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D600 Video Overheating?
Ok... so this is the basic ordeal:
The computer seems to run fine on the surface... but... when I get into gaming etc... problems arise.
I have had the computer many months now, around 9 months, and up until the last 3 weeks I have had no problems with my video.
In playing online multiplayer games, previously running 100% perfect, now, after about anywhere from 10 - 30 minutes of playing, the frames per second of the game drop severely from around 90 to 10 and the graphics just basically drop down to a choppy blocky look and render the game unplayable.
Usually when this happens I notice that the bottom of the laptop is VERY hot... now... the thing I can't say is whether or not the laptop got this hot before this started happening. It has always gotten somewhat hot since day one and I have read all over these forums about the heat that comes from the bottom of the laptop.
Basically, asking for people thoughts on all of this...? Is it at all possible that these graphics problems, (that happen on any game not just one specific) could be Windows related? I was going to try a fresh install of Windows XP Pro...
Thoughts? Overheating caused by...? Video card malfunctioning?
It worked fine a month ago... I almost thought perhaps might influence it, but the temp has dropped severly and the problem persists.
Thanks in advance!!!
- jon
satchmo522
2 Posts
486
0
Posted June 2nd, 2004 03:00
Not sure if this helps, but my D800 1.4 gets very hot when I push it hard. I run Pro Video Apps (AVID, and After Effects) and it gets very hot. I run a Mac G4 laptop at work and it gets equally hot. I think the heat is normal performance.
Hope that helps, just me 2 cents!Make sure your notebook has good air circulation under it. You may even want to get a notebook cooler stand, something like this: http://www.hardcoreware.net/reviews/review-75-1.htm
- I am almost positive it is the RAM overheating. After A06, the BIOS seems to slow it down when the memory reaches about 140 degrees. I think a cooler pad for the bottom is the best solution. Downgrading the BIOS to A06 or earlier (not possible with a Dothan CPU) should also solve it, but you lose the new imporovements and it doesnt really solve the problem (hot memory).
freonchill
228 Posts
496
0
Posted June 5th, 2004 18:00
have you tried using I8kfanGUI to monitor these temperatures and see which component is outputing the most heat?
also i would suggest the use of either an elevator or a cooler below your laptop; especially if you are going to have in on your lap
elevator
http://www.targus.com/us/product_details.asp?sku=PA241U
or the super slim
http://www.targus.com/us/product_details.asp?sku=PA239U
cooler
http://www.targus.com/us/product_details.asp?sku=PA248U
or
http://www.antec-inc.com/us/pro_notebookcooler.html
have a friend who got this for his first gen alienware that he couldnt use over 3hours w/out it overheating and let it cool for 1-2hours; now he uses this and he doesnt have to stopMessage Edited by freonchill on 06-05-2004 02:37 PM
- We have a D600 here also and I am getting more and more concerned about the heat. The computer is now about a year old and it is beginning to have more and more performance problems. I believe the heat is taking it's toll on the system I have had to reinstall the operating system several times and done all bios updates and am still having problems.
- We are having issues with the D800 laptops in my company over heating and shutting down. We arranty the fans and replace them and they still over heat. We have noticed that this happens alot when the the smart card is removed from the reader then the over heating message comes up and automatically shuts down
- I'm having the same problem with my D600. Mine also ran very well up until a month ago, when I updated the bios and all the drivers. :( Mine is hooked up to the docking station of dells, which raises up the system a little, but hasn't helped in the least. I guess the sole solution is getting a cooler....but really Dell should make adequate cooling systems in their laptops.
I have the same problem when using the Dell docking station. Unfortunately, the docking station makes it quite impossible to use a cooling station.
One side note: Using a temperature utility, I did not notice any subsantial temperature problem in the CPU, RAM or GPU...
- You might also want to check the control panel power options. With WinXP and Speedstep, if your power settings are set to "Portable/Laptop", the system can (and frequently does) lower the CPU speed to boost battery life. You can change it to something like "Always On" or "Home/Office Desk" to keep the CPU running at full speed. This may or may not help, but it's something to be aware of.
pretz
24 Posts
486
0
Posted June 1st, 2004 23:00
I have a
Dell Latitude D600
1.6
512ram
Radeon Ati 9000 32mb
I have been reading about people saying to "flash the bios" ... how and what does that do? If it worked a month ago... why should I have to change anything?