Dell Studio overheating problems: Touchpad too hot to touch.

I am pasting a screenshot of the results that I got

 

Ok I've moved your post to the appropriate forum.

sachinsharma188 has a Studio 1555 of which the touchpad gets so hot that he burns his fingers on it. He has contacted Dell, but Dell has been unable to fix the problem (even after replacing three parts).

He could send the laptop back to Dell but I thought maybe someone here is able to get to the root of the problem.
I told sachinsharma188 to run Coretemp, maybe that could give some info. His GPU is ATI 4570. Does anyone know of software to read the temp of that?

@ sachinsharma188, your CPU does not seem to be the problem. Those temps look fine.

 

HWmonitor maybe?

 

Hello All. I´ve just received my Studio 1555 today. After using it for about 1 hour or so I´ve also noticed the touchpad gets uncomfortably hot (I´ve used many laptops - and this is really hot!!!). Will be calling Dell ASAP!

(I´m a newbie here: Phil, where´s the appropriate forum?)

Peace all.

 

HWMonitor shows the temperatures of the CPU, graphics card, hard drive, chipset, etc. If anything is dangerously hot, it will give a better idea than CoreTemp.

 

LOL.. you call 47 degrees celsius hot? I run my intel atom CPU low to mid 70s before I even turn on the heatsink fan.

Anyways.. do you have a thermometer? Sometimes, even 40-50degrees celsius object can give you a burning sensation.

 

I don't think he calls it hot. It was his touchpad that was getting too hot to touch.

So going by the CPU temps the CPU is not the cause. Maybe it's the GPU?

Welcome here, I moved it to the Dell forum.

 

Again, he should use HWmonitor to see the temps of all the other components so we'll have an idea if anything is running too hot. The fact his CPU is alright doesn't tell us anything.

If the OP is still interested because he hasn't replied since.....

Phil, maybe point him towards the thread? He was new so he might not have subscribed to his own thread and might've lost track

 

Well it tells us that the CPU is probably not the cause.

Good idea, I just send him a PM.

 

can't argue with that

 

Yeah sorry for not posting here guys...I've already returned the laptop to Dell so I cant run any more tests!
Dell agreed to offer me a full refund...I'll probably be going for a SONY VAIO or HP now...I'm not too happy with Dell

@ jackluo923

I'm not calling 47 degrees hot...I am calling the touchpad hot and when the Dell engineer came it was so hot that he couldnt even use it...he had to ask for the mouse...and he immediately agreed to change the laptop

 

I noticed last night my 1555 touchpad was getting very hot.
For me it only happens on 2d as the fan kicks in rarely.

The laptop was on for around three hours and constantly downloading my steam catalogue (so constant use of my 7200 320gb HD)

All temps seem low through HWMonitor and the base of the laptop was cool but the touch pad is actually uncomfortable to use.

going to investigate a bit more but having looked at the systems cooling unit I am not surprised (tiny fan, poor heat sinks with thermal pads, no heat spreaders for the gfx card heat sink, gfx heatsink conducting rod is just stuck to the rear of the fan)

I wish I could regulate the fan myself, I would rather it ran continously on low in 2d to alleviate this heat

 

Hello All.

My temps were very similar to sachinsharma´s - highest CPU temp of 54ºC - nothing spectacular (I have the T4200, toshiba 250GB 5400 HDD)
I also left the laptop on for about 2 hours (installed a few programmes, internet stuff etc) and the touchpad got hot, uncomfortably so! Base of laptop was hot in the corresponding zone of the touchpad.

I decided to contact Dell - hell I´ve only had the laptop a few days.

They directed me to reinstall the Bios (A06), which I´ve done. Could it be a fan problem?
They also mentioned that I should take the base lid off on the underside and physically feel where the heat is coming from. I took it off and it the area the corresponding zone was indeed hot!

Awaiting response from Dell (I live in Spain BTW).

I´ve always had a good experience with Dell (here and in the U.K), let´s hope they can sort this out.

Peace all

 

maxi, I havent had chance to check inside case for heat yet as I was too busy installing bits yesterday but could you feel what was generating the most heat?
I will also check mine when I get home from work

ie RAM/Hard Drive/WIFI/Other?

Also have you noticed if upgrading the BIOS improved anything?

