Overheating Octane 17.3 gaming laptop

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Synaps

Member
Hi everyone,

I am having a really frustrating issue with my Octane gaming laptop (see specifications below). The laptop was performing great at first, but after about 1.5 months it started overheating when playing games, with CPU temps going ~99 degrees and more, which caused laptop to crash. I have returned laptop to PCSpecialist for fixing and they replaced motherboard and GPU. Then laptop started working great again. But after about 1 month is started overheating again with exactly same symptoms as before. I have sent it back for fixing again. This time they replaced GPU and heatsink and returned it back to me. It was working great again, but now after couple of weeks same problem started again. I am very frustrated at this point and feel like it's pointless to try and fix this at this point. What would you suggest? Should I just get a refund and buy some other gaming laptop? I really like this one, if not the overheating issue. I am also considering switching to desktop configuration instead. What would you do?

Specs:
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Chassis & Display
Octane Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-7700k (4.2GHz) 8MB Cache
Memory (RAM)
32GB HyperX IMPACT 2400MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1080 - 8.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1, G-SYNC
1st Hard Disk
1TB WD BLACK 2.5" WD10JPLX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
M.2 SSD Drive
512GB SAMSUNG PM961 M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 2800MB/R, 1600MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 6 in 1 Card Reader (SD /Mini SD/ SDHC / SDXC / MMC / RSMMC)
AC Adaptor
1 x 330W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Bluetooth & Wireless
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ WIRELESS-AC 1535 M.2 GAMING 802.11AC + BLUETOOTH 4.1
USB Options
4 x USB 3.0 Ports + 2 x USB 3.1 Type C Ports
Battery
Octane Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (82WH)
Keyboard Language
OCTANE SERIES BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
DVD Recovery Media
Windows 10 (64-bit) Home DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Notebook Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 2.0 MP FULL HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Insurance
1 Month Free Laptop Insurance inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Promotional Item
FREE FOR HONOR or GHOST RECON: WILDLANDS with select GTX 10 Series GPUs!
Promotional Item
FREE VR Game Bundle with select INTEL® CPUs!
Quantity
1
 
Oussebon

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
It's odd that it should be fine for a while and then not be. Thermal paste does degrade, but not that quickly..

Have you checked out this topic
https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?52069-Octane-Tips-Tricks-Info-and-Experiences

And is the CPU undervolted? A number of Octane owners have found it is possible to undervolt the CPU without reducing frequencies/performance, and that this helps control temps. Intel seems a bit overgenerous with the voltage it feeds the CPUs by default
 
S

Synaps

Member
Yes, I'tried undervoltong around -150 and using max fan speed. It doesn't help much. It is as if something is blocking CPU from cooling. Also interesting that it happens during video games, but GPU itself does not overheat. I have also checked and cleaned fans. I am thinking maybe there is some kind of component incompatibility in my setup, but nothing obvious comes to mind.
 
Oussebon

Oussebon

Multiverse Poster
I'll leave it to others more experienced than I am to suggest fixes, but I wonder if somehow the heatsink is gradually coming loose off the CPU? That might explain why a repaste, and reattaching of the heatsink, fixes it for a while. But that's just a stab in the dark.
 
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RichVisuals

New member
I am getting the same issue on almost identical machine (Smaller SSD only difference).
Did you find a solution?
ALready undervolted -150 and also turned off turbo
 
S

Synaps

Member
RichVisuals said:
I am getting the same issue on almost identical machine (Smaller SSD only difference).
Did you find a solution?
ALready undervolted -150 and also turned off turbo
Click to expand...

I am afraid not :( I have sent it back to PCSpecialist (3rd time already!) and expecting some input from technician today/tomorrow. Unless they manage to identify root cause of this issue, I am probably going to switch to a desktop configuration instead.
 
