SOLVED Laptop RMA Cooling Issue

[SumYungHo]

Hello! I'm hoping you guys can guide me in the right direction with what to do with my ancient laptop. Throw it out, haha, yea, but no $$$ for new one. I'm newish to PC modding and hardware but I know enough lingo to get around.

I bought this baby back in December, 2011 from a 3rd party custom gaming pc vendor. I won't mention their name but here's the basic specs of the system I bought:

Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2860QM CPU @ 2.50GHz
16gb ram @ 2333mhz
Nvidia GTX 570m

There was an option to have them overclock it, so I had them do that. It ran about 83c during heavy load for about 2 years then the GPU started to artifact then finally dying. I sent it in for an RMA repair.
LOOONG STORY SHORT: Then replaced the motherboard and the gpu with an upgraded gpu the GTX 675m.

So now, with the 570m I was able to run most all games on max with the newer games at high setting with about 40-60 fps. It was good enough for me. The GPU never went above 84c. And for laptops, I know that's high, but acceptable.

I get this RMA'd laptop back and the first thing I do is try to replicate their bench results with 3Dmark11. I get about the same numbers. I go to play BF3 and my video settings are the SAME before I sent it in yet it's unplayable at 10-20 FPS. I'm wondering... hm WTF? So I ultimately lowered all the graphics to LOW and to 720p res and still get the same results! I lowered their GPU OC to half, almost default settings, and I get the same results! So I direct my attention to the CPU. I start monitoring the CPU with Throttle Stop and notice it's all over the place! I'm wondering wtf is going on?! I hit the Stop Throttle button and try out BF3 and it works PERFECTLY! I even put it to 1080p and still, flawless. I could even raise the graphics settings but I decide to just play a quick game to watch for artifacts and monitor temps. It runs beautifully at 90FPS.

Here's where it gets interesting. After my quick game of BF3 I look at the temps: CPU - 76c, GPU - 95c !!!! Holy ball sack batman.

After doing some research I learned that the cpu throttles as a manufacturer safety precaution. I don't think the GPU is having any problems at this point, 3Dmark11 got good results except for the CPU physics portion. That same CPU worked PERFECT before I sent it in for RMA so wtf happened.

So now my thoughts are leaning towards poor thermal paste application. I've never put aftermarket thermal paste on before, I'm a buyer, not a modder. Now I'm thinking I may have to learn how to apply thermal paste but before I start doing this, I want to make sure that IS the cooling problem.

I'm going to get a desktop because this laptop will soon be out of warranty so I want this thing to last as long as possible now. Any suggestions, troubleshooting advice, or questions?

 

[ATMINSIDE]

Are all the fans spinning when it gets hot?

 

[trents]

I find it odd that the CPU is throttling at only 76c. The TJ Max is about 20c higher than that. It's a Sandy Bridge core. What are you monitoring temps with and is that a max temp during the game or one you check after you stop the game. They cool down very, very quickly when you take load off of them.

Around here we use a free program called HWMonitor to check temps. It gives max, min and current temps from a number of sensored (with sensors) areas on the motherboard and CPU. Have it open while you run the game to record max temps during the game. What you want to look at mainly are the core temps.

Have you ever dismantled a laptop before? If not, realize it can be a daunting task and depending on how it is constructed it may require essentially a complete disassembly in order to get to the CPU cooler. Find some Youtube videos to watch that demo how that model is torn down. Take notes. Get some kind of organizer with compartments like a 7 day pill box or something to keep track of the different size and kinds of screws used. Take pics of necessary to remind yourself of how things fit together.

Also keep in mind that laptop CPU coolers can use a thermal pad instead of a thermal paste and they can be glued on. If that is the deal on this one, make sure you get the right one because the thickness is critical.

 

[SumYungHo]

Atminside, There's only only 1 giant fan in this MSI model that cover both cpu and gpu, there's a manual fan booster feature that makes it sound like a jet engine.

Figured it out ...I guess?
All I had to do was close Afterburner. That's it. Even when it's set the GPU to stock clocks it makes it run crazy hot. I'm puzzled though because the 570m had no problems with Afterburner but this 675m is like deathly allergic to it or something. I guess no OCing for me ;(