[necrovamp]

The first question is about my 8800 gt in my desktop. When I'm overclocking it and testing it, what is the maximum safe video card temperature?
Also, if anyone has any recommendations for an overclock, that would be appreciated.
Mine is an XFX 8800gt 256mg. Stock 650/800/1600 (stock cooling)

My third question is about my laptop's video card.
It is an ati mobility radeon 2600 hd.

When I bought the laptop, I knew the vid card might put out alot of heat.
What happens is, my video card heats up pretty quickly, and it does not cause any side affects when I'm not in a game.
However, when I'm in a game and my video card heats up, it drops to 12 frames, from a normal 80 frames.

My question is, can I use rivatuner to underclock my video card, and would it help with my heat issues?
(I already have the best cooler out there for my laptop, so any suggestions about keeping the video card cool as well would be fine too)

[McTimson]

The best suggestion for a laptop overheating is just to not use it for games. It's too confined of a space, it's very difficult to get good airflow in a laptop with all the stuff crammed in there.

Underclocking the card is a good idea, it might help a little bit.

If you're not worried about voiding a warranty, I would open up the laptop and make sure the heatsink on the GPU is enough to cool it, and make sure it's tightened down enough. But then, I would also leave it open anyway when I play a game

I think 80C is kind of an upper safe limit for those cards, so if you get past that, I would bring it back down.

Recommendations for an overclock? Bump it up 5MHz, test it, bump it up again, test it, etc. Keep going until it doesn't work Also, change the cooler, most stock coolers are terrible.

[necrovamp]

I bought this laptop specifically for games. It's not thwe best, but it can play what i need.
The reviews did say the vid card ran hot though :/

[McTimson]

Personally, I don't think any laptop is good for games, no matter what the manufacturer claims it can do.

What game makes it drop from 80 down to 12FPS?

[necrovamp]

It happens in most first person shooters. (ut2004, counterstrike source)
It happens in MMOs, wow, eq2.
I didn't seem to notice it in red alert 3.

[McTimson]

Strange that it doesn't happen in RA3, it's pretty demanding.

Well, make sure you have the latest drivers for it, that might help a bit.

You could also try running the games in lower resolutions, to see if it helps.

What are the ambient temperatures when you play? If it's a very hot room, then the cooling fan's won't do much, they're just blowing more hot air into the laptop.

[necrovamp]

Its in a basement, so these days, runs about 60 degress (high) in that room