CPU/GPU Temperature too hot?

[Deatasja]

Hi!

I got a gaming laptop from PC Specialist in 2017. I've recently started playing Red Dead Online and noticed the laptop gets very hot i.e.
GPU temperature of 84 degrees Celsius and CPU temperature of 97 degrees Celsius. The max for CPU appearantly is 100 degrees so 97 is quite close to the max.
CPU/GPU usage is about 80%/90-100%

Details:
- CPU Intel I7 7700HQ
- Graphics card GeForce® GTX 1060 - 6.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
- 8GB RAM
- Windows 10
- 15.6"

Steps I've taken so far:
- Cleaned the airflow outputs/vents; didnt reduce temp
- Significantly lowered graphics settings; didnt reduce temp or usage
- Limited CPU cores from 7 to 3 in Task Manager; reduced usage to 50%/80% but didn't reduce temp

Anyone have any advice for me, are these temperatures really a problem in the long run and if so, what more can I do to reduce it?
Change in settings or recommend any good cooling pads?

Thanks in advance!

NB I should add the game runs fine, no drops in frame rate and no crashes (yet)

 

[Resistance100]

Has the thermal paste been changed at all since you purchased it?

 

[Martinr36]

Has the thermal paste been changed at all since you purchased it?

As well as this ^ have you had the back off to clean it, some good advise on this in the link below

How to clean your laptop

Hello everyone, From time to time users mention that there laptops maybe getting louder or hotter and personally i find that when that is the case the majority of the time that this is a result of dust build up in the machine. Laptops in particular require a lot of cooling and the the fans at...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[Deatasja]

No it hasn't, thanks for the advice I will look into this!

 

[lousmaczylo]

I had the same problem with a 17" defiance, I removed the heat sink module and took the fans off I found a whole lot of fluff. I only did this because I had already bought a replacement from alibarbar or what ever it's called. You will find that the exhaust bit of is choker with dust. It's a task where angels fear to tread unless like me you have a replacement module.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I had the same problem with a 17" defiance, I removed the heat sink module and took the fans off I found a whole lot of fluff. I only did this because I had already bought a replacement from alibarbar or what ever it's called. You will find that the exhaust bit of is choker with dust. It's a task where angels fear to tread unless like me you have a replacement module.

It's standard maintenance on any performance laptop to clean it about once a year using compressed air.

Every once in a while you'll need to repaste it also to keep it running at optimal temps.

 

[FerrariVie]

If after cleaning and repasting you could not drop those temps and really when to drop them at the expense of a few FPS, then I can tell you by my own experience that undervolting both CPU and GPU will make wonders to temperatures. But again, you'll likely lose a few FPS, depending on how aggressive your undervolt is (especially on the GPU).

Please keep us updated, as we can give you some tips on how to undervolt (if needed).

 

[Deatasja]

Hi!
Thanks for all great advice, I brought it to a professional and they cleaned and repasted it, but unfortunately he just messaged me that it made a whooping 1°C difference.
Any more I can ask him before I pick it up?
Is undervolting something I could do relatively low risk?

 

[FerrariVie]

Hi!
Thanks for all great advice, I brought it to a professional and they cleaned and repasted it, but unfortunately he just messaged me that it made a whooping 1°C difference.
Any more I can ask him before I pick it up?
Is undervolting something I could do relatively low risk?

Yes, undervolting is based on software, so it is low risk to the fact that you don't need to mess with hardware. In case something goes wrong, just boot windows into safe mode, delete the software and install it again from scratch to have your laptop back and running and try undervolting again. You can find instructions about CPU undervolting on the below video:

Keep us updated with the results and let us know in case you have any doubts/issues.

