Fundamental flaw in 5672 cooling?

So has there been any progress made in finding out WHY this laptop seems to heat up so badly? Is it something wrong in the design?

I would buy this fairly confidently considering its styling. I happen to REALLY LIKE the way this notebook looks, and obviously its insane performance for the price (core duo + 120gb + x1600 + countless other cool stuff for $1100!!).

The thing that concerns me is really the heat. I can get past the crappy bloatware fat32 install of windows. I can get past crappy tech support (if something breaks as long as I can get someone on the phone within 3hours it's good enough for me). What is troublesome to me is the heat issues. I would use this thing to play World of Warcraft litterly IN MY LAP on the couch for a couple hours at a time. I need a notebook that can do this well. When you start talking about insane heat issues, that rules out actually using this thing on the couch.

I've heard about the dust flap helping temp's quite a bit but .. it -IS- there for a reason. Is this the design flaw causing the heat buildup? If removing it makes it just as good as any other laptop then fine, I will get the dust can out and blow it out every now and again.

Otherwise I need to find something similarly equipped for the same price or less that can do just what I mentioned. The whitebook stuff everyone recommends ends up being too expensive when I get what I need added onto it. S96J, HEL80, etc all come out to be $1500+ for similarly configured laptops. World of Warcraft. On my lap. On the couch. Hours at a time. I have done the FAQ thing and to be honest each little categorical question that is asked can flex quite a bit other than price. I just need something that can do WoW on my lap. Yea, integrated could do this at great temps no problem but I am expecting atleast a little better.

 

Have you considered a cooler pad? I have a Laptop2 Cooler that virtually eliminates any concern about heat, but it wouldn't work too well in your lap. That's option one. Option two is to buy a $2-3K machine. Because you will NOT find another notebook on the market today that gives you the features that Acer has for ANYTHING close to $1100. That brings us to option 3. Wait until they release more technology from Area 51 for the type of notebook you NEED. Seriously, asking a notebook to perform like a state-of-the-art gaming rig that is normally housed in a mid-sized or full tower case that also allow for huge copper HS cooling solutions, if not water-cooling solutions with pipes, is ludicrous.

 

I didn't realize alien technology was required to run a 3 year old game in my lap for a few hours. If I was asking to run Battlefield 2142 or F.E.A.R. at 1920x1200 with max AA/AF in a laptop I could see you saying something like that.

Other laptops don't seem to have the very high reports of heat that this specific Acer model does. I am not trying to start a "LETS BURN ACER TO THE GROUND" thread by any means. Infact the opposite, I am just trying to give myself the piece of mind to go ahead and buy this thing.

On the laptop cooler front, do they make actual "lap" coolers that are designed to use when you have a laptop on your lap and not a flat desk surface?

 

IMHO no, I see no design flaw in the 5672 cooling or design structure. If I bought similar pc components (x1600 graphics card, Core Duo, Motherboard, memory. And couple that with a PASSIVE heatsink and cooler it would get VERY hot. Remember the 5672 is the width of a quarter. It is going ot take some very good cooling ot keep it under temps.


It is not just the 5672 that runs warm, the Macbook Pro also does as well. They even fried an EGG on the bottom of it, and it also has an x1600 graphics card in it, not to mention a 2.0ghz duel core cpu. - http://gadgets.elliottback.com/2006/07/17/cook-breakfast-with-apples-macbooks/

It is not the "improper" cooling, it is the high performance parts that demand the cooling needed for the computer. High performance does not equal low temps, especially in notebooks.

If gaming is your concern, then take into account that if you block or inhibit airflow to the heatpipe / heatsink you will have warmer temps. This is the case when playing on a couch or a non-hard surface. It would be like stuffing a sweater inside a desktop tower and turning it on, the same thing happens with the buildup of heat due to lack of ventelation.

You can try all sorts of steps like those listed below with a laptop cooler etc. Personally if you are playing wow, and sitting on a couch or what not I would do 2 things.

#1. Have proper airflow while playing, I can't stress this enough here.

#2. Turn down the cpu speed and even enable power play if need be. Sure it won't run as fast, but it won't generate as much heat either! And WOW does NOT need high end graphics to run, you even stated that yourself. Now if you want to play FEAR or something else that is your decision and discrepency. I personally would use the "websters dictionary" approach. Prop the lappy up 1 inch or so in the back with a book and use it as a stand, it gives it plenty of cooling, and does what it needs.

Don't worry about the heat, it comes with the territory. You just need to know how to adjust to it correctly.

