Cooling the z70va 101

Can someone give me some ways to cool down the z70va, specifically what you did, what settings you changed, etc.? I don't know if its possible but it would be nice to consolidate this information as the biggest issue for this laptop is heat and if we can overcome this, than the asus lappy will be perfect.

 

What type of temps are you experiencing? Are you using in temp controlling software? Mine runs in a range of 53-58 while surfing and a few apps running. From what I've read and seen others post, that about right. I do have NHC running with the setting of Battery optimized for DC and Dynamic Swithing for AC. Cooling fans kick in around 58. This drops the temp to about 56 and pretty much stays in the above range after that.

 

i'm using a Lapcool cooling base, the temp can be reduced 3~5 C. Everything running smooth.....

 

You could try Notebook Hardware Control - you can play around with the power settings, etc. Works pretty good.

I would go out and get a cooling pad - I got one for one of my other laptops, and it cooled it down by more than ten degrees. I recommend the Vantec ones - aluminum does a much better job than plastic at conducting heat.

 

What are you guys doing different besides the pad? I usually run like 68-70 when just browsing! I downloaded speedfan and everest but I haven't made any modifications to the settings yet.

 

Im @ 61*c/141*f-- just Idling-- on my Z70va....I was think of getting a coolpad like a Targus.

 

bobfet1: I've never used speedfan so I can't help you there. But, if you want to give NHC a try I'm sure you would probably have the same type of #'s that I have. I didn't tweak the cpu, voltage settings manually at all. I just use the AC/DC settings. Set the AC to Dynamic switching and the DC to Battery Optimized. With these settings I get #'s like after machine is on for over an hr, surfing and a few apps. ru nning AC(dynamic switching) 57-62. DC(Battery Optimized) 53-58.

RKG72MP: If you are not running any cooling software, your #'s are exactly like what I was experiencing. From everything I've picked up from the forums and reading, your #'s are fine. I just downloaded and used NHC because I wanted to experiment. Now with NHC, if I put the AC setting on Max performance, I have pretty much the same setting before NHC. 60-65 after machine is up for a decent amount of time and idleing. Long story short, I think your numbers are what are to be expected.

 

whoa guys...those numbers are kinda high...you sure you're not blocking the airvents for the fans with something?

My numbers are very similar to ru1thirst's...of course after using NHC(CHC)...even before that I never experienced numbers as high as that...highest I experienced without NHC was 64 on cpu...graphics according to SpeedFan and Everest is 64...of course all in celsius and I have no idea what the load temps are for graphics or cpu...as I haven't run MBM while doing something intensive yet.

Only problem I have with heat,with this particular laptop is the dang harddrive area on the bottom...BOY OH BOY does it get HOT...and I have a 5200rpm Western Digital WD800UE 2MB cache. Good thing is it doesn't get too warm on the left hand rest where the heat SHOULD be rising up to. I wonder why??? But I'm glad it doesn't

Cheers,
Mike

 

My normal temperatures are:
CPU: 54-56C no fan, 46-48C with fan on lowest setting (~35-35% in speedfan) fan in inaudible at this point...unlike the noisy ass GPU fan
GPU: 62-64C with fan running constantly around 40-50% (high pitched annoying drone)
HDD: 46-47C

Underload:
CPU: 69-71C
GPU: ~85C (91C max overclock)
HDD: ???

I get these temps by using NHC to undervolt both my CPU and GPU. With stock voltages it was much higher...GPU was running round 66-68C without my 15%underclock for normal use. And CPU was running round 78C on load without undervolt. Oh and using AS5 actually increased my CPU temp about 1-2C lol...sucks to be me.

 

Oh and has any1 else cracked open their z70va to look at the GPU heatsink? It's horrible! A big hunking slab of metal...not even sure if it's aluminum...and the contact with the northbridge isn't even copper! (at least i think that's what the other chip was...) I can post some pics if people want. I think getting that thing replaced with a better heat sink would do wonders for the gpu temps...

 

Those temperatures are exceptionally high...especially on the CPU. Sounds like the cooling system is what is causing the heat buildup, no?

You may invest in some Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound...that should drop the temperature somewhat. I'd expect a 3-8 degree drop, maybe more.

 

And Bobfet, you two seem to have quite high idling temps... I suggest u guys use NHC to undervolt and see how it works out. Undervolt + dynamic switching...so that way ur cpu will be running at 700mhz normally instead of being stuck on 2ghz or whatever ur maximum speed is.

