Graphics card overheating...

[Casty]

Hi all, hoping for some help here. I have an Asus g72gx laptop and am currently having some problems with the graphics card overheating when gaming. I have played wow on the machine for roughly 2 years, and never really noticed any problems untill about 6 months ago. It would randomly lag out and drop to extremely low fps during gaming, but only maybe once a week. I have recently gotten Skyrim, and the problem is nonstop when playing it. After checking my graphics card temps, I found out that It is getting too between 100-105 degrees Celsius while playing, and not only am unhappy with the gameplay I'm getting but am also worried about damaging the computer. I have already taken the back panel off and dusted it, which there was very minor dust. I can hear the fan working, and it you can hear it kick into overdrive after roughly 5-10 minutes of gaming. Thanks, and any tips or help would be much appreciated!

 

[cliffordcooley]

I have played wow on the machine for roughly 2 years, and never really noticed any problems untill about 6 months ago. It would randomly lag out and drop to extremely low fps during gaming, but only maybe once a week. I have recently gotten Skyrim, and the problem is nonstop when playing it. After checking my graphics card temps, I found out that It is getting too between 100-105 degrees

The thermal compound on the video chipset may need to be replaced.

What settings are you playing Skyrim on? Lower settings could make a difference.

 

[Casty]

I am currently playing it on high, which was what it recommended. I have also tried on low as well, and there is absolutely no difference (which really surprised me). I really appreciate the quick response, I suppose i will be on my way to pick up some thermal compound later today or tomorrow. Any tips or tricks to replacing it? I have watched a few videos on it, but haven't ever actually done it myself. Again, thanks so much!

 

[Casty]

also, is there an easy way to tell if its the thermal compound and not a problem with the heatsink itself? might be a silly question, but figured it couldn't hurt to ask...again thanks so much!

 

[cliffordcooley]

also, is there an easy way to tell if its the thermal compound and not a problem with the heatsink itself? might be a silly question, but figured it couldn't hurt to ask...again thanks so much!

The heatsink itself should be fine. Its the cooling fans that may cause issues when damaged or blocked by dust buildup. The CPU heatsink fan is normally used to also cool the chipset.

However coolers with small tubes known as heat pipes could become damaged and quit functioning properly. I wouldn't know how to test a heat pipe for proper functionality other than simply using it. Your best bet would be to replace the thermal compound by following the videos you mentioned watching. If you are still having issues after that I'm sure someone here can help you figure it out.

 

[Casty]

I can't thank you enough for the prompt replies, I figured that I would have to wait around for atleast a week to get any kind of responses. I'm about to be headed out to get some thermal compound, is there really any thats better than the rest? It seems like arctic silver5 is very common and recommended, so was going to pick that up. If anyone would recommend something else please let me know and why. I also got onto AS5's website and checked out what method they recommend to apply the paste. I believe mine doesnt have something to spread it (TIM i think), then i was just going to do this with my finger covered with plastic wrap. again, any better ideas and why? Thanks so much all!!

 

[cliffordcooley]

I'm about to be headed out to get some thermal compound, is there really any thats better than the rest? It seems like arctic silver5 is very common and recommended, so was going to pick that up.

Actually that is the compound that I use. I've not had any experiences with other compounds, so I can't recommend one over the other.

I also got onto AS5's website and checked out what method they recommend to apply the paste. I believe mine doesnt have something to spread it (TIM i think), then i was just going to do this with my finger covered with plastic wrap. again, any better ideas and why? Thanks so much all!!

I usually place a small BB size dot in the middle and then let the heatsink spread out the compound. This ensures there are no bubbles in the bond keeping heat from dissipating.

 

[Casty]

well, sad news as it were. Watched a vid of a guy that completely disassembles one of these laptops on youtube, and come to find out to be able to get at the video card and replace the thermal compound, i need to completely take apart the laptop, and i mean totally. sad days, not sure that I'm up to that, although i don't know what I will do with the computer if I dont get this fixed as I already have a netbook for surfing the internet and such. Thanks again for all the help so far, just wish that I had been able to put it to better use. If anyone knows of a way to fix this another way, I'm all ears...

 

[Leeky]

Well you've nothing to lose by stripping it down, and you should be fine if you have a video guide to watch as you do it. You could literally do it while watching the video on your netbook.

All its going to take is your time.

