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I have a 5,1 Unibody 15" MBP (late 2008) that has recently started exhibiting strange behavior under Windows 7 when playing 3D games. After a few minutes of working normally it will suddenly run very slowly at approximately 1 fps and after a while will work fine again for a few moments and then repeat. I have managed to determine that the slowdown is happening once the GPU reaches 110 degrees Celsius. That in itself us quite scary to me and feels way too hot. Once the GPU cools down to 100 degrees the speed goes back to normal. This happens only in Windows. I have done quite a bit of experimenting between Windows and OS X using the Unigine Heaven benchmark and Diablo 3 as they both run on each OS. Under OS X the temperature never goes above 107 degrees. It seems OS X does not have this problem (as far as I can tell) because it never clocks the GPU into profile 4. If I use the NVidia performance tools under Windows to restrict the GPU to profile 2 then Windows also stays at a maximum of 107 degrees under normal game or benchmark use. Running something like MSIs Kombustor will still push it above 110 degrees. In OS X I can switch to the less powerful 9400 GPU, which stays below 90 degrees even when running the Heaven benchmark for extended periods.

Is there any way to use the 9440 in windows?

I installed more RAM (2x4GB), which is faster than rated spec(1333 vs 1066). But as far as I understand it the RAM will down-clock to 1066 anyway. Can anyone confirm this?

The battery is currently out because it is swollen. It is the second battery that this has happened to in this laptop. Are these batteries dying because of the heat, or is the battery swelling unrelated?

Has anyone else had these problems and managed to get them corrected?

What are the "normal" temperature ranges for the 9600M GT under game load? Can you please post your figures?

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Hi there - welcome to the site. I would advise you to simplify your question to increase the chances of a high quality answer. You ask several questions which are loosely related which runs the risk of getting part answer which you cannot really accept. – stuffe Mar 12 at 11:48
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closed as not a real question by patrix♦ Mar 12 at 14:59

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1 Answer

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you have many questions and a sudgestion is that you ask one question per... question!

but let me try to break it down.

you can use your comp with windows, though bootcamp try updating your drivers needed for this, theese are avalable from apple!

your ram, yes, it will clock down, but its always recommended to use the same bus speed becouse of compatibility issues.

the battery is out? how if my memmory serves me right, the unibody 2008 has an inclosed battery! however you are right! yes, the heat could be a factor!

and the reason why your computer lags at 110 is prob becouse the heat sensor halts the core so it wont overheat!

so my sugestion is if it works well with Mac and not windows you shuld take a closer look at your drivers!

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