Nvidia graphics card always overheats in laptop

Hastibe

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I have a Lenovo Y480, which I love, but since I got it, it spontaneously shuts down (to protect it from overheating) whenever I use a program (usually some game) that utilizes the discrete Nvidia graphics card (a GeForce GT 640M LE). I suppose that this is not normal? Is there anyway to tell if this is a software/settings problem or a hardware problem (which hopefully is fixable)?

Here's a shot of my idle temps (while plugged in on a hard wood table). When I load a game that uses the Nvidia graphics, the Nvidia graphics card temp spikes to over 100 degrees Celsius over a couple minutes, at which point it automatically powers off.


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4745454b

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Is this a new laptop? If so, send it back to get it fixed. Never open units if they are under warranty.

If it's a used unit or you don't care, I'd start by opening the unit and making sure the heatsinks are free of dust. Try it again and see if problem fixed.
 

Hastibe

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The warranty expired last year, unfortunately. When I have time next weekend, I'll open it up and blow it out--considering that it was this way when it was brand new (I wish I'd pursued the issue then--I just assumed that I had some setting messed-up on it), I'm guessing that this probably won't fix the problem, though that would be awesome.
 

Hastibe

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So, I just got my laptop back from the computer repair shop. It cost me $80 to have the fan cleaned out (it was fine) and thermal paste reapplied (it was a mess) to the CPU and Nvidia GPU heatsinks, anddd... No difference at all. As soon as a program begins loading that is one that kicks on the Nvidia GPU, the GPU temp goes over 100C and it shuts down automatically about 30-40 seconds after the program has loaded.

So, unless Lenovo would be willing to fix a hardware defect (I assume this is what's wrong?) on a laptop of theirs that is a year out of warranty (extended warranty--I even bought a one-year warranty extension, sigh), what are my options now? :(

So bummed.