Should I change my processor?

[Mutant Corn]

I'm leaning toward no, but I thought I'd ask anyway. I've cooked something on my XPS M1210....it now runs between 55C and 90C (depending on what sensor you look at) at idle on low power mode, and can't do anything above a standard def youtube video without bogging down. I've also managed to break the solder joints on the AC jack, so I really need a new MoBo. What I'm wondering is if I should go for a different/new processor as well. I'm worried that I might have damaged the one I have. What do you guys think? It's gotten up over 90C before.

I could keep the same one, go for the same model(T7200), or upgrade to the T7600, which is 2.33GHz rather than 2.0. I'm worried about heat though. Could it possibly be beneficial to go for a slower processor, to save on heat? Most of the heat comes from the GFX card, as there's little-to-no airflow to it, but everything gets hot.

 

[Grantofhell]

Needs a fan. I'd stick with 2.0 Too much heat in a lappy just gets overwhelming.

 

[Mutant Corn]

Arighty then. I though that might be a bit much...thanks.

So I used a cooling pad until it broke...but other than that it's just the conduction-based heat sink on the CPU. There is a fan on that, but it doesn't blow directly on any of the components. How can I go about cooling it better, other than a pad?

If this helps, the reason it's so awkwardly laid-out is because they've crammed a Centrino chipset and a Geforce Go card, along with two mini PCIe ports and a DVD burner, into a 12.1" case...it's not much larger than a netbook.

 

[Grantofhell]

Oh. yeah. Stay in a well cooled room with air moving. I always turn on a fan, even with my liquid cooled rig. Air that is already in motion is easily moved through the case.

 

[Mutant Corn]

I see...I do usually keep a box fan going to drown out the noise. (I live with a death metal band, lol ) Is that enough? Is there anything I can do that directly affects the computer?

Here's a pic of it under the keyboard...pretty much sums up the problems I'm having. The open part of the fan is sealed by the keyboard. The copper bar, i.e. the heat sink, is less than 1/8" thick. There are fins underneath the left side of it that the fan blows across, and the long part of it touches the CPU and apparently the GPU.

edit: Sorry...I think I'm ranting as much as I am asking for help. My big worry at this point is weather or not I've cooked my CPU and need to replace it when I replace the mobo. I can't find anything on what the maximum safe temperature for it is.

 

[Grantofhell]

Mobile processors normally have much higher TJmax's. I assume you didn't damage the CPU as heat damage is pretty black and white. It doesn't overheat, or it overheats and stops working, or blows up depending on the temp. Can you mod the exterior and slap a 60mm on it so it will blow onto the CPU/GPU area? There isn't really much you can do with lappies but keep the room cold and put fans on it.

 

[Mutant Corn]

Not really sure where I'd put the fan, but that is a good idea. There's that metal thing on one side of the cpu/gpu, and there's not much room at all on the other side. How would I go about wiring it in?

Are you sure it's not possible that I've damaged it? Used to be, even with no cooler, I could run quite a few games on decent settings. My exact mosed was tested by (I think) PcWorld, and was able to run Half Life 2 at medium-high settings. Right now, I can't even watch a high-quality youtube video without it heating up and bogging down...forget gaming. I can barely run flash games.

edit: Actually it seems more likely that I've damaged the GPU...should I move this to the general Hardware forum?

 

[sniperviper21]

not sure if this has been brought up, but maybe you should just get a new PC? Though i know desktops arnt for everyone, and not everyone has money. Though Desktops deal with heat issues a ton better.

and iv never seen a modded Lappie?

 

[Grantofhell]

I have. I created it.

 

[Mutant Corn]

I do plan to get a desktop at some point, but I'm dealing with a near-zero budget right now. My desktop is a Dell Optiplex GX240. I've upgraded the processor and video card from junk parts, but that still leaves me with a 2.8GHz Celeron, a GeForce2 MX 400 (PCI), and 1 gig of RAM.

Besides that, though, this computer will be current for quite a while. Its size and battery life are in keeping with a large netbook, but it has a full Centrino Duo chipset and a half-decent graphics card. AFAIK this is the only model ever made like that. If I can just figure out the cooling....

I have. I created it.

Do you have a thread on it? I'd like to see what you've done.