Question My brand new Dell [SmartChoice] G15-5520 Gaming Laptop over-heating and battery issues - Day 1

[TalkingTomCat]

Hello, I got hands on my new laptop 10 hours ago.
Dell [SmartChoice] G15-5520 Gaming Laptop, Intel i5-12500H/8GB DDR5/512GB SSD/Win 11 + MSO'21/NVIDIA RTX 3050 (4GB GDDR6)/15.6" (39.62cm) FHD WVA AG 120Hz /Backlit KB Orange/Dark Shadow Grey/2.81kg

Amazon.in

It came completely drained, after charging for 1 hour+ upto 85%.
Started with laptop setup and initial configuration on Windows 11..
Started with updates, required software download (might have used for 1 hour i guess)
Battery came down to 50% and laptop was way to heated.. did not check system temperatures (dont know how to do same)

IS there any suggestion/solution to fix this please ?
Have not even completed a day and seems problem started.

Laptop came with 8 GB Ram installed, ordered another 8 GB will get same in 36-48 hours

 

[hedwar2011]

Hello, I got hands on my new laptop 10 hours ago.
Dell [SmartChoice] G15-5520 Gaming Laptop, Intel i5-12500H/8GB DDR5/512GB SSD/Win 11 + MSO'21/NVIDIA RTX 3050 (4GB GDDR6)/15.6" (39.62cm) FHD WVA AG 120Hz /Backlit KB Orange/Dark Shadow Grey/2.81kg

Amazon.in

It came completely drained, after charging for 1 hour+ upto 85%.
Started with laptop setup and initial configuration on Windows 11..
Started with updates, required software download (might have used for 1 hour i guess)
Battery came down to 50% and laptop was way to heated.. did not check system temperatures (dont know how to do same)

IS there any suggestion/solution to fix this please ?
Have not even completed a day and seems problem started.

Laptop came with 8 GB Ram installed, ordered another 8 GB will get same in 36-48 hours

What do you mean by way too heated? It was warm on the bottom? It was going to burn down your house? Try to be more specific.

Newer laptops will get VERY warm, especially when under significant load. Make sure you uncovered all the fan ports, etc. after unboxing it and no plastic strips were left on (it can easily happen).

If you charged it to 85%, started all that you did, and it drained to 50% within an hour, I'd say that's not all that bad.

 

[TalkingTomCat]

What do you mean by way too heated? It was warm on the bottom? It was going to burn down your house? Try to be more specific.

Newer laptops will get VERY warm, especially when under significant load. Make sure you uncovered all the fan ports, etc. after unboxing it and no plastic strips were left on (it can easily happen).

If you charged it to 85%, started all that you did, and it drained to 50% within an hour, I'd say that's not all that bad.

My bad for not being very clear..
Yes, It was too heated/warm i can say at bottom.. not that hot that I cannot keep my fingers/hands for more then few seconds.

Yes re-checked again all fan, ports, etc. are uncovered and there is no plastic strip left anywhere.

Alrite, so i assume battery drain from 85% to 50% in 1 hour is good (with just normal laptop usage no gaming etc.)

 

[TalkingTomCat]

How can i measure temperature of my laptop CPU/GPU/MOBO ?
I read few things about this dell series get a cooling pad and apply thermal paste to heat sink once again.

Not sure if I really require cooling pad and thermal paste, though came across this, if required which should be used ?

https://www.amazon.in/ARCTIC-MX-4-2019-Compound-Performance/dp/B07L9BDY3T/

Amazon.in

Amazon.in

Amazon.in

Amazon.in

 

[Ralston18]

This:

"I got hands on my new laptop 10 hours ago."

Where did you get the laptop? Really "new" or just "new" to you? Any warranty?

Before doing anything (e.g., adding RAM) contact the seller and go on record with the problem.

Otherwise you may risk voiding the warranty.

 

[hedwar2011]

This:

"I got hands on my new laptop 10 hours ago."

Where did you get the laptop? Really "new" or just "new" to you? Any warranty?

Before doing anything (e.g., adding RAM) contact the seller and go on record with the problem.

Otherwise you may risk voiding the warranty.

Thanks Ralston18! That completely slipped my mind.

@TalkingTomCat You can download CPU-Z or GPU-Z and they both offer temp monitoring but I bet you'll find that its within normal temps for a PC under load. Surprisingly, doing Windows Updates, driver updates, etc. can use more power than you think. That's why it's usually best to do them plugged in.

 

[TalkingTomCat]

This:

"I got hands on my new laptop 10 hours ago."

