Compaq Presario (hot potato)

This is the third Compaq Presario laptop I have purchased. My previous laptops were great and just passed on to family members when I upgraded. The one I bought this year is quite the little hot potato.

I have the V4000T (Pentium M processor 1.86 GHz 1.06 GHz 1.00GB RAM) internal wifi, big fabulous screen, etc.. I really do love it but I sent it back twice now due to heat from the CPU so much so that the top half of the mouse was almost too hot to touch. They replaced the CPU once, but otherwise found nothing wrong with it. The only way I can use it is sitting on a cool pad and the mouse is just typically warm then. It performs well, but I will always worry about what is causing that heat.

I personally think it must be a bad design to run that hot. I am techno-challenged, but just wonder what others are doing for this...if they have the same issue.

 

Well, getting a bit warm is typical for any laptop. But if the heat is too uncomfortable then all I can suggest is calling HP and complaining enough so that they exchange the laptop or fix it.

How hot is it getting anyway? Try using a software like Mobile Meter( http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/System-Info/MobileMeter.shtml) or NHC( http://www.pbus-167.com/chc.htm) and see if you can get a temperature reading for the CPU.

 

I have a Compaq V4000T and I don't have the problem you described.
The system runs really cool 90% of the time.
The ONLY time it heats up is A OR B:
A) I'm plugged into AC Power and the X700 Graphics PowerPlay feature automatically switches to "Max Performance" AND I'm playing a game
B) I'm on the bed, and the bottom fan is totally blocked. And even then, I usually can talk on Skype for 1-2 hours without the system reaching overheat temps. Sure, it gets extremly warm.. But officially according to the temp software, its still below officially overheating.

Pent. M 2.0 Ghz
512 MB RAM
X700 128 MB Dedicated.

The ONLY time I see any heat problems whatsoever is if you play games for hours upon hours without stopping and you don't have enough space where the vent is (underneith and in the back). The BIOS on the laptop seems to automatically slow down the GPU&CPU when it is overheating and/or shut off the system. I've only had this happen to me once when I was playing BattleField 2 with the laptop on my bed (and totally blocking the vent). I was only going to play for 10-15 minutes before I went to sleep but ended up playing for 30+ minutes. And even then, although the laptop was officially overheating, I didn't consider it that hot. IE: I could place my fingers on the touchpad and keep them there for minutes without pain/extreme discomfort.

And for me, the CPU isn't what is generating the heat at all.. I seems like 70% or more of the heat is coming from the GPU. (And yes, I've monitored it with temp software).

According to MobMeter, the CPU maxes out at about 95C (203 Fahrenheit)
and the GPU at 75C (165 Fahrenheit).


You say "the top half of the mouse"? Do you mean the touchpad?
Check your Power Management. Make sure you're set to Laptop/Portable.
Then check your ATI PowerPlay settings.. Make sure its set so when running off of battery, the GPU is in max battery mode. (Generates less than half the heat from my observations)

Keep in mind that from an efficiency/power savings point of view, all else being equal, it is better that the cooling management on the laptop keeps the system running hotter rather than cooler. Remember physics class..
The fan must work much harder when the laptop is closer to room temperature to remove heat from the system. If the laptop is very hot, then the fan needs to do much less work to remove heat from the system because of the extreme difference of temperature from the air coming in and the temp of the laptop. So from an efficiency/design perspective, it is much better that the cooling management is calibrated to allow the system to get rather warm rather than wastefully burning up battery power trying to keep the system close to room temperature.

Unless the heat is causing the laptop to malfunction/crash/other problems.. Then I'd say there is nothing wrong with the design of the laptop

 

I have the v4000t as well with the x700 card. I have not had any of the problems that you described and I play BF2 and Call of Duty. I would recomend that you use Notebook Hardware Contol. You can change the settings so the laptop doesn't use all of its avalible power when you are not playing games. I always use a cooler when playing games. Almost everyone who plays games on a laptop needs one.
Tim

 

I will have to print out the info you have shared, so I can research further. Idid update the BIOS when I did an online chat prior to sending it in. I don't play games. I do a lot of chatting, posting on boards, building slide shows, working on website, so don't think it is something that will cause a problem. Thanks for the info, I will check it out further.

 

Try adjusting powerplay settings.

And I used to have a v4000t and I can say that it got much warmer than my current notebook but it was never too uncomfortable under normal (non-gaming) operation. I do remember the area right about the touchpad getting very warm during gaming.

And I do think that it boils down to a poor cooling system on the v4000t. If notebooks are designed correctly, they should not require a cooling pad. My current notebook offers exactly the same performance as my old v4000t and I can play battlefield 2 for hours and hours without temperatures ever going above 60 degrees celcius. Even more surprising is that the fan never reaches near the noise or speed levels of my old v4000t.

 

I had the exact same heating problem on my v4000t. Eventually, the screen just started powering down anytime I brought up anything graphic-intense. I always, always, always used a coolpad when I played games and it didn't seem to help. I got the thing in Feb of this year and it has gone back to service 3 times. I've said it many times before, the v4000t has a very poor cooling solution. Last week HP/Compaq finally agreed to replace mine and hooked me up with the sweet machine in my signature

 

wow!! shouldnt we love hp (any company for that matter which gives such wonderfull configuration as a replacement unit.........)