NationStates Jolt Archive

Does anybody know what the overall average laptop temperature should be to maintain system stability and safety?

I think "Why the hell do you want to know that?" is in order

That would be an interesting bit of information to know. I'm about to get my first laptop, and I know very little about them... if my new comp decides to burst into flame, maybe a temperature range (even a subjective one - like if you touch it and your fingers blister, it's too hot) would let me turn it off before it fries everything.

...
Most systems are probably engineered with the assumption that they will
operate in air in the 68-75F temperature range (20-23C), and can
probably tolerate ambient air up to 80F or 26C without much risk. If
the ambient temperatures get much higher than this, though, your risk of
catastrophic heat-induced failure starts creeping up. At around
100F/38C they become very high indeed -- close to "certain" if you try
operating a system 24 hours under a high load at or above this ambient
air temperature. If a system is ever operated for an extended period
over 30C (in the 90s F) it may not fail, but even if you cool it back
down you may have marginally damaged components that will fail later.
...
This is from some forum on the internet. This is not about laptops, but I assume it's about the same

laptops usually run hot anyway

I think "Why the hell do you want to know that?" is in order

Because I just bought an external mount fan for my laptop, and it doesn't be appearing to be making a difference; I just downloaded a temperature monitor, and I don't know if what it's telling me is good or bad, yet.

I used to be able to run my laptop non-stop for days at a time without it getting too hot on the underside and now it gets unbearably hot.

It's currently saying my laptop's temperature is 48 C. But the question is: Is that good or bad?

I already tried Compaq support, I have a Presario 2100 US, and they said their is no average, which is ludicrous, because they should know how much heat it takes to nuke their computers.

Laptops do get hot but if they overheat, it's normal for the CPU to shutdown if it hits a specific tempature so they are safe. One thing, do not put one directly on your lap as the bottom of the laptop heats up while the top half is cool.

48C it quite cool for a laptop. I think I read somewhere that 50C is normal for idle laptops and about 60 when they're doing hard labour

This is from some forum on the internet. This is not about laptops, but I assume it's about the same

I've already been told laptops run at a higher temperature than desktops; I just want the damn average, lol, so I can know.

I find it odd that I can no longer leave it on for 24 hours though under minimal load...

Ok, well, I have the internal fan and now the external fan, so, I guess if everyone's saying I'm okay... I'll go with it for now and see what happens.

Because I just bought an external mount fan for my laptop, and it doesn't be appearing to be making a difference; I just downloaded a temperature monitor, and I don't know if what it's telling me is good or bad, yet.

I used to be able to run my laptop non-stop for days at a time without it getting too hot on the underside and now it gets unbearably hot.

It's currently saying my laptop's temperature is 48 C. But the question is: Is that good or bad?

I already tried Compaq support, I have a Presario 2100 US, and they said their is no average, which is ludicrous, because they should know how much heat it takes to nuke their computers.

Run it in air-conditioning and look if the fan blowing out hot air is not clogged with dust.

Run it in air-conditioning and look if the fan blowing out hot air is not clogged with dust.

It doesn't appear to be clogged with dust, but I'm going to attack it with a can of air later today after my run to Circuit City to make sure and clean it out and what-not. I haven't done that in about six weeks.

It appears to be running at this near constant temperature, which is good, I suppose... I'll just keep monitoring it until something happens or what-not.

It doesn't appear to be clogged with dust, but I'm going to attack it with a can of air later today after my run to Circuit City to make sure and clean it out and what-not. I haven't done that in about six weeks.

It appears to be running at this near constant temperature, which is good, I suppose... I'll just keep monitoring it until something happens or what-not.

Try running one in the tropics. After a few hours, they get really warm.
So does the power adaptor.

