set to 6900rpm? Seems like this is either a thermal pate or dust issue.

 

I'm going to clean the fan maybe, but after 5 months? Anyway, I often used it in my bed, hrhr, so there might be alot of dust and particles

 

I clear my fan duct every 2 weeks. If I wait longer, the machine starts to get too warm. So yes, 5 months without a clean is probably the reason why you're machine overheats.

 

Oh, sounds logic, i'll keep you up to date...

 

Yep, I clean my fans once per month to prevent any dust build up.

 

After talking with the GREAT UK Phone support, friday a technician is coming to replace my motherboard. Yeah...finally...