Its getting hot in here!

[ArcticCatZRT]

As of currently my setup is a Toshiba A660 Laptop with i7 820 QM, Nvidia 330m (1GB), 4 GBs of RAM, 500 GB harddrive, and Windows Home Premium 64 bit. I know not the best decision getting a lappy, but I needed a laptop for college.

The issue I have right now is RW3s raising my CPU temps miles above other games. At idle the cpu will be about 50 degrees Celcius. Under load from FSX with a bunch of add-ons it will top off at 70C. Now when I run RW3 my temps are around 90C(which is do-able, but may be hard on the chip. Granted from my own research it is common for laptops to run a bit higher, but I am still not comfortable with those temps).

Now my question is, what is causing these extreme temps from RW3, is there anything I can do? At this point I am at a loss, I have even constructed a custom cooling pad which incorporates a 120mm fan which runs off 120AC house current pushing 60 CFM at the intake of the laptop, and a smaller DC fan at the exhaust pulling out air. It has not put a dent in how hot RW3 makes my CPU.

Is this just a product of the game? Or is there anything I can do to keep the temps lower as I hardly play the game because of this(short of getting a new computer)?

Thanks for the help!

[PamBrooker]

FSX being cpu based doesnt effect the temps anywhere near as much as a gpu based program like RW.. when i'm pushing FSX at its hardest ( flying at treetop level in a heavy draw call plane like the CS C-130 ) the temp on my machine will not reach over 35* C. But as soon as i start running RW, it'll easily go up to 38 or even 40.. For some reason, GPUs run a heck of a lot hotter than CPUs, and theres only a few things you can do about it.. 1. place the machine near an open window and take the back cover off ( behind the MB plate ), 2. check your GPUs cooling fans for dust, dirt and debris ( youd be surprised how fast that fan can get plugged up ) 3. add water cooling or refrigeration to your GPU , 4. All of the above..
Most of the time a good thorough cleaning with a can of cmpressed air will do the tric, but take a look first. sometimes more than that is needed..
Pam
aka Warchild.

[bpetit]

You have a step by step guide for cleaning out dust?

[arizonachris]

You have a step by step guide for cleaning out dust?

A lot depends if it's a laptop, or a desktop. Unless you have a lot of computer repair experience, I do not recommend trying to take apart a laptop. You will break something. Just blow canned air into the vent holes in the bottom and sides, where ever you can see vents. Use a cooling pad, keep it clean, keep the desk or table where you use the laptop clean as well. And don't set the laptop on your lap. I don't know were that term came from, but many a laptop has burned up for lack of cooling airflow because it's sitting on someone's lap.

Desktop PC's are pretty easy. Unplug it first. Take off the side cover, lay it on it's side, and with canned air, blow thru the CPU cooler until no more dust comes out. Check the other case fans, blow thru them as well. Now, the video card. It's usually in a position you can't really get to unless you remove it from the mainboard.

My desktop PC case has filters in the front, I can remove and clean, even still I clean the inside every 6 months. I just try to do the best with my little Dell laptop. I'll break something for sure. It's all cheap plastic.

[arizonachris]

Cat, how old is the laptop? You could very well have either a clogged CPU cooler, or a failed CPU fan. Try what I suggested for "bpetit". Most laptops the air intake is on the bottom, and the CPU vent is on the side.

RW is almost totally CPU dependent. It will barely use the video card, so it will push your CPU hard, especially a single core, since RW only uses one core, despite the "multi core" option check box.

[ArcticCatZRT]

Cat, how old is the laptop? You could very well have either a clogged CPU cooler, or a failed CPU fan. Try what I suggested for "bpetit". Most laptops the air intake is on the bottom, and the CPU vent is on the side.

RW is almost totally CPU dependent. It will barely use the video card, so it will push your CPU hard, especially a single core, since RW only uses one core, despite the "multi core" option check box.

My laptop is just about to turn 3 this July(its growing up so fast lol...and getting slower as more stuff accumulates ). I really need to blow the thing out with compressed air since I haven't since I got it, I just haven't gotten around to it yet . I really hope that helps, I really want to play this game again! I am also planning to do a good clean out and after a defrag.

Thanks for all the help everyone, I will try it later in the week when I finally have a few days off from work. I will post to see if there are any improvements to my situation.

[up_8677]

Just be careful with that compressed air. It is quite powerful and there are delicate parts inside. I prefer using a vacuum if possible.