 

So far in using the laptop for about a week I haven't noticed the touchpad getting hot. The underside of the laptop does get warm though. Is it just T6400 CPU causing all the heat - I have P8600? Or could it be that there are already slight hardware variations in the 1555 being shipped?

 

I have a P8600 in mine. What HD and wifi have you got zeekr?

Also I only noticed it last night when I spent 3 hours Downloading and patching, when I play a game and the fan kicks in the touchpad cools down

 

I'm wishing the fan would kick in a little sooner. It seems to either be either on low when surfing the web or LOUD when playing recent games.

 

What type of video card and wireless card do you have?

 

I have the ATI 4570 256MB, Intel 5300 WiFi and Toshiba 160GB 7200 RPM drive.

I have noticed that the moment the CPU exceeds 48C (measured using RealTemp) the fan kicks up to its second level speed - here is where it's slightly audible but still not loud. Playing games or running Prime95 causes the fan to go to an even higher speed.

 

I'm having this same problem with my new Inspiron 1545.

The touchpad is annoyingly hot and uncomfortable.

I've been putting a cloth on top of it in order to rest my hands on it while typing. The heat seems centered in the area of the touchpad and radiates out from there across the rest of the keyboard handrest area.

I created my own thread asking about his here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=416520

It was suggested that the wireless card (Wireless WLAN 1397 Half MiniCard (4312bg)) may be the problem so I tried disabling that in the BIOS but that has no effect.

Any hints appreciated if there are ideas on how to fix this.

 

Intel CPU have a safety tolerance they can reach, like 100 degrees C before they fail.

47 is nothing

 

Does anyone have a 1545 with a Touchpad that *doesn't* get annoyingly hot?? I'm trying to figure out if this is just a design flaw or something is wrong with my specific PC.

I've used laptops before and have never had one like this, where the touchpad is so hot that I had to insulate my hand with a cloth. If I had known it would be like this I would not even have bought it. I hate it.

 

This is a typical case for claiming warranty.

If you don't want to do that, try the undervolting guide

 

When you say claiming warranty, does that mean that something IS wrong? Therefore that calling Dell they'll do something and FIX it somehow? I ask that because I still haven't figured out if this is just something wrong with my machine or common to all 1545s, that it is just a design flaw vs something wrong with my machine.

And about the undervolting guide, that was mentioned to me in my thread as a general thing to do to reduce heat overall, but I just haven't had the time to research it enough to pursue that. I just don't have enough free time to mess with it anymore (other than use it to get work done).

Plus now that I also know/realized that my heat problem seems to be associated specifically with the touch pad rather than a general thing, I don't even know if undervolting applies to this anymore (????).

 

My 1545 only gets hot when in touchpad area when using the wireless card heavily, and even then, it's not so hot that I need to insulate my fingers or anything. I'd suggest contacting Dell if disabling the wireless did not reduce the temperature - something else may very well be the issue here. Undervolting is a good idea, but the CPU is located away from the touchpad, and besides, it shouldn't be something you have to do.

 

Just surfing the net, mine reaches 58C. Yesterday I was playing CS and reached 76C underload. Thats a bit hot right?

 

CRAP.. I own a Dell 1555 which I received last week and I think I should check the temperatures too :| I did notice when I switched from my latitude that the touchpad is warmer, but not UNCOMFORTABLY warm. Does the P7350 help? Because I have that processor. And ati 4570.

 

HWMonitor does not give me my GPU temperature! Neither does GPU-Z!!! HWmonitor gives me ACPI, CPU(which is at 55C and I'm not even doing anything!), and HD temperature!

I don't have much time before I can return this Dell! Should I be concerned?!

 

I believe that Everest should give you the GPU temperature for this machine. Not all of the programs seem to pick it up for some reason.

 

I have noticed that the temp of my mouse pad does get hot, but not so hot i can barely touch it. But it is uncomfortable so built my own laptop cooler and put a fan right below where the mouse pad is and its ok now, but i will admit the design of the Dell Studio 1555 sucks, i wish there was a way to put both fans on..

 

It's common to use low grade cooling, whether it be poor quality fans, heatsinks, or thermal compound (esp the type that hardens over time) in order to cause eventual failure, after your warranty is up of course.

