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zjrocks03

1 Message

45499

March 21st, 2013 03:00

Alienware X51 overheating while playing games

Hello I have a concern with my x51 desktop. I love my computer and it's been fantastic for gaming (I play mostly Guild Wars 2 and Diablo 3). I have the i3 version and it should be more than capable of handling these games on their max settings without breaking a sweat. I've been concerned though because whenever I turn the setting up to even mid level while playing the computer starts to overheat and the fan starts going into overdrive. The computer is in an open area and as far as I can tell all of the fans are operating correctly. I have the latest drivers installed and nothing else really runs in the background while playing. It works like a charm when the settings are on low, however I'm not playing some crazy graphics game like Battlefield 3 and I'm sure it should be able to handle GW2 better. When I leave the settings up and play anyway, it runs fine and hasn't shut down, it just gets extremely annoying with the sound of the fan going nuts, which concerns me that I may be harming something. Is there something I'm doing wrong? Is there something I need to check? I'd greatly appreciate any help I could receive on this issue. Thank you!

speedstep

9 Legend

 • 

47K Posts

March 21st, 2013 08:00

Fans are passive cooling devices. Unless you are going to play Games in an industrial freezer with temp set below Zero you are not going to prevent the fans from coming on. (Overheating would mean the system Freezes and then Shuts off Power due to "thermal event")

  There are systems that have Active Cooling that Are as Close To Silent as you can get but they accomplish this by using Liquid Cooling and Radiator and putting the many many many fans far away or in the next room from the PC.  BOSE has a solution for this but it too is NOT FREE.

Significant noise reduction, with Bose® quality sound and a fit that stays comfortable for hours.

QuietComfort® 15 Acoustic Noise Cancelling® headphones

  • Advanced noise reduction for better music enjoyment while traveling, at work and at home 
  • Soft-cushioned, around-the-ear fit 
  • Additional cable with inline microphone and remote for iPhone®/iPod® control  
  • AAA battery 


http://www.pugetsystems.com/submerged.php

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=PtufuXLvOok]

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUBvWXH1hLs]


teeth_03

3 Posts

March 21st, 2013 17:00

You need to run the fans fast otherwise it WILL overheat!

If noise is a concern, you best be selling your X51 and buying a full size tower that can handle heat quieter. There is really nothing else to say on the matter. The system is a little noisy when playing games.

Asmodeus451

1 Message

August 11th, 2013 11:00

i know it's been several months, but allow me to offer the following suggestion:

get yourself a program such as RealTemp, to monitor your CPU temperature. anything below about 100 degrees Celcius (212 F) isnt going to do any real harm. should you see it edging up towards the 90 degree mark, shut down your game and give it time to cool off, just to be safe

tkati97

1 Message

October 14th, 2013 13:00

That's terrible advice. 100 degrees Celcius is the maximum level for most components. A graphics card usually runs hotter than a processor, and those have max temps around 97-100 celcius. That doesn't mean one should be running at those extreme temperatures. If you have a CPU that is constantly running at that high temperature, something is wrong. Even spiking temporarily to those levels indicates poor air flow and cooling. 100 F is a slightly different story.

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