Dell notebook CPU temperature - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Rlyss · 05-16-2005, 03:28 PM

Hi everyone. A few months ago I bought a Dell Inspiron notebook and returned it within two weeks. Dell claimed they replaced the faulty motherboard, and it seemed to work ok after that.

I've since started to take notice of my notebook's CPU temperature again and it refuses to go below 140F or 60C even when totally idle, nothing running. When running anything it will go to over 70C, which is 158F. I contacted Dell's customer support and they claimed that it is a software issue and thus cannot help me when it comes to he warranty.

Does anyone know if this is an average CPU temperature for a notebook, raised an inch above the desk and with plenty of airflow? I'm concerned about overheating... should I be, or are these temperatures perfectly fine?

liquidlight · 05-16-2005, 03:32 PM

Depending on the processor that your laptop is running you should be alright, optimal might be a little cooler than that, but for most operations anything up to 80C is still acceptable, and of course your beefier chips are going to run hot.

140F-155F is pretty much dead center typical from what I've been seeing on most P4's and high-end AMD's though.

Anexkahn · 05-16-2005, 11:54 PM

any inspiron i have seen seems to runs hot. Most dell laptops seem to run pretty warm.

soccerchamp76 · 05-17-2005, 01:40 AM

Could you give us the name of the chip and what processor it is?

Pentium 4's usually come in Northwood (older, cooler) and Prescott (newer, hotter). The Prescott's have their advantages and disadvantages. I have a desktop, built by myself, with a Prescott chip and with the stock fan it never got above 66º, although this weekend I replaced the noisy fan with a quieter fan and the temperature raised and now gets as hot as 74º (although I bought new thermal grease to bring that temp down).

At 85º, the computer will shut down to prevent damage, which happened to me when I was messing around with the amount of thermal grease (between the processor chip and the heatsink/fan).

Now, with a laptop, you are running in a tight tight space with limited airflow, so naturally the temperatures are going to be higher. If it stays at 70ºC, you will be fine.

Rlyss · 05-17-2005, 03:57 AM

Cheers guys, it's an Inspiron 5160. Pentium 4, 3.06GHz, not sure if it's Northwood or Prescott. I figured notebooks would run hotter since it's cramped in there but I wasn't sure exactly what a normal temperature was.

Dell's service was good but I wish they'd informed me that the temperatures I was seeing were normal. I asked them if it was too hot but they ignored my questions.

Cheers

Daniel_ · 05-17-2005, 06:48 AM

On a related issue - why are laptop designs so crap?

I've got a Dell for work and a Tosh at home and neither of them have well designed airflow.

The Dell only really runs happy if it's in its docking cradle, and the Tosh overheats unless its on blocks.

You'd have thought that by now, they'd have worked it all out.

Charlatan · 05-17-2005, 06:57 AM

Go into the window task manager (CTL+ALT+Delete) and look at the Processes Tab.

Have a look at which programs are running and specifically which one being greedy with your CPU. When I first got my last Inspiron there was one program running the background that kept taking up anywhere from 80 to 99 percent of my CPU. I can't remember what it was called.

I just clicked "End Process" and it stopped being a problem. You have to be careful though. Ending process on the wrong file can do damage.

Rlyss · 05-17-2005, 07:31 AM

Charlatan - I had some big issues with Dell a month or two ago, posted in <a href="http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthread.php?t=85314">this thread</a>. Dell said they replaced the motherboard, I had to disable a bunch of BIOS features and it seems to work a bit better now. I get slowdowns every few minutes that seem to get more frequent as time goes on if I'm playing a game, but generally it's ok. I never found out what process was taking up all the power, or if it was a process at all. I suspect it was something in the BIOS like a conflict with an onboard modem or something, something to do with networking, that caused all the problems.

FloydianOne · 05-17-2005, 09:13 PM

I used to own a Sager 5600 which ran a Pentium 4 3.2ghz Northwood core... and had heat issues all the time, had tons of crashes etc.. My problem ended up being a video card problem but it could have been caused by the heat. Anyways make sure you do a thorough (sp?) cleaning of your fan vents etc... and try to suck the dust out rather than blow it in with compressed air etc.

05-16-2005, 03:28 PM	#1 (permalink)
Rlyss The Pusher Location: Edinburgh	Dell notebook CPU temperature Hi everyone. A few months ago I bought a Dell Inspiron notebook and returned it within two weeks. Dell claimed they replaced the faulty motherboard, and it seemed to work ok after that. I've since started to take notice of my notebook's CPU temperature again and it refuses to go below 140F or 60C even when totally idle, nothing running. When running anything it will go to over 70C, which is 158F. I contacted Dell's customer support and they claimed that it is a software issue and thus cannot help me when it comes to he warranty. Does anyone know if this is an average CPU temperature for a notebook, raised an inch above the desk and with plenty of airflow? I'm concerned about overheating... should I be, or are these temperatures perfectly fine?

