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Laptop Heating issues

phoenixv5

Member
New to this part of the forum, so...... are these questions already asked?
First of, this is based on 3 laptops I saw/used and one I heard about.

I have a Dell Studio 1458 with a Core i5-430M,4GB DDR3 RAM, ATI Mobility Radeon HD5450. Even after they fixed it once, the laptop heats up when it's not on a cooling pad. It's not as intense as it once was, but it's getting worse (it heats up when I use a media player on battery without for 20 mins)!.
The second laptop I checked was my friends Studio 1458, which also has the same problem as mine, even after getting 'repaired' once!
Third, an HP-Pavillion-dv6, which has an ati graphics card and core i7, has heating issues in LINUX!
Last, I heard that even the famous Dell Alienware has heating issues!!!

So my question:
1) Does anyone else have this problem?
2) Do all laptops with graphic cards (ati/nvidia) have heating issues?
3) If not, which laptop with graphic card doesn't have heating issues? (from personal experience not ads).

P.S I'm in India, and the two Studio 1458s were used in High Performance mode as other modes are extremely slow now!
 

FrozenIpaq

Justin B / Supp. Editor
Enforcer Team
Tons of laptops are known to burn your lap, especially those with powerful CPUs and/or GPUs. It's all about design, airflow, materials, etc. and most laptop manufacturers don't care too much about how hot their notebooks may get. My laptop (4 years old) gets hot enough to burn my lap. I wouldn't worry about heat being an issue besides it burning you: most laptops can get high up in temp without failing (heck my laptop got to 93 centigrade before on the CPU and could burn you almost like a stove top).

All in all: it's a common problem and one thing you should always look for in notebook reviews (some sites actually test notebook temperature on the outside since it's been such an issue)
 

TeamOverload

Active Member
Every laptop I've experienced has had heating issues of some sort, it's quite common. Keep it on a hard service, and make sure to keep the vents clean. Nothing you can really do to prevent it completely, but simple maintenance will at least help alleviate some of the symptoms, and keep it from getting ridiculously, ridiculously hot, or shutting itself down.
 

Adiuvo

Active Member
I've always used a cooling pad. While it doesn't really effect actual temperatures much it certainly serves to get the heat away from you. Since there's an extra layer between you and the laptop with it your lap won't be burned and the cooling pad prevents the top from getting too hot.
 

phoenixv5

Member
I've always used a cooling pad. While it doesn't really effect actual temperatures much it certainly serves to get the heat away from you. Since there's an extra layer between you and the laptop with it your lap won't be burned and the cooling pad prevents the top from getting too hot.

I'm using one too, only way to keep it chilled!
But what about when you travel?
I can't watch a movie without it warming my lap nowadays (well, maybe it's not that big a deal!)

Every laptop I've experienced has had heating issues of some sort, it's quite common. Keep it on a hard service, and make sure to keep the vents clean. Nothing you can really do to prevent it completely, but simple maintenance will at least help alleviate some of the symptoms, and keep it from getting ridiculously, ridiculously hot, or shutting itself down.

Every laptop? Some of the old ones (with lower CPU/GPU) didn't have that much of a heat problem (Inspiron 6400 for instance).

Tons of laptops are known to burn your lap, especially those with powerful CPUs and/or GPUs. It's all about design, airflow, materials, etc. and most laptop manufacturers don't care too much about how hot their notebooks may get. My laptop (4 years old) gets hot enough to burn my lap. I wouldn't worry about heat being an issue besides it burning you: most laptops can get high up in temp without failing (heck my laptop got to 93 centigrade before on the CPU and could burn you almost like a stove top).

All in all: it's a common problem and one thing you should always look for in notebook reviews (some sites actually test notebook temperature on the outside since it's been such an issue)

1) Which software do you use to measure heat?
2) Which sites?

All in all, is a gaming-level laptop not meant to be carried around?
 

Adiuvo

Active Member
If I travel and I'm not the one driving I have a battery pack thing with a standard outlet that I power things with. I usually get around four hours off of it.

Regarding temperature monitors, personally I like OpenHardwareMonitor.
 

phoenixv5

Member
If I travel and I'm not the one driving I have a battery pack thing with a standard outlet that I power things with. I usually get around four hours off of it.

Regarding temperature monitors, personally I like OpenHardwareMonitor.

Which laptop do you have?
 

Adiuvo

Active Member
Some old Sony Vaio. No clue about the model number. I also have an Acer Aspire One netbook, but that generally doesn't get hot.

The Acer doesn't have a DVD drive, so on trips it's the Vaio that's used.
 

El Diablo

Member
Since it's such a common thing for laptops to heat up and "burn" you if they're on your lap or what have you, I really wouldn't consider it a problem. It just comes with the territory, especially when you're packing it a lot of power into such a small shell, it's bound to heat up and be hot to the touch. I mean if I open my desktop and touch my video card even if I'm not gaming, it's going to burn my hand.