 

[Deatasja]

Will do, thanks for the video, sounds doable even for me

For now I picked up my laptop from the maintenance guy and found half of my programs broken. Right click on the task bar stopped working, left click on search menu and cortana, network, battery and volume on the task bar stopped working. Half of my apps and programs stopped working and/or give a lot of errors (all of the Microsoft Exchange and Office, some game launchers, one of my browsers, a few Windows apps such as calendar and photos). It seems there is some miscommunication between certain directories, but I haven't a clue what or how. The maintenance guy claims all he did was install a performance check program, not sure if or how this could have done so much damage and corrupted so many files.

Today I've done a backup and tomorrow I'll do a Windows restore, then hopefully soon I'm back to where I was and I can try your solution of undervolting!

 

[Deatasja]

Yes, undervolting is based on software, so it is low risk to the fact that you don't need to mess with hardware. In case something goes wrong, just boot windows into safe mode, delete the software and install it again from scratch to have your laptop back and running and try undervolting again. You can find instructions about CPU undervolting on the below video:

Keep us updated with the results and let us know in case you have any doubts/issues.

Hi!

So today I've finally reached the point of trying and testing, I was really excited to see the results because of the many positive responses to this program and the video you recommended. Sadly I was disappointed, since the max settings discussed in the video of -125 mV on chache and -350 mV on core and anything between that and 0 does exactly.. nothing. See below values while launching my favourite game.

So after
- Cleaning out the laptop from dust and dirt
- Reapplying thermal paste
- Complete clean install of Windows
- Undervolting CPU
The thing still reaches maximum temperatures

Any other ideas or recommendations or more options on the undervolting?

 

[FerrariVie]

Hi!

So today I've finally reached the point of trying and testing, I was really excited to see the results because of the many positive responses to this program and the video you recommended. Sadly I was disappointed, since the max settings discussed in the video of -125 mV on chache and -350 mV on core and anything between that and 0 does exactly.. nothing. See below values while launching my favourite game.


View attachment 22092

So after
- Cleaning out the laptop from dust and dirt
- Reapplying thermal paste
- Complete clean install of Windows
- Undervolting CPU
The thing still reaches maximum temperatures

Any other ideas or recommendations or more options on the undervolting?

It's weird that your CPU is still reaching such high limits, even after everything you've done. Do you use a laptop stand or, even better, a cooling pad? It might be that your laptop isn't able to pull cool air from outside, due to being too close to the table/surface.

I hate to say it, but in case you're already using a cooling pad, the last advice I can give is to reduce the max clocks that your CPU can reach, as it should actually be beneficial in your case since it is already throttling because of temperature (I can see it's running at 3Ghz only on the screenshot). You can do that easily by changing the speed shift EPP on throttle stop, something around 32 should be good enough. The speed steps can go all the way to 255, but that would be limiting your performance too much.

Ideally, you should have some kind of benchmark that could help you to assess what speed step works best for you, for example:

• EPP 0 will give you score X
• EPP 32 might give you score X+50 and lower temps by 5 degrees
• EPP 64 might give you score X-50, but lower your temps by 10 degrees

This is a kind of trial and error type of work.

 

[Deatasja]

It's weird that your CPU is still reaching such high limits, even after everything you've done. Do you use a laptop stand or, even better, a cooling pad? It might be that your laptop isn't able to pull cool air from outside, due to being too close to the table/surface.

I hate to say it, but in case you're already using a cooling pad, the last advice I can give is to reduce the max clocks that your CPU can reach, as it should actually be beneficial in your case since it is already throttling because of temperature (I can see it's running at 3Ghz only on the screenshot). You can do that easily by changing the speed shift EPP on throttle stop, something around 32 should be good enough. The speed steps can go all the way to 255, but that would be limiting your performance too much.

Ideally, you should have some kind of benchmark that could help you to assess what speed step works best for you, for example:

• EPP 0 will give you score X
• EPP 32 might give you score X+50 and lower temps by 5 degrees
• EPP 64 might give you score X-50, but lower your temps by 10 degrees

This is a kind of trial and error type of work.

Hi!

