m14xR1 GPU Hitting 99c

[phelophus 10]

Hello

I have a m14xr1 555m which has been repaired by dell 4 months ago. Despite a terrible service from the technician and two MOBO replacements, everything was working fine until few weeks ago when I was playing diablo3. FPS dropped to 5 and the game since then has been unplayable.

I noticed my GPU temp was too HI reaching 99c causing GPU throttling. I have been reading a lot about same issues from several people with the same machine claiming different causes: (Nvidia drivers, GPU physics load, Virtual Sync config, Blizzard patches, processor cores load, Dust in fan, etc). I have tested all suggested solutions and even re-pasted with IC diamond 24.

After all this it seems that the FPS drops and thermal increase vary from machine to machine for Daiblo3, so I decided to test with any other game and discovered the thermal increasing was happening again.

Before calling Dell again I would like to know if somebody knows what is the cause for those thermal increases in such way as idle remains between 50 to 60c. I acknowledge the GPU rise in temp with heavy load (even max settings) but shouldn't go beyond 80's

Many thanks for your time

[Khenglish 1155]

I'm thinking the GPU heatpipe got a hole in it so the moisture leaked out, making it worthless. Run a game with the back plate off. Put one finger on the end of the heat pipe where the GPU is, and another finger somewhere else on the heat pipe. The rest of the heat pipe should only take around a second to get hot after putting the GPU under load. If you don't feel the rest of the heat pipe heat up after putting the GPU under load within seconds, then the heat pipe is dead.

[Mehtaparth94 17]

I had the same Prob..

i am From india.. had the R1 Bought arnd Late June..

called up dell Under 30days of buying.. told them it was hitting 99C and also had some Heating Issues..

Dell Firstly Told me That they Would repair it..

i didnt want that to happen..

asked for replacement .. they cancelled..

Then agreed for a Refund but it was 20,000 INr loss for me.. so i disagreed

and finally after months of talking.. they gave me a Replacement .. but this time it was R2 because R1 Were Stopped Manufacturing..

And Then Replacement System R2 Came on 1st aug.. and again Around 10th aug.. Asked them for the Replacement of that too.. because of Alignment Issues.. and Heatsink Issues..

After another 20-25Days on Phone.. they Agreed For a Replacement.. My Order has been Shipped From the Factory As of Date.. and Hope it is Good this time...

[Guest Alienware-Luis_Pardo]

Make sure you distribute the thermal paste evenly across the GPU. Also, check if the thermal pads are correctly placed, mine were a bit off place and fixing them reduced at least 15C.

[L0rdDea7h 1]

Make sure you distribute the thermal paste evenly across the GPU. Also, check if the thermal pads are correctly placed, mine were a bit off place and fixing them reduced at least 15C.

Hi Luis, do you think If I ask for a technician to come to do the repasting for me, they will come? Because my R1 also been reaching between 97C ~ 99C.

[phelophus 10]

I'm thinking the GPU heatpipe got a hole in it so the moisture leaked out, making it worthless. Run a game with the back plate off. Put one finger on the end of the heat pipe where the GPU is, and another finger somewhere else on the heat pipe. The rest of the heat pipe should only take around a second to get hot after putting the GPU under load. If you don't feel the rest of the heat pipe heat up after putting the GPU under load within seconds, then the heat pipe is dead.

Many thanks for your answer. I haven't test it yet, this night i'll do it and come back with the results...

Hi Luis, do you think If I ask for a technician to come to do the repasting for me, they will come? Because my R1 also been reaching between 97C ~ 99C.

I really don't know if they go only for re-pasting. From my previous experiences with Dell technicians I learned that they usually don't carry thermal compound with them. So it is better for you to buy your own and tell them to use it when they replace MOBO or cooling system.

Perhaps you have the same issue I am having so I will post my results from Khenglish suggestion and let you know...

[L0rdDea7h 1]

I really don't know if they go only for re-pasting. From my previous experiences with Dell technicians I learned that they usually don't carry thermal compound with them. So it is better for you to buy your own and tell them to use it when they replace MOBO or cooling system.

Perhaps you have the same issue I am having so I will post my results from Khenglish suggestion and let you know...

Yeah that's what i'm trying to ask, because the very last time they come to change my heat sink, they use their stock paste and that seem to last only about 3-5 months before I start to see temperature rising again, this is why I wonder what if I ask them to come to repaste that while I would have them use my paste instead of theirs.

[mojo369 10]

would 80C be considered as overheating for my laptop ?

[Michael 1315]

would 80C be considered as overheating for my laptop ?

Nope. 80 is fine.

[Asaggynoodle 11]

Like others have said, Its either Very little (Or to much) Thermal paste. Or else, It would be a bad connection between the GPU and the Heatsink.

Are by chance your CPU temps very high also, as that would indicate dust or a broken pipe.

[quicksilv3r 10]

you got clean out the fents, i had my m14xr1 for over 2years now and it was reaching 99c .

so i opened up my laptop and found the fan that cools both the gpu and cup clogged, i also replaced the thermal paste but was 5years old but seems still work

[abolisher2407 10]

I performed a repaste job on my M14x last night. I used the Akasa AK-455 paste, the job was performed using the pea sized dot method on the GPU and a vertical line of paste across the CPU. I have run a number of benchmarks and the following results are shown for the temperature :-

Idle :- 42 - 46 degrees C

benchmarking :- 75 - 80 degrees C

I noticed on an odd occassion that the CPU reached 94 degrees C, according to RealTemp software. But I wonder if this is a glitch in the sensor reading / software?

[norcrossbt11 10]

From my experience, i believe the thermal pads are not on correctly, or as said previously there might not be enough paste/ it might not be pasted in the correct areas. Worst case... the card is toast from getting to hot, but I doubt that honestly.

[rhoryno 10]

Yeah that certainly needs a clean and some paste, i think the highest my GPU has ever gone to is 72

[Aerostang 12]

Different thermal pastes have different application methods, I'm not sure about IC diamond specifically but make sure you're using the suggested method for it!

[ionTrix 10]

There is a great read HERE on applying thermal compound. Based on their testing, the less you use, the better. Though this can change depending on the brand and area of application.

[Alienuser 10]

Yeah it's what i did, since my warranty expired, i decided to open the machine and reapply the thermal paste both on the cpu and gpu, it was overheating like hell, FPS dropped from 60 to a crawling 10 in a few minute while playing NFS Hot Pursuit, and after properly applying the paste, the issue was fixed. Just make sure the thermal paste is not too much or too little like others have said