PC techs requested: undervolting, fan speeds and heat management

[BooNL]

Hi all,

All my troubles trying to play Dragon Age on my notebook have lead me to a startling conclusion: my laptop runs too hot. The obvious conclusion would be to buy a laptop cooler, but that's not really an option at the moment, so I want to try and manage it with the tools I've got.

After browsing the web for a bit I came upon undervolting, the act of lowering the voltage used by your pc and thus running a cooler laptop.
Now, I've been following several guides and using Rightmark CPU Clock Utility to adjust my voltage.
Several tests have made it clear my heat isn't lowering. It's been spiking at 89Celcius, which I find frightingly high. Seeing as most of the guides report around 75 degrees.

So, when I tried to manually change my fan speed I found I didn't even have it as an option in my BIOS! I downloaded Speedfan, but that program doesn't register my fans either.

So, I'm at a bit of a loss here. One the one hand, the undervolting is going well, but if the temperature isn't lowered it's an excercise in futility.

------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 11/26/2009, 22:19:46
Machine name: REINLAPTOP
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp_sp3_gdr.090804-1435)
Language: Dutch (Regional Setting: Dutch)
System Manufacturer: COMPAL
System Model: CANTIGA_
BIOS: Ver 1.00PARTTBL
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T9400 @ 2.53GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory: 3066MB RAM
Page File: 416MB used, 4535MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.5512 32bit Unicode


If anyone is able to help me, thanks!

[Bouregard]

Hi all,

All my troubles trying to play Dragon Age on my notebook have lead me to a startling conclusion: my laptop runs too hot. The obvious conclusion would be to buy a laptop cooler, but that's not really an option at the moment, so I want to try and manage it with the tools I've got.

After browsing the web for a bit I came upon undervolting, the act of lowering the voltage used by your pc and thus running a cooler laptop.
Now, I've been following several guides and using Rightmark CPU Clock Utility to adjust my voltage.
Several tests have made it clear my heat isn't lowering. It's been spiking at 89Celcius, which I find frightingly high. Seeing as most of the guides report around 75 degrees.

So, when I tried to manually change my fan speed I found I didn't even have it as an option in my BIOS! I downloaded Speedfan, but that program doesn't register my fans either.

So, I'm at a bit of a loss here. One the one hand, the undervolting is going well, but if the temperature isn't lowered it's an excercise in futility.

------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 11/26/2009, 22:19:46
Machine name: REINLAPTOP
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp_sp3_gdr.090804-1435)
Language: Dutch (Regional Setting: Dutch)
System Manufacturer: COMPAL
System Model: CANTIGA_
BIOS: Ver 1.00PARTTBL
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T9400 @ 2.53GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory: 3066MB RAM
Page File: 416MB used, 4535MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.5512 32bit Unicode


If anyone is able to help me, thanks!


Mhm.. a simple solution tha5t sometimes work:

look for 4 objects with identical height that can hold your laptop without crumbling under the weight of the laptop+your hands + are about 1cm thick.
Place them under each of the 4 corners, then find a ventilator/ reverse vacuum cleaner and aim between your laptop and the surface. This can help as a emergeny solution.... but trust me it's nothing for long term usage, get cooler or stop using a laptop for serious games.


Be careful with screwing around with the voltage. If you didn't know what you do there, don't do it. Those options are hidden for a reason.

[Jack Squat]

This may seem obvious, but when was the last time you cleaned out the innards? It's a little more crucial to do it in laptops than desktops as there's less free space for air to move around in.

[Generic Archer]

stop using it on soft surfaces... it blocks the vents and no air gets in,
Just use it on a book or similar, but laptops do run hot under load, nothing you can really do about it, if you can't afford a laptop cooler an alternative is a block of wood with some holes drilled in and case fans attached.

You'll be rather limited in what you can underclock being a prebuilt laptop the BIOS usually doesn't support much in the way of changes

Dane

[tyckspoon]

Undervolting/downclocking your laptop will usually just get you a cooler idle/low load temperature. If you do something that will run it at high load- like, say, Dragon Age- one of two things will happen: It will respond to the load you are asking for by ignoring the undervolt setting and giving you the power (and commensurate heat) required to actually do what you're asking, or it will maintain the undervolt and be unable to provide the computing power needed to run your game.

