Need help with overheating on an Alienware M14x

Cardboardo · 24 Jun 2013

So...I've had my laptop for over a year and a half now and I'm noticing some big issues with heat. The back is propped up and I have a small fan running next to it, and I cleaned out a lot of dust from the built-in fan a couple days ago. I don't have anything overclocked, but it still heats up a while playing games.
Games usually run fine until my laptop heats up, which is when BD-prochot kicks in. I've tried disabling BD-prochot once but that only lead to my computer shutting down from heat, so that's staying on. The largest area the heat is in is right around the top center, near the power button (I'm not so good with computer anatomy, so forgive me for how I describe where things are). Does anyone know what this could be? Has my thermal paste worn off?

fireberd · 25 Jun 2013

Dell has a special forum section, just for Alienware owners. Might be best to post there, where there are those familiar with Alienware systems.

Alienware Club - Dell Community

whs · 25 Jun 2013

Games will stress the PC. There is probably little you can do about it - short of abstaining from games. On my HP laptop that also ran very hot I solved the problem by exchanging the HDD for a SSD. But that is a matter of budget.

fireberd · 25 Jun 2013

The Alienware systems are sold primarly as gaming PC's. But, as noted gaming is "worst case" for a PC.

Cardboardo · 25 Jun 2013

...So the solution is not to play games?

fireberd · 25 Jun 2013

Any PC can (will) overheat depending on the game. You can post on the Dell Alienware forum that I linked in my first post and see if others have the same problem with this model or what they did to help with cooling.

Also, you can buy a "laptop cooler" (a fan assembly that you sit the Laptop on) that will help (but not totally eliminate the heating).
Amazon.com: Cooling Pads: Electronics

bobafetthotmail · 25 Jun 2013

Yes, either you don't game (but it defies the point of having an alienware) or you buy a good laptop cooling pad, with a big wide fan. The bigger the fan is, the less noise it makes while still pulling a ton of air through.
A good one should be able to drop temps by around 6-10 °C
Most run by USB power.

According to what you say, it seems that the component getting so hot is either CPU or GPU (both are close, well at least it's not the battery so you don't risk a fire), so you can try re-applying thermal paste as well. Or check that the fan is in working order and clean it well. This is a disassembly guide to take it apart like a pro.
Any laptop anatomy is different so don't worry about sounding like a noob. None knows what the heck is where on a laptop unless there is a good disassembly manual on hand.

whs · 25 Jun 2013

The best solution for games is a desktop. There you have all the cooling options.