Laptop likes BBQ

[[DM] Grinning Death]

That's the only reason I can think of why it overheats so bad. I couldn't finish an event tonight, because my computer temp was push 106 degrees C, and it forcibly shut off.

I just got all the dust cleaned out, 95% of the time it runs smooth. It's only when I open NWN2 that it decides to try and melt itself.

Stats:

Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6002) Service Pack 2 (6002.vistasp2_gdr.130707-1535)
System Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard
System Model: HP Pavilion dv4 Notebook PC
BIOS: Default System BIOS
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU P7550 @ 2.26GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.3GHz
Memory: 4062MB RAM
Page File: 2511MB used, 5787MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 7.00.6002.18107 32bit Unicode

Display Devices
---------------
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce G 105M
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce G 105M
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Display Memory: 2268 MB
Dedicated Memory: 493 MB
Shared Memory: 1775 MB

I run a cooling fan beneath it when I have it at home, and I keep it raised off the desk to avoid any air trapping. What do?

[sonuvalich]

I had a similar problem with my desktop about a year back. Turns out the cooling fan on the graphics card had gone bust and it was causing all the overheat. Not sure if laptop-sized graphics cards have similar fans, but if you can find them I would make sure they are all working. With laptops it is more dire, because they lack the volume of air inside to help with cooling, so the fans and heatsinks are needed so much more.

I used this little dude:
http://www.gputemp.com/

It basically monitors GPU and CPU temp so you can try and isolate components that are overheating.

[Saulus]

Sometimes dust clumps can get built up deep inside the system and compressed air doesn't always blow it out. Sonuvalich is right about it possibly being the fan dying.

Long story short if you don't feel comfortable doing dis assembly on your laptop you need to take it to someone/someplace that can.

[sonuvalich]

I lied about GPU doing CPU because I was sleepy. This other program did the CPU temps:

http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/

[[DM] Grinning Death]

The thing is, I just took it in to someone to clean. The inside is spotless (comparatively), and it doesn't sound like anything isn't working like it should.

[Clangeddin]

Were you playing on a bed or a soft surface?
For some reason laptops seem to heat up a lot faster if you use them on beds or sofas, at least from personal experience.

[sonuvalich]

Beds and cushions have a lot of give, so the laptops tend to nestle down in them snugly. This prevents the fans that tend to be there from intaking or expelling air (depending on the model). This is why laptops are inherently troubled, because the big surface areas to put fans are on the keyboard or the underside. I am writing this on my Macbook Pro (name dropping!) which feels like it uses the freakin' keyboard as a heatsink. The vents are at the back of the keyboard between the frame and the monitor hinge, as shown here (not my actual keyboard or hand):



It works well, but the keys get almost too hot to touch if I play any games or watch a long movie. Luckily this is my work laptop so I tend not to do those things on it anyways.

I would suggest running those two programs I linked to see if your GPU is getting too hot (about 45 C is a reasonable high-stress temp if memory serves) or if something is causing your CPU to go molten. At the temps you mentioned, the solder inside the computer can start to weaken and then circuits can break, hence the auto-off for self-preservation.

To the best of my knowledge, laptop video cards do not have their own fans the way tower PC's do, so they rely on the fan for the entire laptop and a heatsink. If the connection between the heatsink and the video card has degraded, that is not a terribly hard fix (some thermal paste and some squishing.) If the fan is working and you hear it, this is a possibility, though you would have to pull out the video card to see.

To let other geeks have their say, this is a fairly good article that works through the culprits from most likely to least likely:
http://www.howtogeek.com/67660/how-t...eating-laptop/

[YakaryBovine]

Have you tried just turning off anti-aliasing and shadows? NWN2's graphics are extraordinarily inefficient on the system and those two tend to be the main culprits.

Edit: It also seems to be run better on older drivers, though I wouldn't recommend it... Anyway, the problem is quite possibly the game and not your computer.

[[DM] Grinning Death]

Thanks for the help, guys. I dropped all of my settings to their lowest, updated my driver, and Ccleaned the crap out of my PC. Now, it runs fairly smoothly, so I can continue to DM and play (as terrible as it looks). Thanks for your help!