12" Powerbook GPU overheating while driving external displays

[clockwise33]

My 1.5ghz PB12 has been my sole computer for quite some time now and I have gotten to know it well. Last year I maxed the RAM and installed a 320GB HD. I frequently connect the machine to several TV sets throughout the house through my VGA and DVI connectors. This has never been a problem over the years, however, things have changed.

A month ago I connected the machine to my 52" HDTV and started an episode of Top Gear, something I've done a 100 times, though this time, within 5 minutes, the fan reached speeds I've never heard before, and iStat confirmed that it was turning at over 9000rpm and that the GPU had reached 75C, while all other temps were normal. I unplugged the DVI connector and the GPU temp immediately began to drop. This happens with two different HDTVs with mirroring off and the VGA out using mirroring, with non-mirrored 1920x1080 output being worse. In either case the temp only starts to climb when displaying video on the display.

As I can remember, the only thing graphics related I have changed recently has been to create a new color profile, though reverting back to the default color profile does not fix the issue. My fear is that the GPU and therefor logic board are giving up the ghost. What do you PPC fans think?

Thanks, Matt.

 

[iThinkergoiMac]

Have you tried cleaning it out and maybe even replacing the thermal paste?

 

[clockwise33]

Have you tried cleaning it out and maybe even replacing the thermal paste?

I hit the heat sink with compressed air when I replaced the HD a year ago. Never removed the heat sink though. I would be willing to dig into it again to replace the paste if nothing else solved the issue.

 

[iThinkergoiMac]

Yeah, it seems to me that this isn't necessarily a failing hardware issue...

 

[stroked]

I was having the same problem with my iBook, when connected to an external monitor. I reset the pmu, and it's back to normal.

 

[adcx64]

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Reset your pram

 

[brycemason]

Put another in the repaste column. Thermal paste gets crusty and loses its conductive properties over time.