Where did you get the laptop? Really "new" or just "new" to you? Any warranty?

Before doing anything (e.g., adding RAM) contact the seller and go on record with the problem.

Otherwise you may risk voiding the warranty.

Its my first new laptop bought from Amazon
I contacted Dell via there whatsapp support and in last 30 hours, they asked me to go through lots of troubleshooting suggestions (most were repeated every time) but nothing worked.
Now they say, this is not hardware related fault and software related, my support plan for 1 year requires additional payment for some to diagnose software related issues.

What i fear more is that laptop will be used by teenager kids who don't have enough basic knowledge about laptop hardware heating etc.

This is one of the temperature screenshots taken from hwmonitor as suggested by @hedwar2011
IT was after around 25 minutes of game play.

https://imgur.com/a/Vxsavhc

View: https://imgur.com/a/Vxsavhc

Battery depletes in maximum 2 hours 40 minutes from 100% to 4%

There is a review about this laptop *but mine is different with few components on tomshardware.com

 

[Ralston18]

This:

"What i fear more is that laptop will be used by teenager kids who don't have enough basic knowledge about laptop hardware heating etc."

Use passwords etc. to lock out other users so only you control how the laptop is used and anything else that could be done to it. E.g., software mods, updates, etc..

You can do some software troubleshooting on your own.

Run the Windows built in troubleshooters - the troubleshooter may find and something.

Run "dism" and "sfc /scannow".

FYI:

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-use-dism-command-line-utility-repair-windows-10-image

https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-use-sfc-scannow-to-repair-windows-system-files-2626161

Learn more about what the laptop is doing or perhaps trying to do via Task Manager and Resource Monitor.

Another tool is Process Explorer (Microsoft, free).

Use the tools to learn more about what all is running on the laptop and, if recognized and not necessary, disable.

FYI;

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer

And next time, if there is a next time, ask Dell for more information about how Dell concluded that it was a software issue vs a hardware issue. Details/specifics?

If Dell is correct then then a complete Windows reinstall sans games, other applications etc. should resolve the heating issue.

Unless Dell then choses to blame Microsoft....

 

[TalkingTomCat]

This:

"What i fear more is that laptop will be used by teenager kids who don't have enough basic knowledge about laptop hardware heating etc."

Use passwords etc. to lock out other users so only you control how the laptop is used and anything else that could be done to it. E.g., software mods, updates, etc..

You can do some software troubleshooting on your own.

Run the Windows built in troubleshooters - the troubleshooter may find and something.

Run "dism" and "sfc /scannow".

FYI:

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-use-dism-command-line-utility-repair-windows-10-image

https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-use-sfc-scannow-to-repair-windows-system-files-2626161

Learn more about what the laptop is doing or perhaps trying to do via Task Manager and Resource Monitor.

Another tool is Process Explorer (Microsoft, free).

Use the tools to learn more about what all is running on the laptop and, if recognized and not necessary, disable.

FYI;

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer

And next time, if there is a next time, ask Dell for more information about how Dell concluded that it was a software issue vs a hardware issue. Details/specifics?

If Dell is correct then then a complete Windows reinstall sans games, other applications etc. should resolve the heating issue.

Unless Dell then choses to blame Microsoft....

Thanks for reply.
This is my first new laptop, bought for family mostly teenage kid would be using same for studies and light gaming (not looking to play graphic intensive games released in last 3-4 years.. hence more worried about high temperatures)

I tried many options from troubleshooting via Dell support person.
Did a fresh/clean Windows 11 install as well (download Windows 11 from MS site and burnt via rufus to USB).
did installation of required important drivers first
then Windows updates
Installed further drivers
Installed nvdia geforce drivers
then few applications/drivers from dell website
Still heating and battery drain persists after this.

This is latest hardware info temperature reading, trying to unpack a large file around 80GB. (a CPU hungry task)

https://imgur.com/a/u2bKg0m

View: https://imgur.com/a/u2bKg0m

 

[Ralston18]

This laptop?

https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B0BQJD5P52/?th=1

Is it certain that the laptop was actually new and not refurbished?

Item model number (Technical Details) is listed as "New Dell Gaming G15". Rather generic and I would look for other assurances that the laptop is indeed new.

Read through the reviews and then look for other similar reviews other than Amazon. Start with Dell's FAQ's and Forums. Look for what is said as well as what is not said....

= = = =

As for the temperatures - FYI:

https://www.cputemper.com/how-to-read-hwmonitor/

If anything, the laptop may need a do over on the thermal paste: both the paste used and how the paste is applied.

