Comments on: How To Fix An Overheating Laptop

By: neil

neil — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 05:27:00 +0000

cool this will help us.

By: Aibek

Aibek — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 09:28:00 +0000

surprisingly, the app is free :-)

By: Macfan95

Macfan95 — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 04:26:00 +0000

I use smcFanControl on my macbook. I like it because it puts a little icon on the menu bar that tells what the temperature is and how fast the fan is going. Also you can make your own settings for it, for example, I have a default setting (which uses whatever the computer itself wants to use depending on the temperature), then I have a “HigherRPM” setting (Makes the fan go at about 4,000RPM for the more heavy apps like iMovie and Garageband), then lastly I made a “Gaming” setting that clocks the fan as fast as it can go for the heavy games like Call of Duty.

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/23049/smcfancontrol

By: Macfan95

Macfan95 — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 03:26:56 +0000

http://www.macupdate.com/app/m…

By: Bradley Wint

Bradley Wint — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 03:19:00 +0000

hmm dell doesnt seem to have put that shut down feature in their recent XPS models. Rather it just starts to lag like crap. My 1640 constantly overheats but the problem is the poor positioning of the fan exhaust, plus with an overclocked video card (overclocked by Dell)… it’s even worse. Bought a Zalman NC2000 cooling pad and it solved the problem. The unit itself remained cool, but the exhaust still pushed out some hot air…nonetheless the temp was regulated very well even in intense games. Undervolting is a good idea but remember if you get BSODs, you’re undervolting too much.

By: Tina

Tina — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 08:34:00 +0000

Thanks for clearing that up Smayonak! I clearly mixed up undervolting and underclocking!!!,

By: Antriksh Yadav

Antriksh Yadav — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 05:02:00 +0000

Wow! I did NOT know all that, being the geek I am! Thanks for all the info. Mine is an almost four-year-old laptop. So I need to carefully experiment. Of course it doesn’t have an Intel Core series CPU.

But thanks very much for all that. I got some good material for my blog. You can visit it at http://rightnowintech.com/

By: Antriksh Yadav

Antriksh Yadav — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 04:02:38 +0000

Wow! I did NOT know all that, being the geek I am! Thanks for all the info. Mine is an almost four-year-old laptop. So I need to carefully experiment. Of course it doesn't have an Intel Core series CPU.

But thanks very much for all that. I got some good material for my blog. You can visit it at http://rightnowintech.com/

By: Smayonak

Smayonak — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 19:10:00 +0000

Undervolting doesn’t reduce performance, other than the extremely small amount of RAM it consumes (which is utterly negligible). What you are thinking of is Underclocking/throttling, which limits the CPU multiplier, putting a ceiling on performance.

You can actually undervolt and OVERCLOCK at the same time.

Individual CPUs have varying voltage tolerances. Manufacturers by default oversupply CPU voltage to simplify production (this is no longer true on the i-Core platform) but this causes inefficiencies and reduces battery life while increasing heat.

Undervolting’s shortcoming is that not all CPUs will support a lower voltage setting. Sometimes the lowest setting will cause BSOD. You need to tease out the lower limits of each individual CPU.

Most CPUs have a default voltage supply of around 1.285. I find that lowering to 1.1-1.2 volts is usually rock solid stable and results in between 10-20% lower temps.

By: Smayonak

Smayonak — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 18:10:24 +0000

Undervolting doesn't reduce performance, other than the extremely small amount of RAM it consumes (which is utterly negligible). What you are thinking of is Underclocking/throttling, which limits the CPU multiplier, putting a ceiling on performance.

You can actually undervolt and OVERCLOCK at the same time.

Individual CPUs have varying voltage tolerances. Manufacturers by default oversupply CPU voltage to simplify production (this is no longer true on the i-Core platform) but this causes inefficiencies and reduces battery life while increasing heat.

Undervolting's shortcoming is that not all CPUs will support a lower voltage setting. Sometimes the lowest setting will cause BSOD. You need to tease out the lower limits of each individual CPU.

Most CPUs have a default voltage supply of around 1.285. I find that lowering to 1.1-1.2 volts is usually rock solid stable and results in between 10-20% lower temps.

By: Antriksh Yadav

Antriksh Yadav — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 07:40:00 +0000

Oh, sorry. I didn’t notice that. I can try undervolting it. That may fix the issue. But the performance will be reduced too. And yes, with my BIOS, I can’t change the temperatures. And that would really mess up the hardware the next time it overheats. Ha ha.

BTW, I have a new VAIO now, which I really love. Of course, it does not overheat!

By: Antriksh Yadav

Antriksh Yadav — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 06:40:08 +0000

Oh, sorry. I didn't notice that. I can try undervolting it. That may fix the issue. But the performance will be reduced too. And yes, with my BIOS, I can't change the temperatures. And that would really mess up the hardware the next time it overheats. Ha ha.

BTW, I have a new VAIO now, which I really love. Of course, it does not overheat!

By: Tina

Tina — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 05:12:00 +0000

True, shutdown is a sign of overheating. I pointed that out in my introduction: Moreover, the fail safe software may trigger a sudden shutdown to prevent hardware damage.

What you can do in the BIOS is undervolt the laptop, i.e. reducd the maximum performance of the CPU. I don’t think messing with the maximum temperature that triggers a shutdown, however, is a good idea.

By: Tina

Tina — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 04:12:29 +0000

True, shutdown is a sign of overheating. I pointed that out in my introduction: Moreover, the fail safe software may trigger a sudden shutdown to prevent hardware damage.

What you can do in the BIOS is undervolt the laptop, i.e. reducd the maximum performance of the CPU. I don't think messing with the maximum temperature that triggers a shutdown, however, is a good idea.

By: Tina

Tina — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 07:07:00 +0000

Cote,

I would assume that you can apply the same hardware fixes, i.e. make sure the internal cooling works and the intake grills are not blocked. You can also get a cooling pad for your MacBook.

To monitor your fans on an Intel Mac, you can use this tool: http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/23049/smcfancontrol