 

This I believe is heat generated from your wireless card. If you are quite close to your wireless, or have a very good signal, you might want to switch it to low or medium power mode; and switch it off when not using. You'll notice a massive difference to the touchpad area.

Absolute rubbish. I've had mainstream Dell notebooks that have lasted 5+ years of regular usage. It is true for the most part that you wont get premium parts on a non premium product; but they hardly fit sub standard parts!

 

You would say that given your affection and affiliation with Dell

The screen on the last Dell desktop I had went bang 4 days out of the warranty period; not sure how they engineer it so close to perfection hehe..

 

5+ years ago Dell made good laptops, now they can sell based on image and brand identification. From my perspective these Dell forums have more threads complaining about problems of all sorts than any other manufacturer forum. Furthermore it's pretty sad that in 2010 with so much effort being put in to engineering low-power components and Dell cant manage to offer a low-budget notebook that doesnt run so hot you cant even touch it.

Really? REALLY? You are really trying to say this?

 

How can I check the temperature of my laptop? anyone knows? please help me ?

 

It is coming from the wireless card. I opened my 1747 to see what was so hot and that's what it is. It really is poorly planned. My 1705, 1720 and even my husband's 1737 stay cool all across the palmrest. The Studio XPS 1640 has the same heat issue.

I don't think it is the card as much as it is the new tapered design that Dell is using. There isn't enough room for airflow under the palmrest.

I've posted before that I get better cooling if I remove the battery. Plus elevating the front of the laptop helps. When gaming I take out the battery and set the front edge on top of the feet of my laptop table. It has 2 feet that keep the laptop from sliding off the table when angled. I bought a cooler but get better results this way.

 

No I am not trying to sat that; I DID say that. Now if you are happy with a slightly warm touchpad, then don't follow this simple advice. Otherwise, you will notice reduced temperature if you do.

In reality, the vast majority of people will be situated close enough to their wireless router so that they can turn the settings down.

For anyone suggesting I have affection for Dell - not at all. I actually have notebooks from Sony, ASUS, & HP in regular use, and have previously owned Sagers, IBM / lenovo, and a multitude of notebook manufacturers that do not exist now. For the record I prefer different notebooks for different reasons, but I contribute mostly to the Dell forums, hence that is why the Dell logo is on my signature.

This heat problem by the wireless card IS NOT RESTRICTED to Dells alone by any standard. I have the same problem with both my Sony and HP; all of which use the same wireless card as my Dell. I do think it is due to poor design - manufacturers are used to putting a wireless card in the same spot, but with better wireless cards available, they should rethink where these get placed to ensure optimal airflow.

That said, you own the notebook. Either sell it, return it to Dell, or live with it.

 

Yeah except he didn't say it was slightly warm, "slightly warm" would not be a problem. He said it was too hot to touch, there's no way a wireless card gets THAT hot. This forum is full of heat complaints to the point that it is clear Dell is not interested in providing acceptable cooling schemes from which I can only conclude they are not interested in providing long-lasting notebooks but rather disposable machines that need to be purchased every 1-2 years.

 

Too right

 

Dell Inspiron/Latitude/Precision fan control utility

 

I've been using this on my Inspiron laptops for years but it doesn't work on my Studio 1747.

 

Strange, maybe that particular model isnt support
It works fine on my 1537 which is going back for the "n"th time!

 

Are you using Windows 7 or Vista? The driver isn't signed for Windows 7 and it won't allow you to install.

 

Vista 32Bit Home Premium

 

My GPU gets to 98 degrees when im just play second life, which i know takes ALOT of resources. But i think 98 is just to hot. So i shut it down, i rather not do that..

 

hey guys, ive turned my wireless card off using F2, but my touchpad is still pretty hot, shud i disable it in device manager or what?

 

My system powered off abruptly. I was watching BluRay rip movie while laptop was on the bed (lack of airflow).It was very hot in the back. Room temperature was around 30 degree. I switched it on again and took the temperatures in Everest Stress Test. Temperatures were like this:
CPU 97 deg
GPU 70 deg
Motherboard 26 deg
HDD 58 deg

Advice me, it is certainly not normal.

Dell studio 1557 | Core i7 Q720 | ATI 4570 | 4GB 1033Mhz ddr3 Ram | 500gb 7200rpm | Full HD WLED | Dell wireless 1520 mini card