[ArcticCatZRT]

Just be careful with that compressed air. It is quite powerful and there are delicate parts inside. I prefer using a vacuum if possible.

Thanks for reminding me, that seems to be the general consensus around the internet. One of these said components are the fans which are greatly susceptible to being over-sped and ruined.

[arizonachris]

Just be careful with that compressed air. It is quite powerful and there are delicate parts inside. I prefer using a vacuum if possible.

I never recommend a vacuum, they create static electricity just from the moving air, which can destroy electronics real quick! Guess it's a 50/50 situation.

[up_8677]

Compressed air moves too...just in the opposite direction.


I wouldn't worry about it myself, but each his own.

[ArcticCatZRT]

Well I blew the lappy out a but, and it did help the temps about 5 degrees, but nothing ground breaking. So last night I decided to do a experiement. I also have a dell Studio 540 Desktop with a Intel Core Duo E7300 at 2.66 ghz, 4gbs of ram, 5000rpm harddrive, PNY 1GB Nvida 9800GT, and finally 64 bit Vista. I found that it runs railworks at the same level, if not better, cooling doesnt seem to be an issue either.

Now instead of creating a new topic I will just continue here,

Now finding out that my desktop runs railworks a bit better, I have some more questions. From some research I found, the E7300 was a decent processor not too long ago, and popular with overclockers. Now will RW3 benefit from my processor being over clocked in the area of 3.0ghz to 3.5ghz?(A overclocker magazine overclocked the E7300 to 4.0 with no issues after testing, but before I would venture into this unknown terriotry I would have to do a bit more reseach). If it wont make a difference I will not bother with overclocking and having to buy a better cooling system.

Also while the game hums along at 25fps it will frequently drop to below 14FPS then shoot back up. Now is this from scenery tiles loading? Would at 7500RPM harddrive help?

I would love to buy a brandnew gaming rig, but with the prospect of buying a brand new chevy cruze, I cannot spend the 1500 to build one, so upgrading my existing desktop is the next best thing!

[arizonachris]

A faster hard drive will help that frequent "stutter" when the game loads the next bunch of scenery or AI trains. If your PC has a hard drive activity light somewhere on the front, the stutter coincides with that light flickering. But even the fastest SSD drives won't eliminate that stutter completely. I would still recommend a faster drive, just for overall performance. Like I keep saying, don't upgrade for RW, just upgrade because it's time.

As for overclocking the CPU, I presume it might help overall performance, but if you have to add more core voltage, that will add heat, meaning you will need better cooling. As far as will it help running RW, I think it's a mixed bag. Some it seems to help, some it makes no difference.

I have had a few bad experiences with overclocking (meaning burned up stuff ) so I just keep stuff running at factory speeds. I do have several EVGA Super Clocked cards, tho. And the nice thing is they are still guaranteed. You O/C yourself, forget the warranty.

[ArcticCatZRT]

Believe me I am pretty paranoid about my computers as it is, and if there would be any overclocking it would be in modest territory, well traveled by other overclockers of my certain CPU. Before I would do that I would not only get on a OC fourm and ask questions, but also get a new case to replace the OEM one and a high performance CPU cooler. I do thank you for the concern and advice though.

In regards to your comment about upgrading for reasons other than for Railworks. I do agree, but RW is one of the 2 games I am doing this for. I want to see if I can improve my gaming experience on not only Railworks, but also FSX. Both I know are hard to upgrade for, but heck, I want to try at least. The case, cooler, and hard drive add up to about $225, so it won't be too big of a hit for me. I'd love to just start over with a new rig, but finances don't allow it right now, so I will have to upgrade piece by piece slowly, and this may be the first step.

Thanks for the help!

[arizonachris]

As for a new case, I've had my Cooler Master HAF922 for 4 years now. Just make sure you have good airflow. The Cooler Master Hyper 212 is a fantastic air cooler for $30. It gets more complicated trying to upgrade the CPU, tho. Intel likes to change the CPU sockets all the time. One reason I like AMD CPU's. Sockets have been the same for years. I did upgrade to a socket AM3+ board so I could run my nice G Skill RAM at it's full 1600 speed. And my new GTX670, wow.

Starting over is always an expensive prospect. I just add on as I go. Anyways, best of luck on your new project!

[Haystack]

And my new GTX670, wow.

Sorry to go off topic, but how do you like the 670 compared to your 560ti Chris? See much of a difference in RW?