GTX 980M Overheating After Cleaning Fans/Heatsinks

[Pepsi_Jamie]

Hi all,

As the thread titled says, my GTX 980M has suffered massive overheating since I cleaned my fans from dust. Originally, my temperatures would range between 55-80 (at the utmost maximum of performance), whereas I now get 75-89 degrees on the exact same settings, and in some cases lower graphical options. I also completed a stress test on my GPU, where it went from 29-33 degrees up to the maximum temperature of 90 degrees (which hasn't happened before).

I've re-placed the laptop casing on and off about 10 times trying to look at the possible issues, and nothing seems to be fixing it.

I'm not sure what to do about it as I only re-pasted my GPU a few months ago, and it seemed to improve my temperatures massively since then. You'd also think removing the dust from the fans and the heatsinks would improve the temperatures, not the complete opposite. What's even more annoying, is based on my laptop's performance, I was planning on saving up for a proper desktop PC from PCSpecialist. Now, I'm not so sure I want to.

Any suggestions or feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Specs:
Intel Core i7 - 4940MX 3.10 GHZ
32GB RAM
Nvidia GTX 980M
Samsung EVO 1TB
Windows 10 64-bit

 

[SpyderTracks]

Hi all,

As the thread titled says, my GTX 980M has suffered massive overheating since I cleaned my fans from dust. Originally, my temperatures would range between 55-80 (at the utmost maximum of performance), whereas I now get 75-89 degrees on the exact same settings, and in some cases lower graphical options. I also completed a stress test on my GPU, where it went from 29-33 degrees up to the maximum temperature of 90 degrees (which hasn't happened before).

I've re-placed the laptop casing on and off about 10 times trying to look at the possible issues, and nothing seems to be fixing it.

I'm not sure what to do about it as I only re-pasted my GPU a few months ago, and it seemed to improve my temperatures massively since then. You'd also think removing the dust from the fans and the heatsinks would improve the temperatures, not the complete opposite. What's even more annoying, is based on my laptop's performance, I was planning on saving up for a proper desktop PC from PCSpecialist. Now, I'm not so sure I want to.

Any suggestions or feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Specs:
Intel Core i7 - 4940MX 3.10 GHZ
32GB RAM
Nvidia GTX 980M
Samsung EVO 1TB
Windows 10 64-bit

Did you remove the heat sinks when you were cleaning?

 

[Pepsi_Jamie]

Did you remove the heat sinks when you were cleaning?

I didn't, but there is slight a gap between the GPU and the heatsink. The 2/4 of the screws have worn out too, so I can't remove it either. It seems like the heat sink only pushes down through sheer luck. Do you think that's the cause of the overheating? If so, how would I repair that?

 

[SpyderTracks]

I didn't, but there is slight a gap between the GPU and the heatsink. The 2/4 of the screws have worn out too, so I can't remove it either. It seems like the heat sink only pushes down through sheer luck. Do you think that's the cause of the overheating? If so, how would I repair that?

Yes, more than likely. There has to be a firm seating of the heatsink or the paste will not be able to make a full connection between the chip and the heatsink and the heat will just build in the chip. I wouldn't use it, I'd give PCS a call asap and see if they can help out.

 

[Pepsi_Jamie]

Yes, more than likely. There has to be a firm seating of the heatsink or the paste will not be able to make a full connection between the chip and the heatsink and the heat will just build in the chip. I wouldn't use it, I'd give PCS a call asap and see if they can help out.

Do you know how much it would cost to replace the heatsinks? I'd happily pay PCSpecialist for that service if it was an option.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Do you know how much it would cost to replace the heatsinks? I'd happily pay PCSpecialist for that service if it was an option.

I have no idea, but I doubt it would be much. There's a chance that they wouldn't do the repairs though as that would be considered 3rd party damage and may invalidate any warranty.

Edit: What chassis is it?

 

[Pepsi_Jamie]

I have no idea, but I doubt it would be much. There's a chance that they wouldn't do the repairs though as that would be considered 3rd party damage and may invalidate any warranty.

Edit: What chassis is it?

I bought the laptop 20 months ago, so I think the warranty has already expired.

It was the Vortex Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080), with G-Sync (although they never actually included G-Sync despite it being advertised).

 

[SpyderTracks]

I bought the laptop 20 months ago, so I think the warranty has already expired.

It was the Vortex Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD LED Widescreen (1920x1080), with G-Sync (although they never actually included G-Sync despite it being advertised).

Really? I didn't think the vortex was ever listed as gsync, that was only the defiance and octane. I have the same chassis and gsync was never listed as an option on mine.

It would take some real effort to mess up the heatsink screws, they're fairly robustly made.

Anyway, give PCS a call and discuss with them, worst comes to the worst, there's a site called Eurocom http://www.eurocom.com/ec/main()ec which does parts for clevo chassis and may well have what you need.

I think it's important to stress, this isn't a fault with the laptop or PCS, this is down to user error.

 

[Pepsi_Jamie]

Really? I didn't think the vortex was ever listed as gsync, that was only the defiance and octane. I have the same chassis and gsync was never listed as an option on mine.

It would take some real effort to mess up the heatsink screws, they're fairly robustly made.

Anyway, give PCS a call and discuss with them, worst comes to the worst, there's a site called Eurocom http://www.eurocom.com/ec/main()ec which does parts for clevo chassis and may well have what you need.

