Question Thermal throttling but only when on laptop stand

Jul 8, 2021
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Model: G513QY (Asus ROG Strix G15 Advantage Edition)
Specs: 5900HX, 6800M, 16gb RAM (stock) | Product Page

My laptop drastically thermal throttles but only when it's on a laptop stand (at least, so far). More specifically when the laptop is not laying on the desk and there is open space between the laptop and the surface of the desk, it will thermal throttling within 5 minutes of gaming. I can't find anyone with a similar issue but I'm pretty sure this effects all units of this particular model though my sample size is small. I've observed this behavior on 2 different units of this same model. I returned the first because I actually hadn't realized that it was only throttling while on a laptop stand. I suppose I can't say for sure whether or not the first unit would still throttle if it were used without the laptop stand but in any case my current unit doesn't throttle if it's being used without a laptop stand.

I've tested the laptop both on and off the stand thoroughly at this point. If there is space between the laptop and the desk, it's like clockwork, it will throttle within 5 minutes and when it does, it throttles hard. The CPU and GPU will clock way down, probably by 80-90% which absolutely destroys the framerate for about 2-3 seconds at a time. So the game will suddenly go from buttery smooth to 10fps (just a guess) and then back to buttery smooth. HWiNFO says HTC and PROCHOT EXT are the reasons for throttling. I've watched the CPU and GPU temps closely, there does not appear to be any sort of pattern with the GPU temps but generally the CPU will hit around 96c and then shortly after the system will throttle. The CPU is capable of getting hotter than that though and again, it will not throttle or have issues getting past this temp if not on a laptop stand.


PositionSpace Between Laptop and DeskThrottle
leveled on desk (normal laptop position)NoNo
laptop on laptop cooling-pad, cooling-pad fans turned off, leveled with deskYesYes
laptop on laptop-stand, back of laptop is elevatedYesYes
laptop on tray that has elevated backsideNo (there is no space between laptop and tray)No

I'm here to hopefully get some more insight as to what is happening and maybe someone here has some idea how I can 'fix' this issue. If not that then maybe someone could give me advice as to whether or not I should keep this laptop. I love this laptop and while the temps are not great, it doesn't throttle while using it without a stand. I suppose the worry is that it will give me problems down the road. Thermal throttling while on a stand, something often used to keep a laptop a little cooler, doesn't exactly instill confidence. I don't have much supporting evidence but my guess is this has something to do with the air intakes and probably the thermal sensor (and software, firmware) that is used to monitor the keyboard or chassis temps. Check the image below to see the internals of the laptop. I've circled what I believe is a thermal sensor.

sI89hDq.jpg

(img src is from tom's Hardware review of this laptop, Asus ROG Strix G15 Advantage Edition Review: Meet Radeon RX 6800M | Tom's Hardware (tomshardware.com) )


Edit:

Here is the laptop stand:
Amazon.com: Laptop Stand for Desk, SOQOOL Computer Stand Riser for Desk,Ventilated Ergonomic Aluminum Notebook Stand Compatible with MacBook Air Pro Dell XPS HP 11 14 15.6 17.3 Inch Silver Work from Home: Electronics

Here is the cooler used:
Amazon.com: havit RGB Laptop Cooling Pad for 15.6-17 Inch Laptop with 3 Quiet Fans and Touch Control, Pure Metal Panel Portable Cooler (Black+Blue): Computers & Accessories

It WAS thermal throttling on both of them (even when I was not using the back legs on the laptop cooler to elevate the backside higher) but the latest firmware may have fixed this issue. I'm doing tests now.

Edit: Nvm it's throttling still
 
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Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

You might want to include images or links to your laptop cooler and the laptop stand to better understand the props. I could probably deduce you're suffering from a cooling issue since the same can be seen on some large discrete GPU's. When you have enough sag to cause the PCB on a GPU to bend, after many hours(of stress) being subjected to that posture often tends to cause the PCB to deform and also deform the mounting of the cooling block/plate with respect to the GPU's chip, causing the GPU to have slightly higher temps. In most cases that higher temp is negated with a higher surface area on the cooling fin stack but not all contact on the GPU is lost.