--ssx--

 

Thanks SSX. How is your 5672 holding up by the way? Anything qwerky on it or is it pretty much like new still? So .. many .. features .. slotload DVD .. bluetooth .. grrrr I want one.

That does look pretty thin in that picture but I imagine it widens up in the back like most every other lappy. The MacBook's are darn near that thin from front to back ... crazyness.

 

It definitely gets warm but it won't be too bad if you take that strip off which impedes air flow from the.. I believe CPU fan.

It is loaded full of high performance part, so heat is an inherent component. My Antec laptop cooler does a decent job and fits nicely under the notebook even in my bag.

 

Being that i own the Acer, i can attest to it's insane heat issues. I just picked up a Dell E1405 for the specific reason of heat. While i agree the price to performance on the Acer is unmatched, it has to many drawbacks. I can't even use it on my lap to surf the web let alone game. I use one of those plastic lap tables (which are great btw) and the thing heats even that up enough to make it uncomfortable on my lap! The touch pad is insanly hot, and the arm wrests become uncomfortable to type on. I really tried to let these things slide given it's price/performance standpoint, but these things can't be ignored. I messed around with the Dell's and they run significantly cooler, and offer good price and performance as well. If you can settle for the x1400 i would go that route over the Acer.

To give you an idea, the bottom of my Acer (the cover to the components) actually melted and warped. Now if a laptop can melt plastic, i don't think i want that thing anywhere near my lap. Take this from an owner, avoid this laptop.

 

I completely disagree. I've had my Aspire 5672 for about a month now and the only place I find that it gets very warm at all is east of the delete key and south of the power button (right near the vent).

Just about all I do is play high-end games on maximum settings whenever I'm on, and heat is -never- a problem for me. I rest my wrist on the left side of the lappy when I'm wsad'ing for hours upon hours while playing HL2 on Max and have 0 problems with heat. The touchpad area does not get very warm at all. And if it does get slightly warm, it feels more relaxing than anything. Like a heat pad for your wrists.

To be honest it sounds like maybe you have defective cooling or blocked the vent somehow, because there's no way that my 5672 would ever get hot enough to melt plastic.

 

Don't know how it's possible to disagree, because the unit does get that hot, and did melt the plastic. I've put AS5 in there, confirmed contact with the CPU/GPU/NB, the fan isn't blocked, i know that's not a problem. It just gets that hot. The CPU's on these things are commonly reported at around 55C idle and 75C+ loaded. This is not acceptable by any stretch. Glad yours runs cool, but don't try and tell me they don't run hot. Just read the countless threads on every forum about these things.

Here you can see the melted plastic.





And here are some other "common" design flaws. I'm not the only one with this either.

 

Here's another for you. CPU temp at 49C (which is cool by this notebook standards) and a temp probe just sitting underneath the laptop. This is only after 10 minutes too.

 

Looks like a botched upgrade to a T2600 to me. Wrong CPU on the screenshot for this specific model.

 

The CPU was upgraded, but botched, hardly. Temps actually were lower with the T2600 as i was able to undervolt it further. I'm supprised anyone would come to the defense of this notebook when it comes to heat. It was hot before a new CPU, it was hot after a new CPU. Bottom line, the thing is hot....lol

 

Not coming to the defense of this thing, infact you'll see a few posts from me around here trying to figure out the true extent of the heat this thing has. And maybe some reasoning behind it if there truely is a problem.

However, something tells me to not use your specific situation as "this happens to most" considering you added your own CPU upgrade. If you were truely able to melt/warp plastic with this out of the box, there would be lawsuits from this thing.

What isn't adding up is the fact that there isn't any "flaw" in the design on the laptop itself. The cooling mechanisms inside this laptop are not significantly different from anything else in this range.

Something just doesn't add up.

The funny thing is how many people will pile onto a thread talking about it's heat issues when they've personally never owned one or even handled one in person, perpeptuating the belief that this will take the skin off your hands. It makes it difficult to form any kind of opinion.

 

Well the melting is not common. In fact, i haven't heard of it before.

The raising plastic i've heard about from others. That is actually how i saw i had the same thing, i didn't really notice till it was brought up in another thread.

This CPU is completly upgradable, just look around at how many plan to get a Merom. The fact there's a different CPU in here should not cause it to run that much hotter, certainly not hot enough to melt it. I hardly think a few extra MHz is the difference between melting and not melting.

Not sure what doesn't add up. High heat, plastic = melting in this case. Probably happened while i was using it on my bed without adequate ventilation. I understand it needs ventilation, but it is a laptop afterall, not always going to have a nice open area below it.

