How to address the issue of laptop overhearing?

Fusion_Naveen

Recently, I've purchased an Acer Nitro 5 (sometime in October of this year), and have been very happy with it concerning all aspects, except for 1: the thermals. With most games, I usually run at around 65-80 degrees Celcius, which isn't too concerning. But for 3 notable games, GTA 5, Subnautica, and SCP Secret Labratory, my temps hit around 90-95, with 100 being the maximum my first 2 cores ever hit. Keep in mind that this is as soon as I open the games, and not after a while into a session. I've tried the CoolBoost feature, but it hasn't had any noticeable impact on the temperature. I've researched other solutions, such as underclocking the CPU, re-applying thermal paste, or purchasing an exterior fan-deck, but for the first solution I want to know the impacts on gaming and general performance that would have, for the second I'm not confident in my abilities to go tinkering with my laptop, and for the third I'd rather try to leave spending money on a fan-deck the last resort if I can find a better solution. Any advice or help would be most appreciated. 

tobimaru

I also am on a Nitro 5 (i5-7300HQ, 1050 Ti 4GB) and experienced warmer than desirable temps after extended gaming sessions (90C+). There are a myriad of things you can do to combat this, I will try to list them all;

Using Intel Extreme Tuning Utility (free) you can undervolt your processor. Every chip is unique, in general you move in -0.10v increments until you reach the point of instability and then go back up. Run benchmarks stressing the processor and system to ensure long term reliability. MY specific processor is stable at -1.10v. I have seen better and worse, do some searching around for your specific model.

On top of this, you can open the laptop up and remove the heatsink in order to reapply thermal solution. This does void the warranty. It can be daunting for a first timer, don't proceed unless you are comfortable. Essentially, all you're doing is putting a higher quality thermal material between the heatsink and the CPU/GPU, etc. There are usually 20 or so case screws, a bit of wiggling plastic to unsnap and remove it all, and then a fan wire or two to remove the heatsink.

Using a Noctua NT-H1 compound ($8 on Amazon) I was able to shave a respectable 10C off my load temps for both CPU and GPU. After hours of gaming, my processor never reaches 78C (22C ambient) and the GPU is a cool 60-65C.

I're still feeling froggy, you can even overclock your graphics card with something like MSi Afterburner or Throttlestop.You won't be able to modify power limits or some other features but if you're already reaching thermal limits on stock frequencies you don't want to be pumping more power through anyways. That said, with FACTORY power limits I managed a 200MHz core and 800MHz memory on my 1050Ti. Totally stable, been gaming for weeks with no issues to speak of.

I'm convinced with a little tweaking these Nitro laptops are a GREAT deal. I go between High and Epic settings on most games I play (SCUM, PUBG, Battle Rock Galactic, WarFrame, etc) on a 75Hz monitor.