Optimus II very high CPU temp + shutdown

[Skylinefx]

I've had this laptop for 2 years now and recently (past few weeks) while playing games it shuts down by itself unexpectedly. I have started monitoring the temperatures, and when playing games, the CPU temperature stays in between 85-95 degrees. GPU temperature is around 70C. When idle, CPU temp is about 60C, GPU at 50C. I have opened it to clean the dust from the fan, but there wasn't much to clean.

When playing games, CPU usage is always less than 20%, so why is the temperature so high?

First half of the chart is when playing Arma 2 mod DayZ, second half is after exiting the game (Drop in the first half is when i minimized the game).

So what's causing this?

Laptop specs:
Optimus II: 17.3" Full HD LED
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-2630QM (2.00GHz)
4GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (1 x 4GB) -- Added another 4GB 3 months ago, now at 8GB.
nVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M - 2GB DDR3 Video RAM
500GB WD SCORPIO BLACK -- Replaced with 120GB OCZ Agility 3, 3 months ago.
Windows 7 home premium -- Upgraded to Windows 8, 3 months ago.

 

[Greenman]

I have the same laptop (Had it for around 1 and a half years now); Had same problem, opened it up and found a nice layer of dust covering the fans vent, cleaned it up and it's now fine and cool.

 

[ubuysa]

You might find this interesting?

 

[Skylinefx]

When cleaning it, did you just take off the back panel with the fan and clean that, or did you dissemble it more and take off the whole back? When I took off the panel to reveal the heatsink(?), there wasn't much dust to clean, before and after the temps are the same. Could it be the thermal paste that wasn't applied well?
Even on idle it seems that 55-60C is a bit high. Would a laptop cooler help in any way?

 

[Skylinefx]

Changed minimum processor state to 60%, maximum processor state to 90% and the temps dropped to an average of 80C during gaming. Some FPS drop, but I guess it's better than having 95C and the occasional shutdown. I think it was the turbo boost bringing it up to 95C+, then letting it cool down a bit, and then when it activates again, temps go up to 95C.

 

[ubuysa]

I'm probably teaching my grandmother to suck eggs here, but do you use the laptop on a hard or soft surface? A soft surface may block the fan vent. If it's on a desk is it a wooden or plastic desk? They are both known to absorb the heat from the laptop so the fan draws in hot air instead of cool. Just putting a thin metal plate between the laptop and the desk helps a lot by radiating away the heat.

A cooling stand would help a lot but I reckon their effect has got less to do with the fans (though they help of course) and more to do with creating an big air gap under the laptop so that it can pull in sufficient cooling air. So just raising the rear of the laptop helps, even a bit of thin wood will do as long as it doesn't obscure the vents (my wife's netbook sits on a 12-inch ruler just to create an air gap). Making sure air can flow freely from the outlet port also helps keep things cool. My cooling stand is thin aluminium with three small fans in it, turning the fans off makes only a tiny difference to the CPU temps (though I don't work mine hard) the angled metal stand and the air gap it creates is what really keeps things cool.

My apologies if you're doing all this already.

 

[Skylinefx]

The laptop is on a flat wooden surface. I have tried raising, but the temperatures stayed exactly the same. The wooden table surface is only mildly warm.

 

[Greenman]

I didn't wanna break anything so just removed the one panel, there was quite a layer of dust behind the vents; I also use a Zalman laptop cooler which seems nice. If you feel comfortable you could disassemble it further to take a closer look?

My idle temps are pretty similar btw (50-55 with the cooler) I don't think it's high, laptops just run hotter in general.

 

[ubuysa]

The laptop is on a flat wooden surface. I have tried raising, but the temperatures stayed exactly the same. The wooden table surface is only mildly warm.

I raising the laptop slightly makes no difference to the temperatures I'd begin to suspect the thermal paste? I don't know of any way to test that theory though.