xps 1340 temp goes up when idle

Hello everybody!

I have a Dell XPS 1340, P8700, 9500M GS.

I noticed that when idle the temperature slowly goes up to 65C, then the fan kicks in, lowers it to 45 and stops. The temperature goes up again and in about 2 minutes it is already 65 again.
The process repeats indefinitely. This happens no matter the discrete card is on or off.

Is this normal? Thanks!

 

Do you have windows set up correctly so the MHz and voltage drop down at idle? If you are using Vista or Windows 7 make sure that the Power Options -> Minimum processor state is set to a low number like 5% and if you are using XP then go in and make sure that the Power Scheme is set to a Mobile/Laptop processor. That will help take some of the heat out of your CPU at idle. Also make sure that it is actually idle. Some computers have a lot of junk endlessly running in the background working the CPU and creating heat.

 

Thanks for the reply, unclewebb!

This behavior happens all the time, even if I change the power options to Save Power. I also disabled most of the applications that start automatically with Windows so I think that, yeah, it shouldn't be happening.

In fact, the same thing happens on Linux even when I have the X graphical server off. I booted on Linux, killed the graphical interface and other unnecessary applications, checked the temperature for some minutes and the same thing happens.

Both CPU and GPU temperatures go up to around 65/68 each and then the fan kicks in.

 

What does CPU-Z report at idle? Post a screen shot if you can. It should be showing about 800 MHz and the voltage should be nice and low too. These CPUs don't put out a lot of heat when idle so the heatsink might not be snug or it might need the paste re-applied.

 

Thank you again, unclewebb!

Here goes the screenshot:

 

The P8700 should support SLFM which is Super Low Frequency Mode where the total MHz will drop down to about 800 MHz and the core voltage should go down to somewhere around 0.875 volts at idle. Every CPU is unique but that's a general guideline.

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I'm just in the process of reworking ThrottleStop for better Core 2 support so hopefully within a day or two I'll have something for you to test to see if you can get your CPU to use SLFM mode which might help keep the core temperature down at idle.

I think you're still blocked from sending PM messages so if you want some new software to test sooner then just send me an e-mail to [email protected] or wait a day or two and I'll post a general download link here.

This is the previous version:
ThrottleStop 1.94
http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/3/3/1794507/ThrottleStop.zip

If SLFM mode is working it should show the multiplier dropping down from 6 to 3 at idle in the monitoring section. When you first start up ThrottleStop it is in monitoring mode only so it won't hurt anything. You can also adjust the VID voltage to see what range it reports for your CPU. As long as the Voltage box isn't checked it won't change anything. You should be able to adjust this to less than 1.00 volt which is your LFM Low Frequency Mode voltage.