Thinkpads Forum

There is only one problem with my T500. It overheats if I play games.
Cheap, really bad coded games are known to overheat hardware with having no VSYNC, no FPS Cap, or anything like that. (See Korean/Eastern games.)

So what I was thinking about is... what if I would remove the keyboard and the palm rest?
Would the laptop boot or say there is no keyboard attached?

(Why I want this approach instead of buying a laptop cooler: ThinkPad is extremely well made. At least, compared to other brands. The "backplate" for example, is really sturdy. Hence any kind of cooling I tried (even a huge fan installed at the bottom of the laptop) is quite ineffective. Maybe 5C... or less. Nothing.

Due to the thickness of the top/bottom side, I just want to remove the case. I guess the keyboard/palm rest would be more than enough to dissipate enough heat.)

It'll boot fine, although you'd need the keyboard plugged in to turn it on.

I'd say:
a) Undervolt your CPU with RMClock
b) Clean the fan
c) Repaste

You can also use Catalyst to force a VSync.

As an aside, you should overwrite the ATI HD3650 drivers with 11.9 mobile Catalyst ones. (Don't touch the Intel one, and don't use the Catalyst installer). You'll get greater efficiency that way.

That's sad.. I mean, the keyboard cable is a bit short. Maybe I'll try lifting it by some CM with rubber or something.

(Sorry for numbering my reply, no offense or anything, just want to reply per point.)

a) I tried RMClock and CPUGenie, and Windows's in-built power schemes (setting CPU to X%), that will cause the game behave weird. Like causing a mouse lag for example.
b) I did so, nothing happened.
c) I'll try that soon, got a paste at home, I just have to get home to do the repaste.


I'm using the latest AMD drivers from their site. What do you mean by "overwrite"? And how can I do that?

I didn't mean use RMClock to limit the CPU speed. I mean decreasing the voltage. There's a lot of extra voltage between stock and desired levels. You can cut this extra fluff and decrease heat output. Furthermore, you can use RMClock to lock the CPU at maximum speed during games to minimize SpeedStep lag.

I think your paste might be a bit dry. I swapped my T400's out for MX3 and it sustained quite a nice GPU overclock.

Wait... Are you running switchable graphics? Or just have the discrete on?

I just have the discrete on, no switchable.
I'll try RMClock, thanks!

Okay. Because using stock AMD drivers with switchable on is a big no-no and causes massive heat output.

Clean your fan, replace the the thermal paste, and *then* worry about external cooling.

ThinkRob wrote:Clean your fan, replace the the thermal paste, and *then* worry about external cooling.

I agree with this. I repasted mine and don't really have any heat issues with gaming(I didn't before either, just felt like it was a good 'while I'm in there'); what titles are you playing?

When applying the thermal paste, make sure you don't apply to much, or it will have the reverse effect.

Also, it sounds like your trying to convert your portable computer into a desktop by using external cooling. This will never be done efficiently, you'll do much better working with a desktop computer, but a simple way to keep it cooler (assuming the heat conduction from cpu/gpu to heatsink is good, is to use tpfancontrol (freeware) on manual setting, so the fan is always running.

I have another technique I use on units that are running hot. Use something like a hair dryer on fan-only setting to blow air into the fan inlet (rear of unit), and it should quickly decrease temp "if" the heatsink is conducting heat well. If it doesn't, then you'll need to check your thermal paste asap, as well as make sure it's firmly seated on cpu/gpu.

To build on this method, it would probably not be hard to hookup some external fan to provide cooling like this, but it would defeat the whole purpose of it being a portable computer. Also make sure you're not forcing the internal fan to rotate backwards.

As for "cooling pads", most that I've seen will only have a small cooling effect, and only on units that are bottom cooled. This model isn't, the air inlet is in the read, and the outlet on the side. Bottom cooling is a very bad idea and can cause problems if you use the laptop on a couch or bed, which is done often.