Question about thermal performance

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Jun 19, 2018
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I have been taking some thermal measurements for my new Razer Blade 15 and am curious what other owners have been experiencing. Basically, I'm looking to see whether what I'm seeing with my Blade is normal or if it's running unusually hot.

All temperatures are in Celsius. All tests were run with the laptop elevated so as to ensure a clear airflow.

Benchmark

Idle CPU temp (average): 43.4
Idle CPU temp (max): 61

Prime95 & Furmark CPU test temp (average): 89.8
Prime95 & Furmark CPU test temp (max): 94

Gaming CPU temp (average): 86.8
Gaming CPU temp (max): 100

Prime95 & Furmark GPU test temp (average): 81.3
Prime95 & Furmark GPU test temp (max): 86

Gaming GPU temp (average): 80.6
Gaming GPU temp (max): 87

Undervolt
Idle CPU temp (average): 42.7
Idle CPU temp (max): 61

Prime95 & Furmark CPU test temp (average): 88.8
Prime95 & Furmark CPU test temp (max): 93

Gaming CPU temp (average): 82.7
Gaming CPU temp (max): 100

Prime95 & Furmark GPU test temp (average): 81.3
Prime95 & Furmark GPU test temp (max): 86

Gaming GPU temp (average): 76.6
Gaming GPU temp (max): 80



Undervolting seems to make almost no difference when running stress tests and when the CPU is idle. I am seeing about a 4 degree drop in temperatures when gaming. I am curious as to why I am not seeing overall lower temperatures from undervolting.

These numbers seem a bit hot to me. I've been considering opening up the laptop and repasting (if needed), but do not want to void my warranty yet (just in case).

For those of you with hardware experience, are these numbers good, okay, or bad?

*I am not looking for fanboy answers like "sell your Blade and get a ..." I am aware of Razer's shortcomings, but I have had great experiences with them in the past and enjoy the portability and power of their systems.

**edited to correct a misleading typo
 
Solution
Did your benchmarks finish quicker after undervolting?

If the processor is thermal limited, as is the case in many gaming laptops, then all undervolting does is allow the processor to run at a higher clock speed. It will speed up until it uses just as much power as before, and thus hits the same temperature as before, at which point it begins to thermal throttle again. The undervolt ends up translating into the same power consumption (heat production) and thus temperature, but higher performance. Not a reduction in temperature. To see the temp drop from undervolting, you'd have to hold the CPU clock speed the same as before the undervolt.
Did you undervolt as well as underclock? Underclocking will only do so much good if it has the same amount of volts running through it. For gaming, you may also want to disable hyper threading. You don't need more than 6 cores for gaming and it will drop your temps by disabling hyper threading.
 
Jun 19, 2018
5
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Thanks for the quick response. I've only undervolted using Throttlestop, I did not underclock. I'll update the OP, I mistyped that.

Would you recommend underclocking as well?
 

TJ Hooker

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Temps for mobile parts do tend to be a little higher than for desktops. Also, Razer products specialize in being light, thin and sleek, which can come at the cost of cooling performance.

As said above, undervolting will make a bigger difference than underclocking. You may even be able to undervolt a bit without underclocking, meaning no performance impact.

Edit: How much did you undervolt? Did you undervolt as much as you could until it became unstable?
You can also try setting a custom fan curve with a higher fan speed, depending on how bearable the noise currently is.
 


Yes, I would try undervolting and underclocking. That is how you will drop your temp. I am not familiar with Throttlestop, so I don't know much about it. I would go through the bios to underclock and undervolt.

And if you disable HT, you will drop temp.
 
Did your benchmarks finish quicker after undervolting?

If the processor is thermal limited, as is the case in many gaming laptops, then all undervolting does is allow the processor to run at a higher clock speed. It will speed up until it uses just as much power as before, and thus hits the same temperature as before, at which point it begins to thermal throttle again. The undervolt ends up translating into the same power consumption (heat production) and thus temperature, but higher performance. Not a reduction in temperature. To see the temp drop from undervolting, you'd have to hold the CPU clock speed the same as before the undervolt.
 
Solution
Jun 19, 2018
5
0
10


This is a great question, I'm going to look at my saved log files tonight to compare the CPU clock speed when undervolting vs. when not.
 
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