S

Synaps

Member
In the end I got tired of this problem and asked PCSpecialist to swap my laptop for desktop computer, which they did. Now I have a gaming desktop machine, which works great. I am still not sure why I had these problems with laptop, and whether it was just some component issue pr the whole setup.
 
ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
Although I have no experience at all of the Octane series it is certainly true that all laptops are notoriously difficult to cool, largely due to the massively reduced volume of air inside the case. A gaming laptop of course drives both the CPU and GPU very hard generating lots and lots of heat that somehow has to be removed. It is well known of course that laptops need to be cleaned regularly, gaming laptops even more so, and that the finned heat exchanger(s) next to the fan(s) are the key to the cooling process - these are also terrible dust magnets and very quickly become blocked.

Speaking purely personally I think that the concept of a 'gaming laptop' is something of an oxymoron and I would always encourage anyone looking for a gaming computer to consider a desktop model if that is at all possible. If it has to be a laptop then I think it's wise to realise and accept that when gaming it will almost always be running at the extremes of it's cooling ability and that anything internal (dust and muck) or external (blocked vents, poor airflow around it, or even a desk that holds the heat) that compromises it's cooling ability is going to have a major impact, quite possibly even catastrophic.

There is no such thing as a free lunch, and if you want a thin, light and portable laptop, then cooling is always going to be a challenge. :sweatdrop:
 
Stephen M

Stephen M

Author Level
Agree with Ubuysa. Any laptop running at full is going to have heat problems, all you can do is keep it clean, use a cooling tray, make sure, if possible, to use it somewhere well ventilated. I cannot see getting a Defiance will change things much other than give you a lower powered machine. The Octane because of its size is probably as good as any for trying to cool but it will always have heat issues.

I had to have a portable machine when I got my Octane and I do not regret it but my next machine will be a desk top.
 
S

Synaps

Member
It is not entirely true. I have had gaming laptop before, which never had any issues with overheating, and I never had to get a cooling pad for it. It has been active for more than 6 years now and still works perfectly. It was Japanese Galleria custom built 17.4 laptop. It had corpus as thick as Octane (that’s why I thought that Octane will also not have problems sith cooling.
 
ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
Synaps said:
It is not entirely true. I have had gaming laptop before, which never had any issues with overheating, and I never had to get a cooling pad for it. It has been active for more than 6 years now and still works perfectly. It was Japanese Galleria custom built 17.4 laptop. It had corpus as thick as Octane (that’s why I thought that Octane will also not have problems sith cooling.
Click to expand...

To be fair, a six year old CPU/GPU will probably not generate as much heat as more modern ones, so that a modern laptop is trying to remove more heat in the same volume case.

I'm not suggesting that gaming laptops will always overheat, I'm saying that it's an unfortunate truth that they will be working at or very near the limits of their cooling ability, so that anything that compromises their cooling quickly becomes a problem.
 
Stephen M

Stephen M

Author Level
It would be interesting to know the spec of the Galleria, similar chasis is pretty meaningless but at six years old I doubt the CPU and GPU are as powerful. The difficulty with the Octane is that it runs with a desk top CPU, not one designed for a laptop so heating was always expected to be a potential issue.
 
M

Mad Dap

New member
ive got the same problem with my octane, i made a post about it just recently, synaps do you reckon its worth just trading it in for a desktop to save the hassle?
 
D

DrStockmann

Member
I can't recommend a good cooling pad enough. I have an Optimus IX and it runs really cool thanks to pad. I got the Klim Wind one
 
M

micjah

Member
I also own a Octane IV with top specs, after 2 month of cores/GPU burning it runs significantly hotter.
Problem is the cooler is full of dust.
A common problem with every cooling PC device, I can recommend you to carefully blow air in reverse direction of airflow when fans are not running -> you will see a dust cloud escaping.
Furthermore manually clean the cooling housing for CPU/GPU fans in the back of your Octane every months. There are just a few screws to get in. Its done in 10 minutes and the Laptop runs as cool as after delivery.
Best,
Michael
 
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