[SOLVED] Video card over heating + shuts down computer

[Kunovega]

OS: Win XP (fully up to date as of Sept 12, 2013, just checked)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.4ghz dual core)
RAM: 2gb DDR3 (dual channel)

Vid Card: NVIDIA Quadro FX 2700m
Vid Driver: 307.83 (latest release; but I also rolled back and tested with older drivers: 195.62, 266.58, 307.45)

It doesn't matter which driver I try it with (I've now done a clean install of the latest and removed all old ones that were tested) and I have the same issue.

This computer is mainly for graphic design (photoshop) but I also play a variety of games on it; many of them far more graphically intense than FTL. It's also always sitting on a fan pad (not that it's ever needed it before, but I like the angle it gives and it pulls the heat away from me instead of building up around the laptop)

Anyway, when I play FTL the system gets super hot and forces an automatic shutdown. This happens anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes after beginning a new game. I got through the tutorial just fine and I can usually play a few sectors at a time if I start a game and than shut it down for a few minutes. But if I leave the game running for more than 5 to 10 minutes, the laptop gets too hot to touch and shuts itself off.

Like I said, I play plenty of other games on here including some MMO's (Star Wars Old Republic), League of Legends and dozens of others, most of which are far more graphics intense than FTL. But for some reason this game just makes my vid card go super hot.

NVIDIA is of no help at all, they just say "try other drivers or wait for new ones"; but I've tried all the old ones I could find on their site and the latest ones (which I have installed) are like 6 months old with no new ones announced. Besides, this is the only game I've had the problem with. They offer no other advice as to how to fix the problem (and buying a new graphics card or computer is not an option for at least another year)

I've also completely dismantled the computer, cleaned all of the dust out of it (there wasn't much, I clean it more than a couple times a year) and there is nothing visibly wrong inside. Since this issue only happens with this game and none of the others I don't know where else to ask. This computer usually runs fairly cold to the touch (between the fan pad its sitting on and the air condition vent nearby) , it doesn't even get warm (let alone hot) when I run anything else. But with this game, it gets so hot I cant touch it and shuts itself off.

Hopefully someone can tell me how to fix this problem, I was really looking forward to playing this game.

[UltraMantis]

FTL is unusually demanding, it's not your computer's fault.
One thing you can try is enabling Vertical Sync and Frame Limiter options (In FTL Options menu), it can help reduce the GPU workload. Also try disabling Dynamic Backgrounds (though i think that only applies to Nebulas).

I know it's not much, but i hope that helps.

[Matthew]

Hello. Sorry about the troubles! Sounds like you were quite thorough in your attempts to solve it UltraMantis is correct in his suggestion to enable the Vertical Sync and/or the Frame Limiter in the options. Mostly, the problem is caused by your computer working *too hard* pointlessly, since FTL is relatively light to run. Those options force it to calm down.

[Kunovega]

FTL is unusually demanding, it's not your computer's fault.
One thing you can try is enabling Vertical Sync and Frame Limiter options (In FTL Options menu), it can help reduce the GPU workload. Also try disabling Dynamic Backgrounds (though i think that only applies to Nebulas).

I know it's not much, but i hope that helps.

Vertical Sync + Frame Limiter seems to have worked. I just played for about 4 hours and the system is only slightly warmer than usual and didn't overheat or shut down.

I don't know why I didn't think to try game options, normally that would have been the first thing. I think it's because the game looks deceptively non-graphic intensive and I've played so many more high end games without such a critical failure before. Normally I'd delve into settings to improve performance not to stop the system from going into overload

Anyway, thanks.

[UltraMantis]

Glad to hear it helped.