Tuning the MSI Stealth GS65 Laptop for Less Heat and Fan Noise - Eric Cheng
Eric Cheng

Tuning the MSI Stealth GS65 Laptop for Less Heat and Fan Noise

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Intel Extreme Tuning Utility

MSI Stealth GS65 laptop owners will notice that they run hot, and the fan kicks in pretty aggressively (and loudly!). If you’re OK tinkering with Windows tools, can you make the laptop run more efficiently (cooler/quieter), and set up a secondary power profile that makes it almost silent, while retaining all of the GPU power.

Undervolting CPU and GPU

Undervolt the Intel i7-8750H CPU using Intel Extreme Tuning Utility.

  • My tests are stable at -0.150V, but not at -0.160V
  • The CPU continues to throttle from high temps at 100% load, but stays between 3.6-3.8 GHz
  • There is noticeably-lower fan noise during normal use

Undervolt the GPU using Intel XTU tuner (settings are locked, and are not accessible from MSI Afterburner)

  • My tests are stable at -0.160V (I haven’t pushed it further)

Disable Intel Turbo Boost

Stable, low heat. CPU will max out at 2.09GHz instead of ~3.9GHz, but has full GPU performance. Very quiet and cool.Disable Intel Turbo Boost by setting max CPU to 98% (from 100%)

  • Control Panel->Power Options
  • Create a Power Plan (in left menu)
  • Select “Balanced” to start from, and change Plan Settings
  • Change Advanced Power Settings
  • Scroll down to “Processor power management”
  • Change “Maximum processor state” to 98% for both “On battery” and “Plugged in”

Now, you can choose this power profile when you’re doing things that require GPU and not CPU, or when you just want super quiet, cool performance, like when the computer is on your lap. I’ve been switching to the processor-limited plan for daily use when I’m not editing or encoding video.

You can use a utility called PowerPlanSwitcher for two-click power plan changes from the taskbar.

Stress Testing

  • Intel XTU has built-in CPU, memory, and graphics stress tests. You can use these to make sure your laptop is stable over time.
  • Additional CPU stress testing:
  • Additional GPU stress testing:

Results

Example thermals change by someone else who did this (@120fps on Fortnite, unverified)

Before: GPU 70-78C, CPU 78-91C
After: GPU 63-67C, CPU 65-72C

Reviews

This is a good review.

This one talks about undervolting.

Alternative Power Adapter

The 180W AC adapter that comes with the laptop is large and heavy. This $30, 90W option is lightweight, small, and is working well for me so far, and will keep you topped off during a day of work. If you’re hitting the CPU and GPU hard for long periods of time, it might not be able to keep up with power draw, bit it should be able to handle charging during typical usage.

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