inspiron 9100 with 9700 ati mobil graphic freeze when playing games !

Question

i've got a inspiron 3,0 ghz with 512mb ram and a ati mobility 9700 graphic card .   the laptop runs win xp pro fine , but every time a want to play a game ( eve and c&c generals ) it freezes the laptop completely after around 15 - 30 min.   i've tried some stress test => worked fine .   upgraded bios from a03 -> a04.   can anyone please help me , with a solution or some ideas i can try .

kditlev · Answer

hello :manhappy:

it does not reboot .

it freeze in the game ,and shows fine picture from the game .

you cant do anything , it wont respond to ctrl+alt+del , the only way to get out is to turn the laptop off .

Pitty_ · Answer

I have a i8600 with MR9600 (overclocked), but I'm sure this applies to you the same:   I think Dell has the MR9600/9700 running at their utmost temperature limit - in games the temperature of the GPU constantly excesses 100°C. You should monitor this yourself with an utility like FanGUI.   Although I never experienced crashes at normal clock speeds, once I saw the temps for myself I had a shock. Obviously Dell has to guaranty solid operation at normal room temperatures - but I'm sure in warm environments (where do you live?) this can become a problem.   There's a heat mod for the MR9600 that can bring down GPU temps by ~20°C ( http://www.bay-wolf.com/8500videoheat.htm) which should work for the 9700 too, but in your case you really should stress your warranty.   Another solution that should do the trick for you is to control the fan speeds yourself using FanGUI - particularly for the second fan for the graphics card. I noticed that the second fan for the GPU is hardly ever on fast speed setting - even though the temps are passing 100°C. I didn't do the mentioned heat mod, yet I was successful in bringing down the maximum GPU temperature by a solid 10°C simply by creating an own profile for fan control. The second fan is relatively quiet even in full speed, and my GPU temp never passes 95°C anymore (this is Doom3 - the killer in heating I swear).

scott82g · Answer

I am having the same problem. Dell needs to find a solution to this problem. It seems to be relatviley common. If i knew this i would NOT HAVE BOUGHT A DELL. My Inspiron 9100, 3.2ghz, 7200 rpm hard drive, 9700 radeon, 512mb ram, is overheating during intensive programs as well as games. I know this because the system freezes and only a hard reset is possible Now, the 9100 was DESIGNED as a multimedia powerhouse, but it's quite ironic the system can't handle a system load of more than 50% or it overheats. I called dell they told me they would replace motherboard and heat sink, but i'm pretty sure that's not the case. You would THINK dell would have fixed this design flaw before they sell they're products. Any Suggestions on how to keep the system cooler? That or could it be a hardware error? Please Reply. Thanks.

Tornadojoe · Answer

C & C Generals Zero Hour does not support ATI mobile chips. Press the Fn key and keep it pressed while you type in the following zxcvasdqwer this will open your thermal control panel- read of fthe settings in yours- I am trying to determine if certain things are suppose to be enabled. In particular the BI-directional PROCHOT setting.

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