Core i7 720QM at 60+ Celsius at 10% load

[darksteel]

Alright, so my CPU is burning up. I have good postulates as to why it may be happening, but no solid reason as to why. It's running in an HP Envy 17, I know, not the best notebook but it still shouldn't be that bad.

The ambient temperature is actually under 20 Celsius, it's in my poorly insulated, finished basement.



I've done a lot of testing and here are my results:

On a low load, I get usually over 60 Celsius.
On 100% load (using Prime95), I get 80-90 Celsius

Checks for the temperature are done using CPUID Hardware Monitor, Speedfan and RealTemp, so I'm not basing it on one poor program or something.

I've also noticed the processor power consumption is above the TDP, by 10W. I know the TDP isn't necessarily the maximum power, but on 10% load, I should be staying well below the limit. The processor basically spikes to 55W for only a maximum of a few seconds, but it does it frequently. This doesn't matter if I'm at 10% load or 100% load, I still get the spikes. The thing is, aside from the spikes, it stays at 15W on low load and 45W (the TDP) at maximum load.


I recently sent it in for repairs, they replaced the fan and heatsink and returned it saying the error is fixed, but clearly it's not (if you can imagine, the temps were actually a bit worse).


I am supposed to talk to my case manager from HP soon (he was supposed to call last week). I intend to inform him of my findings but I want to try to diagnose the issue as best I can before I send it back (likely in December). I want to be sure that I'm describing the error right and getting them to properly fix it.

I believe it's either a defective CPU or battery controller, with the latter being more likely. Thoughts or suggestions?

 

[das_stig]

Good luck on getting a case manager, HP after service support sucks, relog a call and get them to link to the original case number and tell them how unhappy you are with the level of service.

 

[darksteel]

I got a case manager the first time and he is still helping me out. I spoke with him earlier today actually, we're arranging to get it repaired in December after my classes finish. I told him I'm seeing spikes in the power, he's supposed to find out what service support says about that info.

He told me 90 Celsius is where they get concerned (which is what it should be because Intel states 10 below the TJ Max is the recommended limit). What I expected I guess, but when I'm getting 89 degrees, it's pretty darn close.

He is also well aware at how unhappy I am with the service. I intend to have a verbal agreement with him the next time I send it back that they will fix or replace the model. If it comes back unfixed, I'll get his manager and all hell will break loose.

 

[das_stig]

Mine tops out @ 89c with a single core at 100%, but using my akasa cooler, keeps it under 75c.

 

[darksteel]

It's supposed to top out at a maximum of 90 Celsius or else it's performing outside the design. Sure, TJ Max is 100 but Intel maintains a stance that you should always be 10 under it to ensure nothing happens.

I'm not so much concerned about the max at 100% load but rather the temps on low loads. I get it down 10-20 with a cooler I'm using, but with low ambient temps, it's still really bad, and it's mostly a concern at school rather than at home.