My P-6860fx is HOT!!

Is it normal for a 6860 to run extremely hot? Mine does!

It's very uncomfortable to have it on my lap, even when I'm just doing stuff on the internet like right now.

THE BOTTOM:

Almost the whole front of the laptop is hot, probably because of the hard drive. If I put my hand just over the place where the hard drive resides it's very hot, my hand will get sweaty just feeling it. And the area where *I think* the memory is (extending down to the battery) is very warm as well. End result, it's totally uncomfortable to use on my lap.

THE TOP:

The entire right side of the laptop, including the keyboard & the place where your hand rests, is very uncomfortably warm. Again, sweaty uncomfortable hands Even the back of the LCD screen (right above the right vent) is warm.

HW MONITOR



CONCLUSION

Is this really normal? I find it hard to believe Gateway sells laptops for $1,300 dollars that you can't have on your LAP.

And before someone asks: No, I'm not blocking much of the air vents with my legs. And yes, I do have a notebook cooler, but it's not exactly portable as it doesn't fit in my bag.

Thanks for any responses. I'm kind of freaked out I have a defective laptop.

 

I noticed if you cover the GPU vent on the bottom just the slightest bit it will heat up ALOT.

 

Is this idle or what?

 

They are called notebooks now for a reason. Your not supposed to use desktop replacements on your lap.

The temps are a bit high, but thats probably because your using it on your lap. Place it on a hard flat surface and i'm willing to bet the temps will drop 10degrees (in most of the figures maybe not the CPU)

But honestly if those Max temps are as high as your notebook gets, then no worries those arent bad max temps at all.

And yes some parts of the 6860 can get really warm to the touch is your not letting it breath like it wants to. Remember you have a desktop replacement gaming rig, with some pretty powerful hardware inside. Imagine putting a 2 year old computers motherboard 1in from your leg and see if thats warm or not

 

If it's idling, the GPU and CPU scores look a tad high. The HDD temp looks perfectly fine.

 

Kamin - I only had HW Monitor open while I wrote my above post, the "max temps" were recorded during that time. If I play a game (or do anything intensive) the temperatures get way, way higher.

If the HDD temp is fine, frankly I'm surprised. It's really uncomfortable..

 

you are not supposed to put it on your lap btw, i won't only burn itself and also your legs.

 

ok, then we'll start from the beginning

1. Make sure to always use your computer on a solid flat surface. Ventilation is critical in a desktop replacement gaming rig. The componets can get VERY hot VERY quickly so anything obstructing ventilation will tend to lead to a rise in temps rather quickly.

2. When was the last time the machine was dusted out? Remember canned air is your friend and dust build up can be a very quick way to a toasty laptop. I recommend doing a pretty through cleaning about once a month. Canned air and some q-tips will usually do the job, but every now and then opening the back up and cleaning it particularly well helps

3. Have you updated Drivers on the GPU? Some of the newer drivers will run more efficently and therefore cooler at idle loads (due to down clocking when needed)

4. Have you undervolted your CPU? This will lower your CPU temps ALOT and give you a generally cooler running machine

 

1. So, no more lappy time then?

2. I haven't cleaned it, ever. I bought it about five months ago. I've never cleaned it because I'm a little afraid of opening it up

3. My driver version is 7.15.11.7766, I'm assuming that's not the newest version?

4. No, I haven't done this. It sounds like I need to though. It is fairly easy (and non-destructive) to do?

Thanks.

 

no need to open it up, just get a compressed air can.

 

yeh compressed air works very well when blown thru the vents.....did this to mine the other day. It needed it.

 

Is it safe to use compressed air to blow right on the fan?

 

not unless you want to get a non-gaming rig. Those tend to be a good deal most laptop-ish than ones that can play Crysis at a reasonable level

no need to open the back. Jsut blow out the vent with canned air. I only really recommend opening the computer us about once a year for a deep clean.

i've never even heard of that driver... though it could be the stock one becaus ei honestly cant remember what it was called. Follow Iamtheanimals guide to driver upgrading and you will find the process painless. I suggest trying a couple of different drivers to see which one you like. I use 175.63 because its hella stable, but some of the new ones are ALOT more powerful so really its all about personal preferance

Follow Flipfires guide to undervolting and you will really be amazed with the results. If your still using the stock CPU then i suggest cutting out alot of the voltage steps and just start with 1.000 volts and go down from there. Most of the time the stock CPU will undervolt to .95 volts with no problems

no worries mate, thats why we're here

yep, just turn off the computer and start cleaning

 

try elevating your laptop a little. Helped with my 6860 - used to get pretty hot as well. not anymore just use a book or something.

 

If those are your gaming temps then there is nothing wrong with your laptop. HOT is a subjective term. What feels HOT to one person may feel WARM to another. I would say it runs warm. Stiill, the advice given in the posts before this one is good advice to follow. If you block a vent, those temps will go up very quickly.

 

I actually did all of those except blowing out the vents. It lowered my idle around 2C on my GPU making it 42C. The CPU might have lowered 1C.

Max temps are now 55C instead of 57C for CPU when running Orthos.
GPU is 68C instead of 73C when playing Crysis.

 

good temps there, man

 

Thanks
Since the CPU never stays at 100% all the time it never got above 50C when playing Crysis.

An that GPU test was for only like 10 or 15 minutes so it would most likely get up into the 70's if I played longer.

And for reference this was tested at 70F.