Personally I don't have many heat issues with my laptop. The fan will not even turn on on my laptop unless I'm gaming or watching a video. If I'm playing music or browsing with it, it will get a little warm but not as hot as others. If I'm gaming on it then it does get decently hot but nothing unbearable, although I'm usually not using it on my lap either.

I'm not sure what you mean by "carried around". Do you mean holding it while you're playing games on it? Do you mean carrying it around while it's in use and playing music and doing other basic things? Do you just mean moving it around in general? Laptops in general are meant to be taken around. Gaming level laptops will usually be a bit bigger and heavier and run hotter than other basic laptops but that's to be expected and comes with the territory. They are putting more, bigger parts in there to perform better and faster than older/basic ones, and in turn they generate more heat. Batteries on them usually do not last very long because they take more power to run, especially when gaming but that's not to say that they aren't meant to be carried around. A lot of bigger gaming laptops are considered desktop replacements because of how big they are that it is not practical to be carrying it around on a daily basis, but there's 15 inch gaming laptops that are fine for that. Then there's a few smaller ultraportable ones like my laptop which are meant for portability and gaming, but not extreme highest settings on every new game.

TLDR: Laptops being hot/warm comes with the territory and is completely normal. I don't think you will find many laptops that you can sit and watch a movie (typically 1.5-2 hours) on your laptop and not feel the heat from it.
 

phoenixv5

Member
Since it's such a common thing for laptops to heat up and "burn" you if they're on your lap or what have you, I really wouldn't consider it a problem. It just comes with the territory, especially when you're packing it a lot of power into such a small shell, it's bound to heat up and be hot to the touch. I mean if I open my desktop and touch my video card even if I'm not gaming, it's going to burn my hand.

Personally I don't have many heat issues with my laptop. The fan will not even turn on on my laptop unless I'm gaming or watching a video. If I'm playing music or browsing with it, it will get a little warm but not as hot as others. If I'm gaming on it then it does get decently hot but nothing unbearable, although I'm usually not using it on my lap either.

I'm not sure what you mean by "carried around". Do you mean holding it while you're playing games on it? Do you mean carrying it around while it's in use and playing music and doing other basic things? Do you just mean moving it around in general?

And you have an Alienware M11x, glad to know it doesnt heat up THAT much!
By carrying around, I just meant using it on battery without cooling pad!
 

FrozenIpaq

Justin B / Supp. Editor
Enforcer Team
Regarding the sites that test for temperature, notebookreview.com is a really good one.

Also gaming laptops aren't really meant to be carried around or put on your lap. They're usually meant to be used as more portable desktops (desktop replacements). I don't worry too much about my laptop's temperature if I have it on a hard desk or anything, only when it's on my lap
 

phoenixv5

Member
Any chance a RAM upgrade can cause an increased heating?
 

El Diablo

Member
It is possible, but nothing noticeable. Maybe 1 or 2 degrees more if the memory is faster or runs hotter or something.
 

raysosher

New Member
New to this part of the forum, so...... are these questions already asked?
First of, this is based on 3 laptops I saw/used and one I heard about.

I have a Dell Studio 1458 with a Core i5-430M,4GB DDR3 RAM, ATI Mobility Radeon HD5450. Even after they fixed it once, the laptop heats up when it's not on a cooling pad. It's not as intense as it once was, but it's getting worse (it heats up when I use a media player on battery without for 20 mins)!.
The second laptop I checked was my friends Studio 1458, which also has the same problem as mine, even after getting 'repaired' once!
Third, an HP-Pavillion-dv6, which has an ati graphics card and core i7, has heating issues in LINUX!
Last, I heard that even the famous Dell Alienware has heating issues!!!

So my question:
1) Does anyone else have this problem?
2) Do all laptops with graphic cards (ati/nvidia) have heating issues?
3) If not, which laptop with graphic card doesn't have heating issues? (from personal experience not ads).

P.S I'm in India, and the two Studio 1458s were used in High Performance mode as other modes are extremely slow now!
I had the same problem. First of all you need to realize that no laptops are meant to heat up like this. You can reduce the heating issue, just open up the laptop and remove all the dust in the fan. Remove all the dust inside, then use a laptop cooler, it really works. Try it out.
 

Gustavo Woltmann

New Member
i think the problem is that over time dust and other particles clog the vents, fan and exhaust port or radiator of the system thus restricting air flow and cooling. This is fixed relatively easily by blowing out the vents and fan with air or using a brush or earbud (Q-tip) to clean away the dust.
 

infrask

New Member
If you know how to clean notebook, do it. Otherwise, it is better and cheaper is to go to the service with this question and show your laptop to them. Besides, the more powerful cooling pad can be used — it is very cheap.
 
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