Laptop CPU temp too hot?

Senhusky

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Sep 28, 2011
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Hello all, I have a recently bought Samsung QX411 laptop and I found its CPU temp to be moderately high at idle and very high under load. It runs at about 40-50 degrees Celsius just idling and gets all the way up to an average of about 80 degrees Celsius while playing team fortress 2. I still have until this Sunday, October 2nd to return the computer if I must, so I was wondering: are these temps acceptable? Or will they lead to a significantly reduced computer life? I do plan on gaming with it quite often so it would be nice to know if 80 Degrees will harm the i5 2410m this thing has in it. I do know that 80 degrees used to be a killer temp, but if I understand correctly, these newer i5 can handle it better. If it is indeed too hot, do you have any suggestions for another 700$ or less computer to get instead? On another note, would a cooling pad make it usable for gaming without getting another computer?

Thanks in advance for your advice ^^
 
Solution
"Mainly I have one question still, will those temps affect overall life of the processor?" Absolutely, temp effects both life of PC and soft error rates.

But you don't care because the working life in the temp range supported by intel (up to 100C) is in the decade plus range. Or intel would have spec'ed a lower temp.

The rest of your latop will fail before the CPU (hinges on lid, usb plugs, fans, keyboard, etc.)

Nice notebook. And if you carry it around it's like working out at a gym...

p.s. fan control. Send a note to support at Samsung asking how you set fan speed. Repeat every week until they give you an answer you trust. There may also be a Samsung forum where you can ask. EVERYONE with your laptop will see the...
(1) many laptops come with fancontrol software. Can you see if you can control your fan. The noise/temp trade-off may need to change for gaming. This may be an option on the win7 control panel -- power options -- profile settings. (My thinkpad has it there).
(2) "The Intel Core i5-2410M is a fast dual core processor ... Max. Temperature, 100 °C." you have room at 80C before you fry it, and it won't really fry. Instead it goes into thermal throttling and the pc runs at 1/3 speed roughly.
(3) what are the temps on your video card? They may be more of a worry.
(4) cooling pad can't hurt. Also make sure you are on a hard/flat surface. Gaming on the bed with the covers blocking the bottom vents is a no-no. My kids do it all the time.
(5) 40-50C is not bad for a high performance notebook. They all try to be quiet so keep fans low and run hot.
 


Thanks for the reply ^^ I switched monitoring programs from core temp to speedfan so as to get the GPU temp and its around 70 degrees Celsius when I'm playing. If I'm correct, that isn't a problem right? Also, I can't find any fan control options on this computer nor can speedfan see any of my fans as far as I can tell. (any suggestions?) I was playing on a table for the initial temps I gave, but they didn't change when it was on my legs either(I think because the main vent on this comp is in back and I made sure the intakes were clear) Mainly I have one question still, will those temps affect overall life of the processor? I know they won't fry it, but will the comp itself last less long?

Thanks again!
 
"Mainly I have one question still, will those temps affect overall life of the processor?" Absolutely, temp effects both life of PC and soft error rates.

But you don't care because the working life in the temp range supported by intel (up to 100C) is in the decade plus range. Or intel would have spec'ed a lower temp.

The rest of your latop will fail before the CPU (hinges on lid, usb plugs, fans, keyboard, etc.)

Nice notebook. And if you carry it around it's like working out at a gym...

p.s. fan control. Send a note to support at Samsung asking how you set fan speed. Repeat every week until they give you an answer you trust. There may also be a Samsung forum where you can ask. EVERYONE with your laptop will see the behavior you see. someone will come up with a work-around. Eventually i even got fan control for a thinkpad x40 five years after purchase.
 
Solution