Do you require updating the thermal paste for the Alienware 17R3?
Do you require updating the thermal paste for the Alienware 17R3?
Hi guys.
I bought this laptop recently with an i7-6820HK and a GTX 980M. Based on what I’ve noticed, the games often freeze, and because the machine is quite complex to take apart, I’m wondering if I should replace the thermal paste. Here are the temperatures after playing Rise of the Tomb Raider at 1080p with high settings:
When the game starts and during gameplay (5-10 minutes):
GPU temp ranges from 56 to 72°C
CPU temp is between 54 and 76°C
After 15 minutes:
GPU temp goes up to 70-72°C
CPU temp reaches 60-62°C
After 30 minutes:
GPU temp climbs to 74-76°C
CPU temp spikes to 73-76°C
After an hour:
CPU temperature rises to spikes around 82°C but not consistently, while the GPU stays near 74-76°C
Laptop plastic becomes very hot in certain spots.
I have a cooler under the laptop with five fans.
Are these readings excessive for this GPU and CPU? Should I take it to a local shop to replace the thermal paste and possibly clean out the dust?
Also, is there another method to clear dust without opening the laptop and removing the CPU and GPU cooler, such as using a leaf blower or something similar?
You might want to explore undervolting with ThrottleStop. It's a good read, though. You can also swap the factory thermal paste for higher-quality options such as Noctua's NT-H2 or Thermal Grizzly. I have a laptop cooler with five fans underneath it. Do you have a link to it?
If the temperatures are fine, why would you swap the thermal paste and end up harming the laptop during the disassembly process? The entire procedure involves taking it apart.
times are technically okay (new chips are appearing at 100 more often lately). If you prefer not to open up the interior, check out this video.