I think it's important to stress, this isn't a fault with the laptop or PCS, this is down to user error.

It definitely was. However, after I bought it and realised I didn't have it, I was told in a live chat from a customer service rep that you had to specifically request it.

And thanks for the link. I found my model, and the headstinks look fairly expensive (£91). Still, I'd be better off paying them to repair this (that is, assuming they would do it). Thanks for the help.

 

[SpyderTracks]

It definitely was. However, after I bought it and realised I didn't have it, I was told in a live chat from a customer service rep that you had to specifically request it.

And thanks for the link. I found my model, and the headstinks look fairly expensive (£91). Still, I'd be better off paying them to repair this (that is, assuming they would do it). Thanks for the help.

Yeah, Eurocom are pretty expensive unfortunately, but they're one of the few aftermarket stockists.

All the best, keep us posted with what goes on, would be interesting to know if PCS are able to service it.

 

[Oussebon]

Well, the warranty includes labour for 3 years, so while the parts cover is expired unless there's no way they can either repair what's there or find a replacement I'd imagine they would do it, as long as you're happy to pay the shipping costs of the laptop and the cost of parts.

 

[ubuysa]

I didn't, but there is slight a gap between the GPU and the heatsink. The 2/4 of the screws have worn out too, so I can't remove it either. It seems like the heat sink only pushes down through sheer luck. Do you think that's the cause of the overheating? If so, how would I repair that?

Just out of interest, how did '2/4 of the screws' become 'worn out'? Was it shipped to you in that state?

 

[Pepsi_Jamie]

Just out of interest, how did '2/4 of the screws' become 'worn out'? Was it shipped to you in that state?

One of the screws had difficulty coming out on my first attempt of doing a re-paste, so the pattern on the top of the screw generally wore out and now it won't come out. And the other is just completely jammed inside with no pattern, so it can't be removed using a screwdriver.

 

[Pepsi_Jamie]

Well, the warranty includes labour for 3 years, so while the parts cover is expired unless there's no way they can either repair what's there or find a replacement I'd imagine they would do it, as long as you're happy to pay the shipping costs of the laptop and the cost of parts.

The last time I contacted PCSpecialst was around March 2016 to do a thermal re-paste on my laptop due to my own personal inexperience with these topics, and I mentioned I'd be happy to pay for any shipping costs. They declined to do so (despite being fully covered by the warranty).

 

[Oussebon]

They declined to repaste your laptop while it was still under the 1 year part of the warranty? Did they not think the repaste was necessary or something?

 

[Pepsi_Jamie]

They declined to repaste your laptop while it was still under the 1 year part of the warranty? Did they not think the repaste was necessary or something?

This was their response; "Thank you for your email, I am sorry to say that this is not a service we are currently able to offer. If we can assist you any further, please do not hesitate to contact us."

To be honest, the after-sales support from PCSpecialist has been complete ****. I've had incredible support from the forums and you guys have been able to solve practically every problem I've had so far.

 

[SpyderTracks]

This was their response; "Thank you for your email, I am sorry to say that this is not a service we are currently able to offer. If we can assist you any further, please do not hesitate to contact us."

To be honest, the after-sales support from PCSpecialist has been complete ****. I've had incredible support from the forums and you guys have been able to solve practically every problem I've had so far.

What question did you ask them?

 

[Oussebon]

If PCS thought the repaste was being asked for to lower temps as a matter of preference rather than because the laptop was overheating, then I could see them declining in the manner above.

If the laptop was overheating and the obvious candidates (dusting, using it on a cooling pad rather than on one's lap / the bed, etc etc) were ruled out, then I would have expected PCS to accept an RMA.

At this point, with the heatsink loose and excessive temperatures, I would be fairly confident they'd agree to an RMA - notwithstanding the caveats in my earlier post. Have you phoned them? Their lines would be open until 5pm today.

 

[Pepsi_Jamie]

What question did you ask them?

"I've noticed that my CPU heats up quite a lot when my laptop is idle, and I've browsed forums on PCSpecialist that state the main reason for this involves the CPU paste. Would it be possible to pay for my laptop to be serviced (i.e. cleaning the fans and re-applying thermal paste to the CPU)? If so, I'd be happy to pay for this as I'd like my laptop to be able to efficiently cool the machine." This was sent 6 months after my purchase in 09/2015 and the message was sent in 03/2016.

 

[Pepsi_Jamie]

If PCS thought the repaste was being asked for to lower temps as a matter of preference rather than because the laptop was overheating, then I could see them declining in the manner above.

If the laptop was overheating and the obvious candidates (dusting, using it on a cooling pad rather than on one's lap / the bed, etc etc) were ruled out, then I would have expected PCS to accept an RMA.

At this point, with the heatsink loose and excessive temperatures, I would be fairly confident they'd agree to an RMA - notwithstanding the caveats in my earlier post. Have you phoned them? Their lines would be open until 5pm today.

It was definitely related to the paste on the CPU. Once I applied the thermal paste to the CPU and cleaned out the fans for dust, the idle temperatures decreased massively from 50-70 to 29-35.

I've sent them a message through the technical support. If that doesn't work, I'll give them a call and see if there's any other options. I bought the laptop expecting it to last between 3-5 years, with a possible desktop purchase somewhere down the line. However, after 20 months of poor after-sales service and a variety of problems, I'm considering buying a desktop elsewhere.