Need Video Card / Laptop Advice

[Specialist290]

I've already posted in the Civ4 Tech Support forum, but I figured I'd also ask here so I could get more than one perspective on this.

I'm having trouble running certain newer games on my laptop. Specifically, the games themselves (including Civilization IV and Europa Universalis III) run fine; however, if I run them too long (anywhere between 15min-1hr, depending on the settings), the video card overheats and the laptop shuts down.

About a year ago I reported this problem on another website, and someone told me that my particular combination (Dell XPS M1530 + Geforce 8600M GT) was particularly prone to overheating, although I don't remember whether it was the laptop or the video card at fault. I did use an external fan I got from my mother after that, which helped quite a bit (although it didn't prevent it entirely), but now that's broken.

I'm also wondering if the external environment might be affecting things. I've noticed that the games will (usually) run fine at my college dorm, where my computer is typically on a hard, flat, heat-conductive surface. However, at home, I tend to put my laptop on my bed when I'm using it, so I'm wondering if the fact that I'm essentially putting my comp on top of a giant insulator might be affecting things as well.

At any rate, I want a little advice. Would it be best for me to upgrade / swap my video card for another one? If I end up having to stick with my present configuration, are there any measures I can take to keep my comp cool? Does anyone have any good recommendations for any external fans to use?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

 

[Quintillus]

Using the laptop on your bed does make cooling more difficult. Anything that you can do to help keep temperatures down and air flowing (without dust) can only help.

If it's actually your video card on the way out, you're in between a rock and a hard place. But I'll cover the "good" outcome first. I've divided this into sections for space purposes.

Spoiler Good Outcome :

The good outcome is, that your laptop is simply getting too hot and is shutting down to prevent damage. Download some temperature monitoring software (one of RivaTuner, nTune, i8kfangui [Dell only, and the one I recommend for Dells], a couple others), and let them monitor the GPU and CPU temperatures in the background. Then, after you've been playing the game long enough for the laptop to heat up, close the game, and check the maximum temperature that the CPU and GPU each reached (make sure the utility reports the maximum temperature, not just current). If it's 90ºC or higher, you may well be in the good/lucky category. You may well just need better cooling. Specifically, clean out the vents with compressed air (about $9/can at BestBuy; get the smallest one as that's all you'll need). Find a guide on how to clean the vents properly, and do so (note: you should be fine just cleaning them from the exterior; disassembling the laptop will not be necessary to achieve a marked reduction in temperatures). Getting a laptop cooler (it sounds like the fan your mother gave you may have been one?) also will help. These two items should reduce temperatures by at least 15ºC, such that if temperatures are the only problem, you should be back in business.

Spoiler Bad Outcome :

The "bad" outcome is that it's your GPU going out. If your temperatures are 85ºC or lower, then you're well within the supported operating temperatures, if perhaps a bit hot. If this is the case, look for specifics pointing to the GPU being the problem - the computer should freeze/stutter severely (not instantaneously restart, as a CPU overheating would indicate), and there should be errors specifically about the video card, very often referring to nv4_disp.dll. These errors likely will come in three forms: 1) A blue screen of death error referring to nv4_disp.dll; most likely a STOP error; 2) A message on startup that "Windows has recovered from a serious error" where, if you send the error report, the Microsoft Web site that opens with a solution will point to a video card driver problem; 3) A crash to desktop, where upon recovery you have a 16-color display and a message that your video card driver has stopped responding, and restarted (this is probably more likely on Vista than XP, but will occur at times on XP as well). If you are getting some of these specific signs, it's almost certainly your video card going out.

Unfortunately, it's not as simple as swapping out the video card to solve the problem. Almost all laptops use proprietary connections for the GPU, meaning only video cards meant for the same model can be used. On 80%+ of notebooks, the GPU (even if dedicated ATI/nVIDIA) cannot be swapped at all, but most Dell models are the biggest exception - most Dells can have the GPU swapped. But only GPUs from Dell for the same model will work - you would need an 8600M GT for the XPS 1530. And Dell is out of stock on these. eBay or similar would be your only option for replacing the GPU. If you are still in warranty, you could get a replacement through Dell, but it would in all likelihood be an entirely new laptop, not your XPS 1530 with a new GPU.