 

[Casty]

its a very good point, it just seemed intimidating to do (plus the video guide only shows taking it apart, not putting it back together lol). It will be easy enough to do if nothing else works tho. For some reason my fan isnt registering on speed fan or any other utility, but when i enter the bios its getting up to around 4000 rpm. i dont know if that is good or not, but seems high enough. Also, just got off of the phone with tech support with Asus, they had me reinstall an older graphics driver and update bios, we will see if it helps. Very frustrated with Best Buy atm, as I have come to find out that they extend a 1 year warranty on this unit, whereas if I had gotten it via ASUS it would be a 3 year (same price, just was impatient). Sigh, hindsight. Thanks again for all the input. Is it possible that my graphics card is simply going bad? I would hate to take the whole thing apart just to find out that i need to do it again to replace the actual card.

 

[Casty]

Oh, also something strange. I asked the tech support people at ASUS what the recommended temps are for my graphics card, and she said anything up to 105 celsius, and that the temps ive been getting (100-105) are not abnormal. Thats way high is it not?

 

[red1776]

Oh, also something strange. I asked the tech support people at ASUS what the recommended temps are for my graphics card, and she said anything up to 105 celsius, and that the temps ive been getting (100-105) are not abnormal. Thats way high is it not?

105c is the stated acceptable operating temp for GPU's these days. HOWEVER, it is pushing the envelope yes. The warmer they run, the shorter the life span of the chip. it is also an indication that you need better ventilation, or have dust built up. Being a laptop that gets jostled around quite a bit, it may be that the thermal compound is dried up and the seal has been broke between the paste and the HS. When was the last time you took a can of compressed air to it?...and , are you sure the fan is functioning correctly and spinning up as the temp rises?

 

[Casty]

well, as i mentioned, i haven't found a way to check the fan speed as it is running, speedfan wont register my fan at all (says its at 0rpm). I do feel air coming out, and when it heats up around 80-85 degrees i can hear the thing kick into overdrive. I did go into the bios to check the fan speed, and after it running hot for a while,, i rebooted and bios register the fan around 4k rpms. I took a duster to it for the first time in the 20months Ive had it a few nights ago, but surprisingly didn't see very much dust build up. any ideas where dust bunnies might be hiding that i didnt see? i did not take the fan out, just took a microfiber cloth and wiped the minor build up off of the fan itself, and the shot compressed air through it. If there is a better method please please let me know. Again, thank you all so much for the feedback!

 

[hahahanoobs]

Take it to a shop or watch a youtube video on how to take the fooker apart and give it a good cleaning.

 

[red1776]

well, as i mentioned, i haven't found a way to check the fan speed as it is running, speedfan wont register my fan at all (says its at 0rpm). I do feel air coming out, and when it heats up around 80-85 degrees i can hear the thing kick into overdrive. I did go into the bios to check the fan speed, and after it running hot for a while,, i rebooted and bios register the fan around 4k rpms. I took a duster to it for the first time in the 20months Ive had it a few nights ago, but surprisingly didn't see very much dust build up. any ideas where dust bunnies might be hiding that i didnt see? i did not take the fan out, just took a microfiber cloth and wiped the minor build up off of the fan itself, and the shot compressed air through it. If there is a better method please please let me know. Again, thank you all so much for the feedback!

just a good blast parallel to the fin array and all around the board. What I think is the most disturbing is the sudden nature of the overheating. Did something change hardware wise just before this started? ...and are your Core clock the same?
If your up for it, I would re-apply the thermal compound. It dries out, and on a laptop can have the seal between the CPU and HS broken.

 

[Casty]

man, getting way more responses than i had anticipated...thanks so much to everyone. No, no new hardware, theproblem started about 6 months ago, graphics would studder once a week or so, and now its gotten worse to daily on wow and every 10 min on skyrim. I must admit, im a nub tho, or atleast really feel like one right now lol....the fan in my laptop has 2 pieces to it, and instead of taking it out and taking them apart to dust it, i just sprayed straight through both. Well, figured i could take it apart as a final thing to do, and TA - DA ...there was a filter between the two pieces that was CAKED. its cleaned up now, and will report back after a few hours of gameplay what the temps are like and if there prob persists....again, thanks so much (and for daeling with my nubness, lol)

 

[red1776]

So you had probably 10% of the airflow you should have had. Let us know how big a difference it makes now that it is cleaned up.
Hope that is the answer

 

[Casty]

it seems to have made a huge difference. Havent tried the monster that is skyrim yet, but been on WoW for a few hours now and its staying between 65 and 80 degress celsius. MUCH better. makes me feel like such a DA, but i suppose i shouldnt complain. Its a ton better than having to take the thing apart (which i still kinda wanna do to get AS5 on it). ah well, anotehr day maybe. Thanks again so much guys, big help here.