You could test my above assumption out by having the bottom of the laptop opened and tax the laptop in a vertical position(with the laptop ion it's side) then try and use the laptop elevated off the desk space with ample space between the uncovered bottom and the desk to see if your temps are the same as your findings. While it's being taxed, try and see if adding a small amount of pressure on the cooling mount or the fans placements changes the cooling/airflow over the vents.

Prior to all the above tests, first make sure you're on the latest BISO version for your laptop and that you're on the latest version of Windows 10. Speaking of Windows 10, might want to pull up Task manager and see what your resource usages are when idle and taxed.
 
Jul 8, 2021
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Interestingly enough Asus has release a new optional firmware update via Microsoft Update today (I did write them about this issue yesterday but I doubt they move that quickly) and after installing the firmware update the laptop is not throttling on the stand. I have more testing to do.

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

You might want to include images or links to your laptop cooler and the laptop stand to better understand the props. I could probably deduce you're suffering from a cooling issue since the same can be seen on some large discrete GPU's. When you have enough sag to cause the PCB on a GPU to bend, after many hours(of stress) being subjected to that posture often tends to cause the PCB to deform and also deform the mounting of the cooling block/plate with respect to the GPU's chip, causing the GPU to have slightly higher temps. In most cases that higher temp is negated with a higher surface area on the cooling fin stack but not all contact on the GPU is lost.

You could test my above assumption out by having the bottom of the laptop opened and tax the laptop in a vertical position(with the laptop ion it's side) then try and use the laptop elevated off the desk space with ample space between the uncovered bottom and the desk to see if your temps are the same as your findings. While it's being taxed, try and see if adding a small amount of pressure on the cooling mount or the fans placements changes the cooling/airflow over the vents.

Prior to all the above tests, first make sure you're on the latest BISO version for your laptop and that you're on the latest version of Windows 10. Speaking of Windows 10, might want to pull up Task manager and see what your resource usages are when idle and taxed.

That's interesting. I will use the laptop on the stand now that I have this firmware update but if it starts throttling again I will give this a shot.

Edit: Nvm it's throttling still
 
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Jul 8, 2021
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check the fan speed when it on the stand or when it on the desk?

In Turbo Mode the fans seem to max out about 5100RPM for the CPU fan and 5400 for the GPU fan. On and off the stand it's the same RPM. In Manual Mode the CPU fan reaches 6800 RPM and the GPU fan reaches 6900 RPM off the stand both fans only 6700 RPM on both fans while on the stand. Both fans are set to 100% so there does appear to be a small difference here but important to note that the laptop will throttle in any mode (Performance, Turbo or Manual).
 
Looking at your images, is it possible that the laptop stand is covering part of the fan intake vent?
I see many complaints about gaming laptops not performing well.
Usually gaming while plugged in.
One common cause is thermal throttling.
Laptop coolers must, of necessity be small and light.
They are also relatively underpowered.

What can you do?

It is counter-intuitive, but, try changing the windows power profile advanced functions to a max of 90% instead of the default of 100%
You may not notice the reduced cpu performance if it avoids throttling.
 
Sep 13, 2021
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i have the same laptop and it definitely throttles as you described. i have not tried it off of the cooling pad tho. someone ran it without the bottom panel and had better results. but logically that goes against what you said with off table tests. currently, on a cooling pad, mine will do 93c on performance mode and 95c on turbo (cpu). does throttle occasionally in game. i have modded the bottom panel slightly to add a tiny bit more airflow where the fans are. i definitely get far less throttling but still gets to those temps. pad thing is i have it on top of a very high speed cooler and it makes no difference at all. in fact, i get lower benchmark scores when i run the cooler fans vs with them off. (obviously its pushing air up, and not down)