DV5T Heat Issues While Gaming

pcfreak101

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So I'm considering buying a DV5T, and when googling around about it, have found that many people complain about heat issues when gaming with the 9600M GT GPU in this laptop. I intend to use the notebook that I get, whichever model it may be, for gaming, on my lap, or on my bed, at night, which is pretty much the only free time of day I have. I do not want to have to use any sort of notebook cooling device, active or passive. So my question is this; would using the DV5T in this damage the laptop, give it a shorter then normal lifespan, or cause it to shut off like my old Toshiba did when it got too hot? As a sidenote, don't bother suggesting any other laptops unless they have a decent gaming GPU, and are under $1000. I don't mean to be rude, but I've had people on other forums waste a lot of my time by suggesting laptops that are WAAAAY out of my price range. Thanks for your time.
 

dwellman

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There's no specific recommendation from me, but generally speaking, "cheaper" plastic cases just tend to get hotter. As far as shortening the life span, yeah, the battery might die a bit quicker, but as far as the other components. . . it's a wash. Just try try try to use your notebook on something solid (a textbook, for instance, bamboo cutting board, ect.)
 

pcfreak101

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Thanks for your input. Does anyone know whether this laptop turns off when it gets hot? My old Toshiba did that all the time, it drove me nuts.
 

frozenlead

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Most notebooks have a max temp shutdown feature to protect them. I don't think your DV5T will ever get that hot, though. If your older notebook was shutting off because of heat, it had major issues.

Like dwellman said, just run it one a hard, flat surface (ceramic/metallic is best) and it should be okay. Some compressed air in the heatsink after a year to get the dust bunnies out is a good idea too.
 

pcfreak101

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Ok, thanks, but theres one more thing. I've seen people report GPU temps of 91C(!) with this laptop. That is HOT! Most people say that the danger zone of most laptop GPU's start at about 90C. People have also reported that if they lift the back of the laptop, the temperatures decrease about 10C. If I game with the laptop on my lap, the GPU air vent would be in the middle of the air, not touching my lap. Would this really increase temperatures, or would it decrease them? I still don't much like the idea of having to put a tray or something under the laptop every time I want to game.

P.S. A great thanks to both of you who have helped me thus far.
 

dwellman

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Hmm, yes. If these posts can be believed, then it looks like you have to wory about clearance for air to move about the botttom. . .

I know they are called "laptops" but I never use one on my lap. I'll find a table, desk, or similar to use. I prefer to use notebooks. :)
 

pcfreak101

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Haha, yeah... In my case though, I own a gaming beast of a desktop, so I would just use that if I feel like sitting at a desk. I like my notebooks to be able to be used anywhere. In any case, I'm starting to think twice about the XPS M1530. Its a little out of my price range, but maybe I can scrounge up the extra $$...
 

dwellman

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Interesting. I don't use desktops anymore, so my perspective is a little different. Are you planing on supplanting the desktop with the laptop?
 

pcfreak101

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I basically just want a budget, all purpose laptop with emphasis on gaming. I don't need something that will rival my desktop for performance, just something that is adequate in todays market especially in the gaming department, and can be taken with me wherever I go, however, I don't care at all about size or weight, I would get an 18" if it meant the right specs for the right price. I am most definitely not opposed to lugging around a large case for a while.
 

pcfreak101

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The Gateway notebooks are way out of my price range, and the MSI notebooks seem to have the same heating issue I'm trying to avoid. I looked around though. Apparently its not uncommon for even the XPS M1530 to get into the low 90's for the GPU. I am thinking that I will either have to get a notebook with a cheaper GPU that heats less, such as the Studio 17, or just bite the bullet and put up with the heat. Do any of you know how long a laptop with GPU heats in this range will probably last? If its under about 4 years, I say screw it, I'm getting the Studio 17.
 

frozenlead

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There are lots of people here with OC'ed 7950mGTX's in notebooks that are still thriving. But those are in high cost machines. (i don't know of anything older that hot) When you go down in price, you lose the quality cases and quality cooling components.

The GPU can handle it, most likely, if you keep those heatsinks clean of dust.
 

pcfreak101

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Yeah, but when I'm dealing with something that costs this much... I don't know. I've been researching the M1530 a bit more. I think that this will have to be the one I get. The people that have been reporting the higher temps have simply called in to dell, and they came over and fixed it, thanks to the XPS' awesome warranty. One more thing though, do either of you know if the 8600GT has been fixed? I know they had alot of issues with temps, something to do with how they manufactured the die. That was a while ago though, maybe they have done something about it by now?
 

frozenlead

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The issue you refer to concerns all nvidia G84 and G86 chips, so you wouldn't even be safe with the 8400. Don't worry so much about it, though; I've never heard of anyone having a problem with the chips, in my experience.

I have several friends with XPS notebooks from that line - they're fine gaming machines for the average budget. Excellent design, excellent performance.
 

dwellman

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Yes. The Studio series sites between the XPS and Insipron. Think of it more like a poor man's XPS-- case is not as nice (more plastic) and is a bit bulkier and heavier. However, it costs less. But still decent specs.
 

dwellman

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Even the old GX600 is pushing the limits on his budget.

But you know I'd recommend a Thinkpad if I could! Actually, the T61 is on sale right now. $899. But the NVS 140M (~8400GS) is not exactly what anyone would call gaming proficient-- well as far as DirectX titles are concerned.. Third party drivers + overclocking helps, though.


 

pcfreak101

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Wait, you were actually going to recommend a Lenovo? I was looking at their IdeaPads. The Y710 I believe it was, actually looked pretty nice. Do you know if the 2600 Pro comes with DDR3 or DDR2?
 

pcfreak101

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Ah, in regard to your comment about the Studios. I love them, they are great machines, my friend has one. The video performance isn't too good though, due to the fact that it uses GDDR2 :( Thats the ONLY reason why I wouldn't get the Studio 17. Right now, I am leaning more towards the M1530 then anything, though I am going to investigate that Lenovo a bit more.
 

dwellman

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I am inclined to think the Radeon in the IdeaPad y710 as the 2600 512 using GDDR3 are a lot more common than GDDR2. . . I'll put a 67% on that.

I wasn't going to recommend Lenovo because the price was pushing right on the edge of your budget. But I see they recently made a new "model" by putting in a faster CPU and dropping the price $150 to $949.

That's a fantastic deal. . . not as nice a deal as the T61, but the larger screen (albeit at a lower resolution) is certainly nice.

I might even have a coupon code lying around. Er. . . 5% on Y Series: USEIDEASAVINGS through October 24.

Scuttlebutt is that the graphics are more or less "upgradeable" (that is the y7 series as seen a sort of revolving door of graphics solutions dpending on market). But that is all supposition. Untrusted. Not verified by me.
 

pcfreak101

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Hmmm.... This is fantastic news. Thank you so much dwellman, you are a great help.
P.S. You will probably be seeing a lot of me around the forums, I noticed a conspicuous lack of people that regularly visit the notebook section of this forum, so I look forward to helping fill the gap :D