Thanks a bunch, that seems to have done something at least!
I indeed have a cooling pad, which makes a few degrees difference at slightly lower workload but while running heavy games it's not enough.
I tried adjusted the EPP and had the following results:

- EPP 32 lowered idle temp by 5 degrees, on stress test on only half of the cores (they spike to 97 but stay around 77-80 degrees mostly), other half of the cores still consistenly close to 100
- EPP 64 lowered idle temp by another 1-2 degrees, but the same as EPP 32 on stress test
- EPP 128 could not tell the difference between this and value of 64
- EPP 255 was significantly different as temperatures all stayed below 60 degrees, but indeed my performance was now really bad, about 50% of normal performance

Are there any values between 128 and 255 that I can try before I try playing a game on these settings?

 

[FerrariVie]

A lower EPP setting is going to keep your CPU running at its upper limits more of the time and a higher EPP setting will keep your CPU down towards its lower limits more of the time, so that's why you're seeing the spike to 97° and then going down after a while.

Keep in mind that EPP 255 is what windows does when running on battery, to save power. But you're free to try any value you want within that range, until you're happy with the thermals and performance that you're getting on both games and daily usage. You can always go into Throttlestop and change the value according to your usage at any time.

I remember that I used 32 on my old i5 and that would be the sweet spot in terms of performance and temps (imo), but that was a slow and cool CPU. However, this will vary depending on chassis and CPU.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I'd just reiterate, if temps are high it's because there's an issue that needs addressing with the chassis, either fan curve, fans operation or thermal solution (paste / heatsink applied incorrectly, were the screws applied in order?).

You should never ever ever perform any kind of undervolt / frequency adjustment until the temps are in check. If you are, you're not addressing the core issue and the problem remains and will often lead to further problems down the road.

Only once they're in check, should you ever think about manipulating the voltage / frequencies.

 

[Deatasja]

A lower EPP setting is going to keep your CPU running at its upper limits more of the time and a higher EPP setting will keep your CPU down towards its lower limits more of the time, so that's why you're seeing the spike to 97° and then going down after a while.

Keep in mind that EPP 255 is what windows does when running on battery, to save power. But you're free to try any value you want within that range, until you're happy with the thermals and performance that you're getting on both games and daily usage. You can always go into Throttlestop and change the value according to your usage at any time.

I remember that I used 32 on my old i5 and that would be the sweet spot in terms of performance and temps (imo), but that was a slow and cool CPU. However, this will vary depending on chassis and CPU.

Thanks a lot for you advice, I played around with it a little and finally found something that works: disabling the turbo. All temperatures are now consistently around 88-90 degrees after playing for an hour and no hiccups! Very happy thanks a lot!

I'd just reiterate, if temps are high it's because there's an issue that needs addressing with the chassis, either fan curve, fans operation or thermal solution (paste / heatsink applied incorrectly, were the screws applied in order?).

You should never ever ever perform any kind of undervolt / frequency adjustment until the temps are in check. If you are, you're not addressing the core issue and the problem remains and will often lead to further problems down the road.

Only once they're in check, should you ever think about manipulating the voltage / frequencies.

I hear you. That's why I took it to a professional first to have it checked, but ofcourse I don't know and can't say for sure how this person cleaned it and reapplied the thermal paste and with what material and experience. I honestly wouldn't know where or how to find someone with enough proven insight and expertise with something like this that could have a look at it. So until then, this solution may not be 100% the answer, it might still protect the parts from any (further) damage due to the high temps?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks a lot for you advice, I played around with it a little and finally found something that works: disabling the turbo. All temperatures are now consistently around 88-90 degrees after playing for an hour and no hiccups! Very happy thanks a lot!



I hear you. That's why I took it to a professional first to have it checked, but ofcourse I don't know and can't say for sure how this person cleaned it and reapplied the thermal paste and with what material and experience. I honestly wouldn't know where or how to find someone with enough proven insight and expertise with something like this that could have a look at it. So until then, this solution may not be 100% the answer, it might still protect the parts from any (further) damage due to the high temps?

