Dell E6420 Quad-Core Overheat!?!?!

Any other users of the Dell Latitude E6420 with the new Quad Core i7 CPU? I realized this laptop gets hot really fast. I routinely get 80C+ degrees at light load and 90C degrees for medium load. Compared to my last laptop, the usual temp range I got was 60-70C!!!

To benchmark the heat, I was running 6 threads of Prime95, and I recorded a max temp of 97-100C for the CPU and 91C for the GPU within 30min or so, and using 6 threads means that I was running at 85%+ load only!!!

 

100c is a lot since it is the temperature at with the i7 start downclocking to reduce heat and preserve any damage. There has been a lot of talk in the forum about core i3/i5/i7 running hotter than Core 2 Duo CPUs. The discussion concluded by saying that in most cases the cooling system was not properly designed to handle core i3/i5/i7.

Assuming that you laptop is still under warranty, I suggest you should get Dell to look into it.

If you're out of warranty, you can do the following:
Open you're laptop and remove the heatsink.
Clean the heatsink and fan from any dust.
clean the thermal pad off the heatsink and the CPU.
Apply a very thin layer of a good quality thermal past. You can use something like arctic MX-3 or MX-4.
Put the heatsink back and test the laptop.

Using a good quality thermal past should help reduce temperature by quite a bit.

 

My old laptop used a Yonah Core Duo 2.0Ghz and that has a TDP of 31W. At max continued load, if memory serves correctly it peaked at 80C.

The new core i7 2720QM has a TDP of 45W, so it is expected to generate more heat. However, is my heat levels of 100C under extended load typical of quad core laptops?

Interestingly, when I enable "Balanced" power settings that has throttling, the heat problem is not as bad. I am averaging 60C on normal work, cause the CPU has been throttled back to sub 2GHz speeds...

 

TDP, heat and power consumption are related but not directly. Power consumption is a dynamic figure but it is designed to not exceed TDP (except in a few situations). The heatsink is designed around the TDP and absorbs the wasted energy as heat. If the heatsink isn't selected correctly, not given proper contact with a decent thermal interface, or the fan isn't set adequately, the heat will build up as it is not being dissipated quickly enough hence the high temperatures. Assuming that the parts are designed correctly, most likely it's the application of the thermal interface. As naton suggested, if under warranty, send it back for them to look at, else, DIY.

 

Dell has been adjusting the thermal curves on these through bios updates. Make sure you are running Bios A04.

If you have ControlPoint installed, run the "Cool" power scheme. I personally use that scheme the most on the new Latitudes.

We did a lot of testing on the E6420 and E6520 here. Under normal work loads the E6420 was fine. It did run a little hotter with video encoding, rendering, and in some games, but nothing major. The only times we were really able to get the heat up was with synthetic testing with programs like Prime and Furmark.

One other thing to look for might be a large variance in temps between the 4 individual cores. This might point to a heat sink or thermal conductor that is not evenly applied across the chip. One side would have better contact than the other.

 

Every single 14 inch laptop I've seen or personally used with Sandy Bridge i7 Quads has had heating issues. I doubt it's any kind of issue with thermal paste or heatsinks, I really just think the problem is simple airflow restriction from the small chassis.

I briefly had an m14x with 2720QM and the damn thing hit 95* under full load on several cores. I was not happy and sent it back (also had a terrible screen, but that's besides the point). Alienwares are also known for their superior cooling, so what does that tell you? This was not an isolated case, most of them are running HOT.

IMO, it's to be expected and managed by either disabling turbo boost (setting max proc to 99%) or running "cool" setting from control point if it bothers you.

Honestly I think SandyBridge is built to withstand the higher temps, so I wouldn't worry about it.

I have OCD with laptops, so the temps were enough to bother me, but for the average user it should NOT be a major issue.

 

Also, to be technical, your laptop isn't overheating unless it's shutting down from the heat.

Cores hitting into the 90's is still within design specifications.

 

Ummm.... get a cooling pad and try again?

Admittedly, I expected a bit more from a Latitude, but from the pattern of use it seems the OP really needs something down the lines of a Precision if the CPU is going to be constantly run like that...

My old V1J actually maxxed out at around 80-85C as well, though 80C is where the CPU fan would jump to full speed. Not a big fan of the shared CPU/GPU heatsink either, since that was also an issue with my old laptop (though Optimus helps).

 

i'm seeing nearly identical results. a i7 quad HP DV6T-6100 I'm testing, with a more powerful ATI 6770M 1GB GPU - is at least 15 degrees cooler. Seems the dell heatsink design is not so good...