Another suggestion: do not install the second RAM module. Especially if the installed RAM is not a matched kit. Installation might void the warranty.

The battery drain seems to be "too fast" as I view such things. Reread and otherwise doublecheck everything you can with respect to battery usage including laptop use on and off battery, recharging, charger specs, etc.. Check that the charger is correctly spec'd for the laptop/battery. Likewise check the battery itself.

Hopefully if something is amiss then the warranty will cover repair or replacement. Read the fine print.

In the meantime use Task Manager, Resource Monitor, and Process Explorer to observe the laptop's performance. What all is running, what resources are being used (%), and what is using any given resource.

E.g., the CPU.....

Process Explorer (Microsoft, free):

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer

Use all three tools but only one tool at a time.

Objective being to discover what, if anything specific, causes the temperature to increase.

 

[TalkingTomCat]

This laptop?

https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B0BQJD5P52/?th=1

Is it certain that the laptop was actually new and not refurbished?

Item model number (Technical Details) is listed as "New Dell Gaming G15". Rather generic and I would look for other assurances that the laptop is indeed new.

Read through the reviews and then look for other similar reviews other than Amazon. Start with Dell's FAQ's and Forums. Look for what is said as well as what is not said....

= = = =

As for the temperatures - FYI:

https://www.cputemper.com/how-to-read-hwmonitor/

If anything, the laptop may need a do over on the thermal paste: both the paste used and how the paste is applied.

Another suggestion: do not install the second RAM module. Especially if the installed RAM is not a matched kit. Installation might void the warranty.

The battery drain seems to be "too fast" as I view such things. Reread and otherwise doublecheck everything you can with respect to battery usage including laptop use on and off battery, recharging, charger specs, etc.. Check that the charger is correctly spec'd for the laptop/battery. Likewise check the battery itself.

Hopefully if something is amiss then the warranty will cover repair or replacement. Read the fine print.

In the meantime use Task Manager, Resource Monitor, and Process Explorer to observe the laptop's performance. What all is running, what resources are being used (%), and what is using any given resource.

E.g., the CPU.....

Process Explorer (Microsoft, free):

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer

Use all three tools but only one tool at a time.

Objective being to discover what, if anything specific, causes the temperature to increase.

Thanks for detailed help,
I went across reading reviews and found battery deplete fast and over-heating are important issues faced by most of buyers (more then 40%)
But at same time they provide a reason this is cmoon with gaming laptops

I am planning to return this laptop as now system started giving BSOD when battery reaches 4% (found in 4% battery left there was some setting which would take effect)

I have this alternative in mind, if you can shred more light on this ?
Spend nearly 2 days just researching on same..

Question - Need help decide among Dell G15-5520 Gaming Laptop vs ASUS TUF Gaming F15 (2022)

Asus - https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0C7R342NJ Dell - https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B0BQJD5P52/ Read serious negative reviews about Dell G15-5520 related to battery/over-heating. Battery gets depleted in around 2 hours on normal usage (battery power off and not gaming). Battery cannot last even...

forums.tomshardware.com

I have 2 days left from Amazon to be elegible for returns/replacement.

 

[Ralston18]

I would get the return process going ASAP.

As for your new post:

https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...g-laptop-vs-asus-tuf-gaming-f15-2022.3818657/

My first thought was that that post might be a better "fit" in PC Gaming vs Laptop General Discussion.

However will leave as is for now. The broader topic being laptop capabilities vs gaming per se.

The new post overall being quite clear about the environment, requirements, etc..

 

[TalkingTomCat]

The new post overall being quite clear about the environment, requirements, etc..

Did you meant, I should add more details to same ?

I listed the issues I am facing with existing laptop and found an alternative in same, pricing high on Asus by max 5%
Also listed battery and other details between both.

 

[Ralston18]

Hold on adding details.

Any posts in response may include requests for specific details and then you can respond as applicable.

All in all there will be trade-offs involving any specific laptop decision.

That said, think about the software (including relevant games if any) that will be installed on the laptop.

Most software manufacturers include some listing of hardware requirements in the form of "minimum", "recommended", or "best".

You do not want "minimum" and you do want as much quantifiable "best" as you can afford.

With teenagers involved, I would look for a laptop with a well recommended and affordable (definition TBD) warranty plan for repairs etc..

However, unless there is a firm requirement for portability you may have more options by considering a desktop.

Generally I find desktops to be much more flexible overall when it comes to upgrades, repairs, pricing etc..

Going off track a bit but believe I would be remiss in not raising the idea of a desktop option.