Project Reality Forums

Hey everyone,

right now I have windows 7 installed on a machine that has 2.5 ghz core 2 duo, 4 gb's of ram and 512 on the video card (GeForce 8600M GT).

I've noticed that my laptop gets very hot whilst running PR and I need an external fan to cool it down so PR runs near smooth.

Will it help if I install windows XP again? Or doesnt it matter that the OS is a bit heavier since its not doing much whilst gaming?

Cheers guys!

when you say external fan, do you mean some kind of cooling pad?

I mean a fan that is used to cool a room ^-^ If I dont use it I notice some drops and hick-ups during play.

Installing XP again wont change anything really. The problem is that a laptop is pretty compact so when all components becomes warmer and warmer the air inside also get warmer. And warm air doesn?t cool off your components very well. This happens when you play games for example.

The fan size for your hardware in a laptop is also very limited in size. On a stationary computer the minimum size of a fan that blows the air out is often 80mm or larger. 120mm fans are very common. GPU and CPU fans are also larger and can handle more heat because a stationary PC doesn?t really have the same size limitations as a laptop.

There are platforms you can buy that are supposed to make your laptop run cooler. I have no experience with those tho so I suggest you use the internet to find reviews on which ones that works and make up your opinion from that. And then decide if it?s worth it and which one to get. Or ask someone who have tried one or more and can tell you how much difference they really make.

That?s why so many people say that no laptop is a gaming laptop. Just buy a tower computer if you consider serious gaming.

I too have the GeForce 8600M GT in my laptop that I occasionally use for gaming and the whole thing is getting way too hot for my taste. Its around >80?C when I am not assisting the cooling using a notebook fan/cooler (HAMA 39689 NOTEBOOK COOLER MAXI - NOTEBOOK ACCESSORIES - E-SHOP.GR). I even had some BSODs and Freezes due to overheating.

First thing you might want to do though is dedust the laptop (esp. the fans) - I used a brush to get rid of the stickier dust on the fan blades.

With both cooler and cleaning the laptop is running stable and alot cooler now.

The reason I chose this cooler was because it has such a huge fan therefore can cool a larger area and doesn't need to run with high RPMs to achieve a decent through put making it less noisy. However there is a drawback: This constuction elevates the laptop leaving the hand and wrist at an odd angle on the native laptop keyboard when gaming - an external keyboard or (liquid) wrist rest helps though.

Thanks for the answers ^-^. Yea when I bought this a tower PC wasnt really an option. I'm still a student but I'm not going to school anymore. Just wrapping it up. So once I get a job I'm going to start saving for either a good gaming PC or a work iMac. Since I have a macbook pro at this moment that I use for gaming I'm considering "upgrading" my freelance work experience with a nice shiney mac since this mbp is also getting slow at my design work.
I'll just leave windows 7 on and see if I can get a laptop cooling fan/pad in the meantime whilst I save up.