If the underlying issue isn’t addressed, my guess is you’ll find the temps steadily creeping up and up and having to lower frequencies further and further to compensate until the chip burns out.

 

[TheMash]

Don't know if others suggested this, but you should check the contact between the heatsink and the CPU.
I mean, visually check if there's good contact between them.
If you're going to do this please take a picture of the back of the heatsink and the CPU core and post it here, I'll be more than happy to have a look.
Maybe a screw it's a little stripped and the heatsink isn't making enough pressure on the CPU.
Disabling the turbo of course lower your temperature, but you're throwing away power without using it, making your CPU slower and a bit inefficient as well.
Also a good idea is to create various profiles, for web browsing/office, high performance, and tweak the TPL of the CPU.
I recently started using the ICCMax setting, in the FIVR menu, which set a limit on how much current can be supplied to the CPU.
It will throttle the CPU down when it reaches the limit, so no harm at all.
I've been using it on my laptop, as it's an i7 10875H and it can push 100W very easily going full freq and turbo.
Before that I'd like to know why with just 35W of output power you reach 97 degrees.
Also the 0 setting for EPP it's totally inefficient, it makes your CPU staying at full frequency all the time, making your CPU, heatsink and chassis hotter.
I use 32 for a high performance profile.

 

[Deatasja]

Don't know if others suggested this, but you should check the contact between the heatsink and the CPU.
I mean, visually check if there's good contact between them.
If you're going to do this please take a picture of the back of the heatsink and the CPU core and post it here, I'll be more than happy to have a look.
Maybe a screw it's a little stripped and the heatsink isn't making enough pressure on the CPU.
Disabling the turbo of course lower your temperature, but you're throwing away power without using it, making your CPU slower and a bit inefficient as well.
Also a good idea is to create various profiles, for web browsing/office, high performance, and tweak the TPL of the CPU.
I recently started using the ICCMax setting, in the FIVR menu, which set a limit on how much current can be supplied to the CPU.
It will throttle the CPU down when it reaches the limit, so no harm at all.
I've been using it on my laptop, as it's an i7 10875H and it can push 100W very easily going full freq and turbo.
Before that I'd like to know why with just 35W of output power you reach 97 degrees.
Also the 0 setting for EPP it's totally inefficient, it makes your CPU staying at full frequency all the time, making your CPU, heatsink and chassis hotter.
I use 32 for a high performance profile.

Appreciate greatly your valuable tips and willingness to help ! I took below pictures just now, will admit I'm a complete noob when it comes to what hardware is supposed to look like and placed like, so kindly let me know if I need to look at more things and take more pictures.
Link to Google Drive because the pictures are too large:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1qr-2z79QM9CsDWZxvH3c45dkqIVzQFEM?usp=sharing

 

[FerrariVie]

Appreciate greatly your valuable tips and willingness to help ! I took below pictures just now, will admit I'm a complete noob when it comes to what hardware is supposed to look like and placed like, so kindly let me know if I need to look at more things and take more pictures.
Link to Google Drive because the pictures are too large:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1qr-2z79QM9CsDWZxvH3c45dkqIVzQFEM?usp=sharing

Matte, I also don't know how your specific chassis should look like internally, but 3 things caught my attention:

1. Does the CPU (or is it GPU?) heatsink look to be melted? Or maybe something spilt on the top of it and fried with heat? There's also a screw with a different colour (instead of the default black), but it shouldn't be a problem if it's the same size and length. The only heat pipe that goes that the same heatsink also looks a bit bent, but I might be seeing it wrong because of the picture.
2. In 3 ends of the fan heatspreader, there's a foam near the holes (which is expected). However, on top of the foam (or glue) there should be some kind of plastic cover, to make the airflow go directly out of the laptop, instead of back inside the case. It might be that the cover is sitting on the laptop's removable back, but not sure.
3. One of the fans is a bit dusty. Not crazy dusty, but that would prevent the airflow a bit.