I got my 15x multiplier voltage to drop to 1.132, and my 6x to 0.700 stable, from 1.356 and 0.998 respectively

 

It's wierd how my temps actually went up after i applied AS5, while most people get temp drops... I am using a fairly old AS5...like 1,2 years old? maybe that's it?

 

I would be Interested in seeing the Inside of the Z70va, Especially the CPU + GPU setup they have.

Im surprised No one has accually taken the Z70Va apart piece by piece (with Pictures) to show the Curious (like me) what all is inside and where everything is located.

As for the cooling issues, That Targus Piece of ***t didn't work. Im not even sure it was cooling the HDD. I tried putting a fan (80mm) next to the CPU vent (suck air out) to see if My Temps would drop, nope! Held 60*c..

I wonder if blowing air on the Bottom would help cool these puppys? That targus coolpad sucked air off the chassis, but it never had contact with the Chassis. Go figure..

How do you get the GPU temperature reading?? I have NHC + Asus probe, but nothing in regards to GPU temp.

As for NHC, I don't feel comfortable messing with The Voltage, but I did (once) set it to Dynamic control and It set My CPU to 800Mgz which only dropped my temps down to 57*c @ Idle.

 

ChazMan...applying Arctic Silver will not drop temps as you have stated...Arctic Silver is more for keeping the highs lower, even at higher than normal voltages...as for notebook computers, it is not necessary...it won't drop idle temps by 8 degrees or more. Sure it's a good thermal compound as I use it on my desktop, but for a laptop I don't believe you need it...also it must be applied correctly or else it won't be effective.

Idle temps of 62 or so are normal for this laptop at it's max power setting...after lowering my voltage to 1.100v using NHC(chc), my idle temps or I'd like to say surfing temps are at 57-60...and rises up to 63ish when playing videos or copying files and such...haven't been able to check full load temps yet...will do that soon...

Don't worry about idle temps or temps when surfing, going up to 62 or 63 or even 64, even though that's a bit high, as long as it's not going beyond 64 when just surfing you are fine...

Cheers,
Mike

 

Don't buy a plastic Targus coolpad, Mine did not work....My bad for even mentioning it. I took this back to the store and got my money back, which i put into a nice bytecc Aluminum cooler

find a nice Aluminum pad that blows air on the Underbelly of your unit...It should keep your Memory/HDD/GPU nice an cool.

As for the CPU, Undervolting did it for me. Im not saying that my Aluminum Cooler isn't working, cause it is..

 

Yeah while Im typing and surfing the net or iding, Im getting around 55 - 59 C, on battery optimized mode.

But if I set it to max performance, I get around 60 - 65 C.

And gaming, with Source, I get around 67 - 77 C.

 

Come on folks go read my thread on the CoolerMaster widescreen laptop cooler, which should be out as of this writing

Cheers,
Mike

Oh yeah JackBauer should have a review ready soon...right Jack????

 

My Z70VA (1.86 GHz) undervolted to 1.084 V hovers around 57-58 C while my hard drive is around 43 C when browsing. When gaming the cpu gets into the high 60s (which is okay), but the hard drive gets 52-53 C (55 C is the maximum safe temp according to my hard drive manufacturer Fujitsu). Just curious what other people HD temps are?

 

my computer has been on for the last 30 hours and i've been using it for the past 5 hours and the hard drive temperature is at 40 deg C. it rarly heats up more than that. temperatures in the 50's is quite high. what is your ambient temperature? is your laptop on a table or a bed? i don't see how u can have such high temperatures.

 

My thermostat is set at 72 F so the ambient temp is pretty close to that. I always set my laptop on the table. I thought the HD temp was high too, but my dealer doesn't think so.

 

well it's definitly high especially considering your ambient temperature. in my smart settings, i see my hard drive did climb over 50 deg C but that was probably when I had it on the carpet in the middle of a hot summer day (ambient temperature climbing well over 35 deg C) playing UT2004 (this hard drive was in my z71v and m3np).

If coud also be your drive model. I thought Fujitsu drives ran relativly cool, but I know Seagate are definitly efficient in terms of battery life and heat. if i recall correctly, hitachi drives get very hot.

 

Any1 know how to upload pics? Dunno how to get my chassis pics up...

 

http://geared2play.com/phpbb/nfphpbb/viewtopic.php?t=309
A poster by the name of Bird59 give some more specific directions for setting up you computer with Speedfan...

THe only thing that bugs me about my z70va is that the HD hovers around 55 deg. C when I'm just browsing the net and I can't seem to make it any lower - I have the back propped up with a book so air flow shouldn't be a problem