# GPU temperature throttled at 70C; basically can't run games



## brump (Apr 28, 2013)

I bought my laptop some months ago with some graphics ability (GeForce 520M), a medium-to-low end video card let's say.

Then here's the problem. No matter what game I play, from non-demanding games like NBA2K to really demanding ones like GTA4 or Mass Effect 3, the GPU temperature I have detected has almost always been capped at 70C, at which point the GPU basically stops functioning and works at like 10-20% capacity. The game drops to a horrifying 10 FPS or so. It lasts for about 3 seconds, with the temperature dropping 2-3C along with it.

Then it returns to normal, running at 100% capacity again, for another few seconds. AND THEN it all repeats again. And again. Up and down, going laggy and smooth and laggy.

If I tap out of the game for some time and let the GPU rest and return to an idle 45-50C, and when I get back in it will be all fine. Of course until it rises back to 70C or so. I understand it is meant to protect my card but 70C is a little too low for it to be even functional.

*TLDR: Looks like there is an internal throttling that limits my GPU to 70C, which is, you know, ridiculously low. Basically I could run no game with that throttling. 

Is there a way to raise some kind of throttling temperature for your GPU? In BIOS or something?*

Thanks, really thanks, if anyone could enlighten me.


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## OneMoar (Apr 28, 2013)

there is no way to over ride the thermal throttle I suspect something else is throttling probably the cpu  if its throttling down then you need to find a way to keep it cooler


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## MxPhenom 216 (Apr 28, 2013)

Get a laptop cooler. My friend had the same issues on his Toshiba running really hot and then instantly turning the system off on its own, after about an hour of Tomb Raider. Got a laptop cooler, and it allowed him to play at full performance of his system for 3 hours+


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## brump (Apr 28, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Get a laptop cooler. My friend had the same issues on his Toshiba running really hot and then instantly turning the system off on its own, after about an hour of Tomb Raider. Got a laptop cooler, and it allowed him to play at full performance of his system for 3 hours+



Is that some kind of base that fits your laptop in it and blows air to the bottom of the laptop with a built-in fan?


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## MxPhenom 216 (Apr 28, 2013)

brump said:


> Is that some kind of base that fits your laptop in it and blows air to the bottom of the laptop with a built-in fan?



Sure is.

Cooler Master and Zalman make some solid ones. 

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...d-keywords=Zalman laptop cooler&tag=tec06d-20

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_s...s,k:cooler master laptop cooler&tag=tec06d-20

Also a really good thing for temperatures is replacing the TIM on the CPU and GPU. Find it helps a bit, and then the cooler, improves upon that even more.


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## brump (Apr 28, 2013)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> Sure is.
> 
> Cooler Master and Zalman make some solid ones.



That's cool. I'll check it out next time I'm out. I'm not hardcore enough to know how to open the base of a laptop and change the TIM or something, but thanks. Let's hope the coolers are potent enough to solve my problem.


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## de.das.dude (Apr 28, 2013)

also, do clean the heatsinks on your laptop from time to time. usually once a year is good enough.
if you dont know how to, get it done by someone.

generally gpus can reach and stay at90c no problems. but laptops are compact, and high temperatures can easily spread from one component to another.
Plus, they need to be kept at a certain maximum value so that they can be placed on laps while working. This is why the temperature is controlled to 70C via the BIOS.

usually a decent cooling pad does the trick well.

PS: some companies use a single cooler for both the CPU and GPU to keep costs low. this means that even if your graphics settings are low, if  the game is CPU intensive, your GPU will get hot as well.


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## AsRock (Apr 28, 2013)

Thermaltake do a reasonable Laptop coolers too like this one Thermaltake Model CLN0015  Notebook accessory - Ne... there is others they do too.

Some thing else to keep in mind is the vents they cover which way the air direction is too so you might want to test flipping the fan in the netbook\laptop cooler just to see which gives best performance.


