Is this a symptom of overheating?

Tried to search through the posts about overheating, and I can't find one that exactly matches my symptoms.

Playing taxing games (it's most noticeable in RO2 but it happens in other offline games as well), about every 4-5 minutes the screen blinks and my framerates drop to single digits for about 15-20 seconds. Then it blinks again and returns to normal. No shutdowns or crashes -- just these odd, brief (and annoying) slowdowns.

According to CPUID HWMonitor, my GPU temps hit 90-92C at max load, but the "blinking" seems to happen even if temps are in the 80s. Also, the fans don't seem to be roaring like I would expect when the temps are getting this high.

Just need some guidance on troubleshooting. The vents are clean and clear. What do I check next? Rig is still under warranty at least.

Thanks.

Alienware M15x
Core i7 820QM; 6g ram; GeForce GTX 260m

 

download hwinfo32/64 and monitor your fans when you are gaming and see if they are 3k+ fan speed max is around 4.2k rpm. 90-92c is getting to be a bit in the high area for temps. Are you on the most current bios A09? What driver are you using for the 260m? Also, repasting is anothing thing to do if the above mentioned have been checked. Btw you can manually set your temps for the fans in hwinfo, by clicking the fan looking little icon next to the 'logging start' button. Don't worry abou the gpu2, just ignore it. Once you move the slider to the desired rpm then click set manual. See if that brings your temps/fps fluctuation in order. Also, another thing to try is to reinstall the drivers (remove all nvidia traces, run driver sweeper/ccleaner, then reboot and install fresh drivers)

 

Thanks for the tips!

My BIOS was A05, so that's the first thing I updated (to A09). NVIDIA driver version is 301.42.

Working through your suggestions.

 

Okay, here's what I've done:

Updated BIOS A05 --> A09.
Removed, cleaned, rebooted, re-installed INVIDIA driver 301.42.
Checked fans with hwinfo: they seem to be running correctly around 3.7k.
GPU temp topping out at 91C after 30+ mins of high load gaming.

Still getting that "blink" or "stutter" onscreen followed by a framerate drop every 5 mins or so, lasting only about 15-20 seconds, then another "blink" and it's back to normal. Seems less severe than before, but it's still there.

Next troubleshooting steps? Tinkering with the thermal paste seems beyond my (very novice) skill set.

Thanks again for your help. Very much appreciated.

 

Hi Roneya, you've received great advice so far. Another thing you can do is clean the vents with compressed air, that requires less tear down than re-pasting. However re-pasting could really help. These two steps can significantly drop the temps. Check out this article with practices to perform on a regular basis to avoid overheating. I'll also leave the link to download the Service Manual in case you want to give re-pasting a chance.

 

I think you just need to repaste, that is way too hot. When I first got my M15x, I upgraded to both a 920xm and a 460m and pasted them myself (my first time pasting anything) and it is pretty easy, there are plenty of guides to help you out if you want to use them. I need to redo the 920xm but the 460m came out great. Just take your time and it will come out great!