GPU Overheating problems.

Hello everyone, I have been having a problem with playing games. Everytime I try to play any game, it would run smooth for about a minute then it would drop down to about 5 fps for 10-20 seconds and then run smooth for about a minute and then repeat. I did a little diggin around the internet and found out it might be my GPU overheating. (I am not good with computers) I took apart my laptop for cleaned all the dust out and cleaned out the fans and everything like that. The fan cooling the GPU is working but, according to SpeedFan, my GPU is reaching up to 103-108C when playing games and 50-70C when not. Is this bad? What should I do to help keep my GPU from overheating so i can play games? I have the back of my laptop elevated to help cool it down. Would i have to buy a new GPU fan? Send help pls.

I have a Gateway P-7805u FX Laptop and the graphics card is 1GB GeForce 9800M GTS


Thanks is advance!

 

GPUs do run hotter than CPUs but 108°C is a bit warm. But I am not sure what you can do about it. In spite of what marketing weenies would like us to believe, notebooks do NOT make good gaming machines. The makers can pack the power in these tiny cases, but not the necessary cooling. Considering it can be a challenge for tower PC cases to keep a gaming system cool, it is no wonder a tiny, thin, notebook case would have problems.

Cleaning the interior and all vents of heat-trapping dust is critical - but a real challenge for many users because notebook makers have neglected to make access for proper cleaning easy, if possible at all for the "normal" user.

The issue is, is the performance toggling down out of self-preservation to prevent thermal damage, or is something else the matter? I don't know, but if all fans are spinning, and cooling channels are clean of heat-trapping dust, not sure what else you can do other than ensuring your system remains clean of dust, malware free, and fully updated.

You might consider a Notebook Cooling Pad w/ext. power supply. Powering the pad's fans with an external power supply (instead of through the notebook's USB port) does not increase the demands (and thus, generated heat!) on the notebook's battery and/or power circuits.

Sadly, in the interest of keeping their pads light (notebooks are primarily for "road-warriors", after all), pads with external power supplies are hard to find so you may need a notebook cooling pad like this one then use a small, lightweight USB wall-charger/adapter to power it.