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## brump (Apr 28, 2013)

de.das.dude said:


> also, do clean the heatsinks on your laptop from time to time. usually once a year is good enough.
> if you dont know how to, get it done by someone.
> 
> generally gpus can reach and stay at90c no problems. but laptops are compact, and high temperatures can easily spread from one component to another.
> ...



Great. Really thanks. For someone like me who's never really gadget-savvy, I get to know a lot.


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## Pinscher (Apr 30, 2013)

you can use MSI afterburner to under clock your laptop, yo.  Also, you can turn off turbo boost, and that will decrease the heat generated by your CPU.  If you can, take your laptop back and get one that doesn't use a shared heat sink/cooling system.  There are some great MSI setups that offer better cooling solutions without be a monster of a gaming laptop.

I have a Samsung with the same issue you have, and it's pathetic. They put hardware into your system that the cooling system cannot sufficiently cool.  I didn't think much about it since I never played games on the laptop until i did.. and wow, pathetic. The computer runs great until it hits 90 degrees, melts my legs, and down throttles. 

I bought a cooler master under cooler thing, and it decreased the surface temperature of the laptop, but the underlining issues stays. A cpu/gpu shared cooling solution doesn't cut it. I even ran my laptop out in the snow while running a benchmark, and the cold air didn't changed the internal temps.

The lap top needs a greater air flow, so why not force more air in, or pull more air out?
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Mini-Vacuum-...aptop_Cooling_Pads&hash=item589aa1e4dc&_uhb=1


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## MuBruza (Jan 8, 2017)

Hello brump, I have a similar issue with my PC!

I discovered that my GPU has a temperature limit set of 67C, I think it may be locked in the vBIOS. It is a very low temperature for gaming, after reaching this temperature it will start to throttle and reduce its Core Clock Speed from 980MHz to 405MHz-540MHz.
(I used GPU-Z and NVIDIA Inspector to run some tests.)

I know that i don't have a gaming laptop, but I think that it was supposed to run for at last 10min in its full potential. It has to be some way to bypass this ridiculous limitation.

Do you still have your problem? Did you find any working solutions for this?


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## P4-630 (Jan 8, 2017)

MuBruza said:


> Hello brump, I have a similar issue with my PC!
> 
> I discovered that my GPU has a temperature limit set of 67C, I think it may be locked in the vBIOS. It is a very low temperature for gaming, after reaching this temperature it will start to throttle and reduce its Core Clock Speed from 980MHz to 405MHz-540MHz.
> (I used GPU-Z and NVIDIA Inspector to run some tests.)
> ...



Uhmmm, did you look at the date of the last post?
*Apr 30, 2013 at 9:39 AM*

This user probably has replaced his laptop by now with something new...
@Pinscher was last seen Feb 15, 2015....


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## SnakeDoctor (Jan 8, 2017)

Make sure laptop on hard surface no cloth underneath , eg if laptop on you bed is going to get very hot
Get laptop serviced if older than a year
Laptop coolers always help.

nevermind Old thread...


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## MuBruza (Jan 8, 2017)

P4-630 said:


> Uhmmm, did you look at the date of the last post?
> *Apr 30, 2013 at 9:39 AM*
> 
> This user probably has replaced his laptop by now with something new...
> @Pinscher was last seen Feb 15, 2015....



Hello P4-630, thanks for your reply. I saw that this post is very old, but since I bought my notebook in 2013 and only now discovered this limitation I tought to give it a try. I can start a new thread if you think it's better.



SnakeDoctor said:


> Make sure laptop on hard surface no cloth underneath , eg if laptop on you bed is going to get very hot
> Get laptop serviced if older than a year
> Laptop coolers always help.
> 
> nevermind Old thread...



Already cleaned the notebook and re-applied Thermaltake TG-3. I'm willing to invest in laptop coolers, but I don't have high hopes that I will manage to keep it under 67C.

Thanks for the reply.


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