I've sold computers for years and I have one big suggestion for you. Buy a laptop with a Pentium M chip in it. They give you all the performance of a full blown Pentium 4 but they are optimized for laptops. They run much cooler and offer you a longer battery life. Yes, they run slower than P4's but they have more memory built into the chip so they still give the same performance. The big thing is they will shut themselves down if they begin to over heat. That way you'll be able to fix the problem before it kills the system entirely. AMD chips usually run hotter than Intel's PM and they are not as good shutting down before they cook something.

TG me if you have other questions. I'd be happy to help.

It doesn't appear to be clogged with dust, but I'm going to attack it with a can of air later today after my run to Circuit City to make sure and clean it out and what-not. I haven't done that in about six weeks.

It appears to be running at this near constant temperature, which is good, I suppose... I'll just keep monitoring it until something happens or what-not.
lapops run really hot and thats probably normal for especially if its intel. i never realized how hot my other intel pc ran until i got this athlon one. i could dry my hair on my other pc and air condition my room with this

Try running one in the tropics. After a few hours, they get really warm.
So does the power adaptor.

Hehe. Yeah, over the summer my laptop wanted to die heat-wise, because it was so hot.

Funny thing about the entire situation is that the adapter doesn't get hot, which obviously tells me its hardware-related... I was thinking about putting a new fan in anyway after putting the new harddrive in to reduce load, but everything was working out fine until a few weeks ago, and I've had the new HD for a good two months now.

The big thing is they will shut themselves down if they begin to over heat.

I have a Intel Pentium 4 in this bad boy, and it, too, shuts down by itself if it overheats extremely. I had that problem before my last HD died on me. So, I know the system will protect itself, I just want to try and prevent that.

Hehe. Yeah, over the summer my laptop wanted to die heat-wise, because it was so hot.

Funny thing about the entire situation is that the adapter doesn't get hot, which obviously tells me its hardware-related... I was thinking about putting a new fan in anyway after putting the new harddrive in to reduce load, but everything was working out fine until a few weeks ago, and I've had the new HD for a good two months now.

Adding new bits into a laptop just added to the heat as some bits generate more heat (like the video card) and others just absorb it. If you put an egg on a running Pentium processor, it would cook!

Adding new bits into a laptop just added to the heat as some bits generate more heat (like the video card) and others just absorb it. If you put an egg on a running Pentium processor, it would cook!

Oh, yeah, I was warned that ahead of time.

I'm just surprised it took so long for the system to finally heat up over it, y'know?

It was running fine for two months where I could leave it on all the time, and it's only recently I've turned it off for fear that I'll melt another HD. Hehe.

It seems to be running constant though, so, I'm not going to stress too much anymore over it; I'll clean out the internal fan, let the external fan run all the time, and do performance tests weekly to maintain stability.

Laptops compnents are able to withstand much more heat than a conventional desktop, as the laptop parts are desinged to work in a cramped, underventilated space, whereas the assumption made when making desktops is that there will be plenty of airflow and that it will always be inside a building. Desktops are much easier to keep in the acceptable range (unless overclocking, which i have burned several cpus doing before mastering the burn in rate and getting my cooling systelm perfdected) I have a dothan processor, so my core laptop temperature is usually ~25C

Laptops compnents are able to withstand much more heat than a conventional desktop, as the laptop parts are desinged to work in a cramped, underventilated space, whereas the assumption made when making desktops is that there will be plenty of airflow and that it will always be inside a building. Desktops are much easier to keep in the acceptable range (unless overclocking, which i have burned several cpus doing before mastering the burn in rate and getting my cooling systelm perfdected) I have a dothan processor, so my core laptop temperature is usually ~25C
i agree. my toshiba satellite is never off, i am on it about 6 hours per day, and even when burning DVD s it stays only warm to the touch. just keep it on a desk, and not on your bed or something.

i agree. my toshiba satellite is never off, i am on it about 6 hours per day, and even when burning DVD s it stays only warm to the touch. just keep it on a desk, and not on your bed or something.

Yeah, it rotates between my desk and one of those individual wooden table trays; I hate it in my lap, it feels weird.