Issues with heat on T500

Hi, I've had my T500 for nearly three years now and it's been a joy. It still works like a charm, however, I've started to become a bit more serious in 3d modeling and animation - and this is where my problem arise. I'm currently trying to render out an animation, which is taking roughly 3-4 hours (possibly up to 12 hours with more advanced settings). After just 2 minutes of rendering, the computer is steaming hot and Core Temp records the temperature on both cores (Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo T9600, Penryn) to 90 degrees. Actually, as high as 96 degrees.

I bought a laptop cooler to help lead the heat away from the laptop, which I do believe helps, but the CPU still runs at 90 degrees - how long can it keep up like this, until it burns up?

What are my options here, except buying a new laptop ofc

Would underclocking the CPU help on the heat?

Also, a very silly question. If I limited my 3d software to only use one of the cores and it happened to die. Would I be able to run my laptop on just the other one?


Any help is highly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

Might seem dumb but have you cleaned and dusted your heat vents\heat sink?

You could always get crazy and tear about your T500 and reapply the thermal paste.

 

1.- That seems extremely high. The highest I've ever seen my T500 go was when discrete graphics were also enabled, playing Mass Effect 2 on high settings during the summer: my P8700 hit a high of 78 degrees. 96 degrees is getting dangerously close to the maximum tolerated temperature of the Core 2 Duo processors.

Is the fan working (at that temperature it should be fairly loud and pushing out a ton of hot air)? Are you on integrated or discrete graphics?

2.- You could try cleaning the heat exhausts (best course of action would be to open up the laptop and secure the fan blades, then use compressed air), and if it still doesn't help, you may need to replace your thermal compound.

3.- No, underclocking won't really help unless you limit your CPU to a low speed even at high load, since it sounds like you're using your CPU 100% anyway. In that case, it would technically lower the temperature, yes, but it'd also take a lot longer to render your animation.

4.- Generally speaking, CPUs very, very rarely "die." One core certainly won't die just because you're placing load on it. And besides, the two cores are on the same die anyway.

 

I'm on the discrete graphics card, but it's the same on the integrated. The fan is really quiet, even when the cpu is hammering away at 90 degrees. Every once in a while though, it turns on for a duration of maybe half a minute and then goes back to being silent again (I don't know if that means it's not doing anything). It doesn't quite feel right.

I've never "torn up" a laptop before. How easy is the T500 to open up, without doing more damage than good?

If underclocking is possible, I might give it a go. I am going to invest in a desktop at some point, but it won't be in the next couple of months, so I can't really afford to have this one die on me. What can you recommend for underclocking and are there any risks doing so (eg. putting it too low, so the machine won't run properly or similar)? I wouldn't mind slower render times, if I knew I didn't have to worry about it failing due to heat.

Thanks both for the quick replies.

 

your heatsink is likely busted, I had a T500 back in 08. I had temps up to 110c. burned it self out shortly after warranty expired. visa insurance jsut gave me a check to buy a new one. my guess is the heatpipe leaked and lost most of it's cooling ability.

 

If that's the case, what are my options then? Underclock and be happy for it, however long it might last?

It seems to handle most things just fine though. Temp on both cores are between 45-55 normally, when browsing forums, bit of video/music and a few programs open. It was up on 70 degrees yesterday while using Skype though, and that seems a bit extreme, compared to what MidnightSun said about his max. temperature being 78.

 

You'll want to underVOLT rather than underCLOCK. Do this using RMClock. There's a bunch of tutorials floating around.

Best to reapply your thermal paste. May have dried out or something.

T500 Hardware Maintenance Manual here:
Lenovo Support - Hardware Maintenance Manual - ThinkPad T500 and W500
It's not too difficult to get at the heatsink.

 

Did you get extended warranty at all? most credit cards give you an extra year so if you got 2 or 3 year warranty from lenovo they will pay to fix it.