That said, if your GPU is going out, measures to lower the temperature will still help decrease the occurence of crashes (see the paragraph on the "good" outcome). Along with the aforementioned, undervolting the CPU should help, as doing so will lower temperatures throughout the chassis (again, find a proper guide before doing so - if the guide says you need to mess with the hardware at all to undervolt the CPU, find another one, as you can do it all from within Windows). More extreme options are also possible, but those involve opening up the notebook.

Spoiler Background :

As background, there was an engineering issue with the type of GPU you have that's let to abnormally high failure rates; you can read more about it here. Although the article notes that nVIDIA claimed only a small amount of chips were affected, the scope to which the problem expanded throughout 2008 (nearly every manufacturer's laptops with nVIDIA dedicated GPUs being affected) points to nearly every mobile nVIDIA GPU with a part number 8xxx (such as 8600) actually being affected, as well as many (but not all) 9xxx GPUs. Suffice to say, if you were in the "bad" outcome category, you wouldn't be alone. That's why Dell is out of replacement parts. The good news is, even if your GPU completely dies, the nature of the problem means it may be possible to revive it. But that's risky business, and shouldn't be attempted until the GPU truly isn't doing what you need it to be doing. Shoot me a PM if it gets to this point later on and you want to try to get your laptop up and working again without spending money on it. For now, stick to improved cooling measures.

I've been experiencing a slow failure of my GPU (Dell Inspiron 1520 with 8600M GT) myself; thus why I'm all too familiar with the symptoms. As someone with an 8600M GT, I've been following the news stories fairly closely since they surfaced in the summer of 2008.

 

[Specialist290]

Thanks for your help.

I honestly don't think that the video card itself is breaking down--the laptop works fine with most of my other less CPU-intensive programs and games, generally hovering around 50 C at home (I haven't been able to check out in the dorm yet for the entirely logical reason that I'm home on break and ~500 miles away).

I d/led i8kfangui like youo suggested. Highest temperature that I noticed was around 85 C before the whole thing shut down again (although I didn't have an opportunity to check if it had risen still more in the 5min between my last check and auto-shutdown), but I did check the bottom of my laptop, and there was pretty much a massive hotspot along the entire left side.

I also think I know what's actually causing the problem: The fabric from my bedsheets is pretty much completely blocking the air intake. Whenever I set it down on the bed and check the exhaust port with my hand, no air blows out. It starts blowing whenever I raise the back end up a little, though, so thankfully it's not a problem with the built-in fan.

I'm definitely going to think about investing in a new external cooler (preferably a metal one; the last one I had was plastic). I'll also try blowing out the intake for good measure, since it probably needs it anyway.

Thanks for your help

 

[Genocidicbunny]

if its 85C for the CPU, then there's a good reason that its shutting down, thats the shut-off temp for the C2D cpu's. And yes, do not set your laptop down on a soft surface as most have intake vents on the bottom. Considering that the heatsinks likely already barely handle the heat, plugging up intakes will cause temps to skyrocket.

 

[Furiey]

Try placing your laptop on a hard board rather directly on the bedclothes. That should quickly tell you whether it's the sheets covering the fan or not. I had the same problem when I was stuck in bed with a bad back, I ended up using a chopping board from the kitchen that gave me enough space for the laptop and a small mouse area. You may also find a lot of dust/fluff has got sucked in from the bedclothes so you may have to clear that out as well.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Try placing your laptop on a hard board rather directly on the bedclothes. That should quickly tell you whether it's the sheets covering the fan or not. I had the same problem when I was stuck in bed with a bad back, I ended up using a chopping board from the kitchen that gave me enough space for the laptop and a small mouse area. You may also find a lot of dust/fluff has got sucked in from the bedclothes so you may have to clear that out as well.

We've already determined that the bedsheets are likely the cause of the problem:

I also think I know what's actually causing the problem: The fabric from my bedsheets is pretty much completely blocking the air intake. Whenever I set it down on the bed and check the exhaust port with my hand, no air blows out. It starts blowing whenever I raise the back end up a little, though, so thankfully it's not a problem with the built-in fan.