Bottom line, i wanted to share my experiences with someone considering buying it. Had i come accross someone with pics like these, and all the countless heat related threads, there's no way i would have bought it. Mind you mine is the x1400 model, i got it shortly after the initial release, not a lot out there about it when i got it....

 

It may be warped, but that is because you left it turned on when you put it into your laptop bag. It heated up with no way to cool down and melted / warped the plastic.

Please don't call that "insuficent cooling" when by default it was user error (or that is how I see it anyway).

 

Yeah, what i was i thinking, these things run so cool, there aren't 50+ threads about the heat all over the web...

And i honestly don't know how it got that hot. Either from putting it in my bag for a few minutes, or setting it on the bed for awhile. Either way, doesn't matter....the laptop gets WAY to hot for my liking.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=67371

You could try this. DOnt get too upset at the laptop, as they pack ALOT of power in such a thin chassis. All laptops get warm, this is a very thin lappy and thus runs a little warm. Mine has the above mod and with a cooling pad runs cool. I dont mind setting a cooler pad up as all it is, is a stand I set the laptop ion and then plug a usb in. Takes a few more seconds to do and helps when I do the neavy tasks I do on this laptop.

 

I also believe that there is something wrong with the design of this notebook but i prevent any situation and bought a Cooling Mat from Targus at Circuit City and it works as a charm. and only for 30bucks!

I use my laptop all day at work and it stays as cool as it should with the targus mat.

I recommend it 100%

 

I am also using the targus cooling mat (bought from best buy $30) and recommend it. Idle temps hd 35c cpu 50c, load hd 37c cpu 55c (closer to 60c during extended gaming).

 

My bro has the 5672. It does seem to get hot. But not alarmingly. Can you use that targus cooling mat on your lap? He has the Antec laptop cooler. It works good but badly shaped for "on-lap use". I would also be conserned about if anybody who owns the antec cooler that they only use the low setting. Since it pulls air from the bottom of the laptop, it may interfer with the laptop's internal fan which is trying to blow air in the opposite direction. Just a thought.

 

The targus takes the hot air from the buttom of your laptop and throw it to the back of the MAT where it has the air outlet.
it may not be very good looking but for 30 bucks it certainly do the job.

 

This thread reminds of the Averatec C3500 that was plagued with heat related issues. From melted/warped cases to pre-mature component failure, this notebook as a disaster for Averatec. This thing even used a mobile AMD proc and it still could have fried eggs on it.

Remember, you are cramming an entire desktop computer into the size of, well a notebook. You’re going to have heat, no matter what. But when this heat gets to the point that it warps plastic or a touchpad becomes untouchable, then that is another issue indeed.

Cooler pads are indeed an option but not always the most practical. Some require an outlet while others run off of the USB port which then takes away the portability of the notebook. Why should the end user have to resort to such measures to just cool down a computer? Of course common sense needs to come into play here by taking the necessary precautions not to cover up vents that are required for proper cooling.

I don't own an Acer nor will I. Have two notebooks with similar set ups as the 5672 and neither of them have heat issues anywhere as bad as I've read in these and other forums. As I mentioned above with the Averatec's, its possible that other issues may crop up down the road that may be related to excessive heat.

 

On my Acer 5102, I only feel heat at the VENT located on the left side.

My last Acer laptop, the Vent was located on the back.

 

It's similiar to my V6's issues, if you can even call it that.

It's a pretty packed notebook in a small chassis(a tad over 1 inch thick and at 5.4lbs), granted, it has an x700, it still heats up like no tomorow.

Pretty much, there are a few steps to handliing the issue, keep it clean, keep vents open at all times, and a cooler is always a welcomed peripheral. A laptop can only be so big/small and with very very limited ports/spacing, so in some cases, there may be some sacrifices...


Wish ou the best for resolving the issue!

 

ummm yeah theres something wrong with the cooling in here, considering asus, compal, hp, and even acer have put the higher performance version of this card in machines just as thin, or thinner, without overheating problems. the biggest complaints being on the w3j, which does nto get hot, but blows out very hot air, which means the cooling is doing what it should. this particular acer has the same problem the mbp has, in that the hot air is not leaving the notebook. yes the mbp has a similar problem, macs bad design does not free acer to do one equally as bad. however apples isnt as bad, apple has heating problems because its freakishly small, and they tried to make the cooling as passive and quite as possible, part of the way they accomplished this was by making the case all aluminum, and allowing heat to disperse into the chassis, rather then all having to be blown out, the result is the mbp gets freakishly, uncomfortably hot, but there are very few cases of it overheating, or being damaged by this heat. if youd like a computer with better cooling and the faster x1600, u shoudl be able to configure a low end s96j for a around 11-1200