Hey /v/, I don't really post on 4chan all too much, but I figured asking a crowd could help me solve my problem.
So, I have a mid-2012 MBP 15in with an Nvidia GeForce GT 650m. Before I'm banned from the board, I BootCamp into Windows for gaming, as OSX performs like shit.
Things have always run really well. TF2, CSGO, Sonic Racing Transformed, SR 3/4, Borlerlands 2, Rocket League, Bioshock Infinite, and even Crysis 2 ran without any major problems at all, and I could always run them on High/Mid settings (save for Crysis 2, that had to be on Low).
The only thing the card had trouble pushing was accurate shadows, which I was totally fine with, because textures and lighting were more important.
Anyway, to get to my point - My card has recently started getting way too hot when gaming. Stuttering, barely pushing the native 1440x900 resolution (used to be hooked to a 1080 monitor). Temps reach 95-98C on the CPU, 90-94C on the card. So, it also seems like it can't properly cool itself any longer.
I've blown out the computer with compressed air. I've disassembled it (as much as Apple lets you) and blown it out. There don't seem to be any melted circuits, though I could be wrong. No blockages on fans, they always run at 6200rpm max.
What seems to be my issue? I'd hate to buy another MBP (I use it for music production in Logic) just to fix this video stuttering and cooling issue.
Small bump.
>m-m-muh Logic
lotta Apple-butthurt coming from someone who opted to buy a MacBook instead of running a virtual machine or reading a hackintosh guide
>>332717816
No need to be a dick. The MBP was free, and I don't want to throw money at a new DAW and learn it from scratch.
Besides, Logic's reverbs fuckin kick.
I've got the same laptop and it gets fucking hot but I've never had any problems beyond that. I used to use a program that let you manually set the fan speed, but if yours are going full speed I'm not sure what else you can do but wait for it to die like every mobile Nvidia chipset seems to.
>>332716529
> laptop
> Mac
> gaming
PICK ONE.
>>332718297
Shit, that's a mobile chipset thing?
Also, I've used smcFanControl before and dialed it up when it's idle so it doesn't burn my legs.
>>332718406
Nice meme.
This is my laptop, basically. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834312439
>>332716529
>I BootCamp into Windows for gaming
I did this for several years with a MBP. Mac laptops are infamous for being terrible at dissipating heat, so you're kinda just fucked on that one. My advice is to just try keeping it cool externally as best you can.
>>332718664
Sad thing is, I bought a cooling mat, and that didn't help. I usually game in a cool place, never on fabrics or anything. Wooden desk.
This looks like the problem is unfixable, huh?
Did you open it and use compressed air? No one here knows. Look it up on apple-specific sites. Your GPU should hit 85 degrees maximum. Use GPU-Z to see if it's actually throttling. If it is, you didn't blow out all the fan dust.
>>332718781
Sadly just about. Put it on a block of dry ice?
hey nick i pm'd you the fix ;)
>>332718841
Yup. Thing looks gorgeously clean. It seems like it is actually throttling because of the heat.
Posting elsewhere was another option, but I don't want fanatics to say "that's how it's supposed to run" like others have.
>>332718781
It could also be your battery if it's a little older, although it's probably worth checking other stuff before you spend money on a potential fix. In my experience a lot can go wrong with laptops that doesn't normally with a desktop since they move so much.
>>332718518
You don't get to change your laptop when you already said you have a
> mid-2012 MBP 15in with an Nvidia GeForce GT 650m.
>>332718902
Ha. Sigh, not gonna happen. Thanks, though.
>>332718931
what
>>332719059
I'm giving a Windows laptop near equivalent. Don't fuckin stubbornly meme at me.
>>332719027
What would the battery have to do with it? Emitting heat?
>>332718406
This.
>>332719238
Either offer advice or don't post. I don't need this fucking shitposting.
>>332718406
Whoa whoa whoa what is this 'soudane' for
>>332716529
>gaming laptop
>Mac gaming laptop
lmao
>>332719453
>Didn't say it was a gaming laptop
>Greentexting this badly
>>332716529
did /g/ shitpost at you?
If you didnt try them, I'd do it. sometimes one of them have random retard knowledge that can help. But what youre more likely to get is shitposts.
from my experience though macbooks run hot when actually doing shit and throttle. I guess its fine though since 95% of their customers use them for mostly nothing.