05-16-2005, 03:32 PM	#2 (permalink)
liquidlight AHH! Custom Title!! Location: The twisted warpings of my brain.	Depending on the processor that your laptop is running you should be alright, optimal might be a little cooler than that, but for most operations anything up to 80C is still acceptable, and of course your beefier chips are going to run hot. 140F-155F is pretty much dead center typical from what I've been seeing on most P4's and high-end AMD's though. __________________ Halfway to hell and picking up speed.

05-17-2005, 01:40 AM	#4 (permalink)
soccerchamp76 Go Cardinals Location: St. Louis/Cincinnati	Could you give us the name of the chip and what processor it is? Pentium 4's usually come in Northwood (older, cooler) and Prescott (newer, hotter). The Prescott's have their advantages and disadvantages. I have a desktop, built by myself, with a Prescott chip and with the stock fan it never got above 66º, although this weekend I replaced the noisy fan with a quieter fan and the temperature raised and now gets as hot as 74º (although I bought new thermal grease to bring that temp down). At 85º, the computer will shut down to prevent damage, which happened to me when I was messing around with the amount of thermal grease (between the processor chip and the heatsink/fan). Now, with a laptop, you are running in a tight tight space with limited airflow, so naturally the temperatures are going to be higher. If it stays at 70ºC, you will be fine. __________________ Brian Griffin: Ah, if my memory serves me, this is the physics department. Chris Griffin: That would explain all the gravity.

05-17-2005, 06:57 AM	#7 (permalink)
Charlatan Getting it. Super Moderator Location: Lion City	Go into the window task manager (CTL+ALT+Delete) and look at the Processes Tab. Have a look at which programs are running and specifically which one being greedy with your CPU. When I first got my last Inspiron there was one program running the background that kept taking up anywhere from 80 to 99 percent of my CPU. I can't remember what it was called. I just clicked "End Process" and it stopped being a problem. You have to be careful though. Ending process on the wrong file can do damage. __________________ "My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars." - Old Man Luedecke

05-17-2005, 09:13 PM	#9 (permalink)
FloydianOne Crazy	I used to own a Sager 5600 which ran a Pentium 4 3.2ghz Northwood core... and had heat issues all the time, had tons of crashes etc.. My problem ended up being a video card problem but it could have been caused by the heat. Anyways make sure you do a thorough (sp?) cleaning of your fan vents etc... and try to suck the dust out rather than blow it in with compressed air etc. __________________ Fight apathy! ..... or dont.

05-16-2005, 11:54 PM	#3 (permalink)
Anexkahn Crazy Location: whOregon	any inspiron i have seen seems to runs hot. Most dell laptops seem to run pretty warm.

05-17-2005, 03:57 AM	#5 (permalink)
Rlyss The Pusher Location: Edinburgh	Cheers guys, it's an Inspiron 5160. Pentium 4, 3.06GHz, not sure if it's Northwood or Prescott. I figured notebooks would run hotter since it's cramped in there but I wasn't sure exactly what a normal temperature was. Dell's service was good but I wish they'd informed me that the temperatures I was seeing were normal. I asked them if it was too hot but they ignored my questions. Cheers

05-17-2005, 06:48 AM	#6 (permalink)
Daniel_ Evil Priest: The Devil Made Me Do It! Location: Southern England	On a related issue - why are laptop designs so crap? I've got a Dell for work and a Tosh at home and neither of them have well designed airflow. The Dell only really runs happy if it's in its docking cradle, and the Tosh overheats unless its on blocks. You'd have thought that by now, they'd have worked it all out.

05-17-2005, 07:31 AM	#8 (permalink)
Rlyss The Pusher Location: Edinburgh	Charlatan - I had some big issues with Dell a month or two ago, posted in <a href="http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthread.php?t=85314">this thread</a>. Dell said they replaced the motherboard, I had to disable a bunch of BIOS features and it seems to work a bit better now. I get slowdowns every few minutes that seem to get more frequent as time goes on if I'm playing a game, but generally it's ok. I never found out what process was taking up all the power, or if it was a process at all. I suspect it was something in the BIOS like a conflict with an onboard modem or something, something to do with networking, that caused all the problems.