So.. short answer? Find a way to improve the cooling on that laptop, it'll go much easier than trying to find a working compromise between underclocking the processor and still leaving it enough power to do things.

[Zeb The Troll]

A cheaper solution to a cooler (which, by the way, can be found fairly inexpensively anyway if you shop around enough) is to get a laptop riser. It's basically the same solution that Bouregard suggested but it's a little cleaner and isn't subject to "game drift"* undoing it. Since they're just molded foam, they're pretty cheap and I've seen a lot of benefit from just letting those fans underneath have a lot more air to move around. (Targus sells something similar for $10-$15 US called the CoolWave, as an example.)

Also, one of the office supply stores (I don't remember which right now, but it's either Office Despot or Stapled**) is selling a USB powered Targus (ChillMat, I think, it uses USB power to drive the two 3.5" fans) for $9.99 on Black Friday. Might be worth looking into for you.

*Game drift - when I play games on my overwarm laptop, it tends to gradually slide away from me on whatever surface I'm using.

**Yes, I deliberately misspelled them for the sake of humor. :smallcool:

[Katana_Geldar]

I understand Targus and Office Despot, but what's Stapled?

[Zeb The Troll]

I understand Targus and Office Despot, but what's Stapled?Staples (http://www.staples.com). :smallcool:

[BooNL]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I guess I should add that laptop cooler to my christmas wishlist. The reason it's not really an option is that I travel around a bit and I play my games wherever I lay my head. Lugging around a cooler is a bit too much for my taste.
Though I suppose I could get one for home or at my girlfriends...

I think I'll call up the IT guys at work monday, they might have a can of compressed air as most users are on laptops as well.

Still, I'm kind of annoyed I can't see my fans. Does anyone know of good fan regulation software, besides Speedfan?

Thanks!

[Zeb The Troll]

In all honesty, those laptop coolers are fairly light and don't significantly detract from the portability of a laptop in general. They're designed to fit easily into laptop cases, too.

[thubby]

dirt cheap and fairly effective are those things people stick on chair legs to keep them from mauling the floor (cut down to size of course). it's nothing spectacular, but they gives it a little more room to breath. just be careful not to attach them over a vent or something else important.

[Archonic Energy]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I guess I should add that laptop cooler to my christmas wishlist. The reason it's not really an option is that I travel around a bit and I play my games wherever I lay my head. Lugging around a cooler is a bit too much for my taste.
Though I suppose I could get one for home or at my girlfriends...

I think I'll call up the IT guys at work monday, they might have a can of compressed air as most users are on laptops as well.

Still, I'm kind of annoyed I can't see my fans. Does anyone know of good fan regulation software, besides Speedfan?

Thanks!

you need a CO2 extinguisher, a 12V 120mm fan, 2 tray sized blocks of wood, a 12V battery, a potentiometer, a 120mm fan guard, an 80 to 120mm fan adapter, a single throw single pole locking switch, some red black and blue cables, a coping saw, a pencil, a drill, a reasonably large drill bit, and some screws...

[KuReshtin]

you need a CO2 extinguisher, a 12V 120mm fan, 2 tray sized blocks of wood, a 12V battery, a potentiometer, a 120mm fan guard, an 80 to 120mm fan adapter, a single throw single pole locking switch, some red black and blue cables, a coping saw, a pencil, a drill, a reasonably large drill bit, and some screws...

Duct tape. Don't forget the duct tape.

[Eldpollard]

you need a CO2 extinguisher, a 12V 120mm fan, 2 tray sized blocks of wood, a 12V battery, a potentiometer, a 120mm fan guard, an 80 to 120mm fan adapter, a single throw single pole locking switch, some red black and blue cables, a coping saw, a pencil, a drill, a reasonably large drill bit, and some screws...

And a flux capacitor. That way if your fans go at 88mph your PC will go back in time a couple of minutes and then be completely covered in ice. Making it perfectly cool.

[memnarch]

I had a problem a bit like this with my laptop; $5 for a compressed air can, and a session of blowing through the vent dropped 20°C running temp. Note, if you're not careful, you can damage the fans with the compressed air.