>>332719398
You don't need shitposting but you deserve it
>>332719673
Didn't try there yet. Will do soon.
But from what I understand, my card is just going.
>>332719760
ok
>>332719541
>can't greentext
rofl
>>332716529
google the service manual for your model and open it up yourself and replace the thermal paste on the cpu and gpu heatsinks
like any laptop, macs have a 80 gorillion screws (including fucking torx scews) holding them together and 13 dozen tiny cables connected all over the place just to even get at the heatsink itself.
if your not comfortable doing this yourself take it to a shop that knows what they're doing, a competent person can do it in half an hour or so (28 minutes of that is unscrewing screws and cables)
>>332716529
I'm a 29-year-old electrical engineer by training and sys admin by profession. (I just happen to love vidya games.)
I could help you, but I'm not going to. You sound like a tool, and you're a Mac user.
>>332720272
THIS
>>332720272
Sounds pretty risky, but I may have to do this then. Thanks
>>332720421
How? I'm just asking advice on how to fix my computer, regardless of whether or not it's a Mac. The comp was free either way. I didn't choose this on purpose.
>>332716529
When a laptop, just like a gaming pc, gets hot for long periods, you basically dry and cook your thermal pads and they start acting more like insulation, thus making your fans blow like a jet engine since they detect they really need to while the cpu/gpu are still burning hot.
I have zero idea on how hard it is to dismantle the whole thing on your model, but this is probably what you should do if it's possible.
Remove cpu & gpu heatsink, remove last bits of thermal pad crumbles by hand then blowing air on it, clean with alcohol, apply new fresh thermal paste properly, benchmark it to see how it goes.
There's probably a video on youtube for your specific laptop model on how to entirely dismantle it, i suggest taking a look there to see if it's possible to do it .. and do it.
>>332720745
Crap, alright. I know a guy who can probably do this for me for about $200. Much easier than buying a $2500 or $1800 refurb. Thanks.
>>332720745
Also, if it's been doing this lag/overheating/throttling thing for about a month, should I expect my performance to never reach what it used to? (It being cooked quite a bit)
>>332719187
Batteries generate a shitload of heat when they're charging because the efficiency of the reaction that does it isn't perfect and the extra energy gets turned into heat instead of chemical potential. If you charge your laptop a lot, and I bet you have it plugged in while you play usually, then it's going to be generating heat constantly and probably faster than it was built to handle. Laptops are designed to be charged and used at separate times.
>>332721179
Right right. It's plugged in quite a bit, especially when playing games, and on Windows where it generates more heat.
Sounds like a new battery and new thermal paste, huh?
>>332720998
you can't "lose" performance. what's happening is the parts of your system are throttling/downclocking because they're too damn hot and the parts essentially trying to save themselves before the system just outrught shuts down to prevent damage. once you restore cooling back to normal it will run as good as it was designed to. there's not some magic gremlins in your system that say "lol this system is has been running hot for 2 weeks, lets cripple the cpu by 15% forever"
>>332720998
Unless you have busted something, it's gonna be okay and back to day 1 perfs (minus the shit on your system clogging the memory/cpu).
Signs of something really broken are artifacts, often coming from exploded capacitors.
If your mac has been acting like shit it's because of the temp but unless you've seen your screen being hacked by aliens and still doing that, it should be fine.
>>332721359
>>332721549
I'm just checking, sorry. It's never shut down from heat, so I assume no damage has been done to the cards, but I'm just being sure. Thanks
>>332721359
although that'd be pretty funny
>>332721308
I'd say "maybe" on the new battery. It's more likely that the battery is still functioning fine, but has just been exacerbating your long-term heat problems. The thermal paste is your best bet for a potential fix. Also, 200 bucks is a lot for such a simple fix, but then mac labor fees are always insane.
>>332721937
Yeah, never had AppleCare on it, never will. I'll double check on the pricing, but it'll save me an arm and a leg rather than bringing it to apple and being charged like $600 and labor.
>>332722057
Well, at least, if he's a pro, he probably had to spend a fucking ton of cash on all the special screwdrivers so even if it's expensive, he's your best shot.
>>332722815
I even have the star drivers I'd be willing to lend him haha. Thanks.
