Laptop Overclocking and Heat Questions/Issue

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SBD_Dauntless

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Jun 12, 2014
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I'm trying to overclock my laptop GPU in order to get a few more frames while playing Battlefield 4, and I'm being careful to monitor the temperature while doing so because I know that laptops can get very hot. Before I started the overclocking process, I decided to see what the CPU and GPU temps were while playing a medium-intensity match on BF4. The GPU temperature seemed fine, as it was in the low-70s C. The highest it got was 79 C. However, the CPU temperature alarmed me. At idle, it stays around 60 C, but while playing BF4 it rose to the high 80s, and it even rose to the low 90s C. I'm not sure why the temperature rose that high because I play on a hard surface and my laptop is raised several inches on a cooling pad that is turned on. I only wanted to overclock it about 50 MHz for both the Core and Shader clocks, but at these CPU temps, I'm not sure I should. The ONLY thing I've done to modify the CPU is unpark the cores, which really didn't do anything, so I might try parking them again and see if that helps. Any other thoughts on why it's so hot?

Here's my PC specs, just in case you need them:
Dell Inspiron N7110 (17R)
Intel Core i7-2670QM
8 GB stock Dell RAM
Nvidia GeForce GT 525M
Seagate Momentus XT SSHD @ 7,200 RPM, 750 GB (This was upgraded from the stock Dell HDD at 5,200 RPM because it was garbage and took a day to boot up)
 
Solution
razor512
Laptop heatsinks clog faster than those found in desktop PC's due to the higher fin density. If you have not cleaned the heatsink in a few months, then I recommend that you clean it.

If you have a direct view of the fan at the bottom of the laptop, you can shine a light into the bottom vent and then attempt to look at the light through the fins of the heatsink on the side of the laptop. this will allow you to see how much clogging there is. If the heatsink is mostly clogged, then you can attempt using a vacuum cleaner hose to suck out the dust from the bottom vent (never vacuum the exhaust vent). if that does not fix it, then you will have partially open the case of the laptop to get more direct access to the heatsink and then clean it...
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razor512

razor512

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Jun 16, 2007
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Laptop heatsinks clog faster than those found in desktop PC's due to the higher fin density. If you have not cleaned the heatsink in a few months, then I recommend that you clean it.

If you have a direct view of the fan at the bottom of the laptop, you can shine a light into the bottom vent and then attempt to look at the light through the fins of the heatsink on the side of the laptop. this will allow you to see how much clogging there is. If the heatsink is mostly clogged, then you can attempt using a vacuum cleaner hose to suck out the dust from the bottom vent (never vacuum the exhaust vent). if that does not fix it, then you will have partially open the case of the laptop to get more direct access to the heatsink and then clean it with a q-tip and vacuum cleaner.

Here is a good video for getting better access to the heatsink. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyR1mfzHrQk

On a hard surface, a cooling pad is not needed if your heatsink is clean, these laptops are tested at full load at the max rated ambient temperatures for weeks in in many cases during the early stages. In those cases, a cooling pad will at best allow you to work a little longer with a partially clogged heatsink while it is on its way to getting fully clogged.
 
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