Update on the HOT 31

So the 31 still runs hot, but during normal usage, heavy web, compiling of documents it never seemed to bad.

Today I decided to clean up my hdd with the Windows Disk Cleanup utility and while it looks for the compressed old files, and while it is cleaning those, the I5 overclocks, as it is supposed. This results in the fan going full blast and the CPU howevering around 100 degree Celsius.

Although the i5 may be designed to run hotter (like the new NVIDEA cards, they are always around 90C) I am sure that 100C is pushing it, seeing how the quoted max is 105C at which point the CPU clocks down.

Again, panny says this is normal and I won't open it up until the warranty runs out, or panny tells me i can open it up to see if I can find a fix for it without voiding my warrenty

aside from this I am very impressed with this mashine, so look out for my full review. I hopefully will some time over the break to write it up.

 

Wow! 100 C converts to 212 F. A CPU that will boil water Unbelievable this is acceptable.

 

Has anyone sat in a shallow puddle? Even then I would not sit anything 100C in my lap.

 

How warm is it to your touch? How long do you think you could keep your hand on the bottom of the case?

Do you have one of those handheld infared temp tools? I would like to know what the temps are at various places on the puter.

If you complain too much they will just go in and make a change to the BIOS and lower the power, meaning lower temps. That's what really sucks about it!

My "Netbook Processor" CF-30 MK3 is running a cool 68 degrees right now while running my Malwarebytes, Outlook, IE with 5 tabs on, and charging. Gotta love those 30's

 

On my 540 chipped 31 the fan never comes on unless I run the ATI graphics. Then it runs constantly.

 

As well it should be, or in other words be glad it does!

 

The laptop never gets hot, heck, it never even gets warm.

 

Old Busted can you run Prime95 and record the temps?

thanks

 

So the actual computer does not get warm when you are seeing the high temps?

 

correct, it never gets hot. It gets to the point where it is NOT cold to the touch.

 

I believe, from the reviews I read on laptop temp tests they take the between the G and H key on the KB.

 

No the keyboard even stays cool, it is the palm rests that will get slightly warmed up. I will try to get a infrared temp monitor.

 

Then the HDD is what your feeling. Mine used to get warmer under severe read and writes until I switched all mine over to SSD's. I think the CPU is more in the center? Is that correct KittyKitty

Take your battery out and see if that side stops getting warm. You might also try setting your battery to High Temp in the setup and see if that helps as well.

 

The battery doesn't get warm, I just checked.

HDD stays at a comfy 30C even under load.

 

Whoever in Panasonic says that is normal is speaking complete and utter bull. Was it just one of the answer-the-phone-monkeys that they have working a call centre do you think?

That is *not* normal, and also not anywhere near the temp I get on the base of my CF-31.

 

I think he's talking about a reading from an internal sensor on the MB, not case temp. Not sure I'd want to keep my coffee warm just by setting it on the wrist rest. Although...

 

Even so, 100C'ish inside the case is ludicrous, and I stick to my earlier comments about it in no way being normal!

 

no I send the 31 in (fantastic service btw) to heartland. The engenieers looked at it, ran the benchmark on the units they had, all acted the same, and concluded that the unit was "operating within specifications".

Also the pam rest doesn't get warm enough to warm the coffee.

 

Does the 31 have the PC Info Software? If so, it will tell you how many times it has been over the temp threshold. The next time you are feeling that it is running hot run that program and see what the temp says. It takes a snap shot of the current state of the computer.

 

My max temp on the pc info app was 43ºC.

 

Ummm... guys...

Not looking to belabor the obvious, but... are we ABSOLUTELY sure it isn't something as simple as a monitor software displaying degrees F when it says it's displaying degrees C?

Just a silly notion that crossed my mind... maybe should try several different bits of monitor software to validate this.

mnem
Poking dead mules with a stick since 1979...

 

No, I am in the dark on these models

Waiting patiently for a member that has issues with his cf-31 , remembers the good old models and wants to swap it for my old school cf-30

Hopefully they pulled the bottom off to look for thermal pad contact
It's like having a corvette that the manufacturer has installed a big block and forgot to upgrade the radiator

Great for 1/4 mile runs , but for a road race ,you are forced to slow down to keep the overheating in check

If they cannot cool the processor properly ,there is no benefit to upgrading to the faster processor, best to stick with an I3

 

OK: I guess I was not clear before.

The TEMP reaches 105C as monitored by Core Temp.

105C is the THERMAL MAX of the i5.

I know this is not a false reading because the i5 clocked down (intells protection mechanism).

 

The i3 and i5 have the same max TDP so id think both are in trouble if run with 4 threads.

For single threads however only the i5 gets in trouble because of its turbo boost function.

 

If this is the case, then the stock cooling solution is either faulty or simply inadequate. There should not EVER be a time where SOFTWARE LOAD ONLY can cause a machine to go into thermal shutdown; this is absolutely a warrantable issue.

You paid a premium price for the most processor power you can get in a ToughBook; you have the right to expect to use it to its full potential. "Operating the same as all the others we tried" is simply not an acceptable excuse.

Send Ed Bott at ZDNet an eMail; I bet they'd love to investigate this.

mnem
HOT topic...

 

i5 540 is the max processor. Just sayin...

Edit:

Ran the Prime95/core temp thing with the intel graphics and it shot up to 105ºC instantly. So, they do that. It held there without throttling back too much. Speeds varied from 2.2 to 2.7GHZ and temps followed with a range of 78 to 105ºC. Mostly it hummed along at 100/2.5

Turned on the ATI graphics and the starting temp jumped from 34 to 50ºC at idle. Performance lagged a little, with Prime95 getting only 2.4 out of the chip at 100.

My air cooled Conroe E6700 chipped desktop maxed out at 54ºC at 2.66 under Prime95.

Ambient was 72ºF.

I see cooling mods being a popular future topic.

Further bulletins as events warrant.

Edit edit:

Idle (1-5% load) temps with the ATI graphics settled down a bit, ranging between 34-50ºC, averaging around 40. Temps drop almost instantly back to idle levels after stopping the Prime 95 torture test. In normal use I still can't get the fan to spin with the intel graphics running.

 

maybe your temp program is faulty

 

That was my initial reaction. After looking at all the variables Core Temp monitors, comparing the results obtained on other machines, and contemplating my navel, I am confident these things run hot as a June bride on a featherbed when you ask them to run both cores at 100%. Since I will never need it to do that (dude, my CF-17 was doing just fine until the evil wizards at GE wrote software that won't run on 98) I will blissfully enjoy the 30 second boot time and all the other bells and whistles til I get bored with them and throw it in the back of the truck with the 17.

That said, the included Panasonic PC monitor app still reports a max temp of 43ºC. That value did not change after running the Prime95 test. Right. The fan was running like an electrocuted crack addict and the temp never made a new high. I'm far more skeptical of that metric. Assuming, of course, it's a metric and not some static specification value.

 

We have confirmed that this is not the case as the internal Intel protection kicks in an thortels.

First: you need four threads to max out this CPUs multitasking ability (2 cores times 2 for multithreading).

Second, this is the best feature of the i5: dynamic overclocking, the 520m runs at 2.4GHz, but if only one core is demanded it can go up to 2.933 GHz.

So if you have a single threaded application you suddenly get a 3Ghz beast. Not quite as it will immediately reach max T if it overclocks in such a fashion .

We will see.

BTW: I have also noticed the display not getting along with cold. Old Busted: if you can cool your TB down to below 50F leave it in such an environment over night to make sure its nice and frosty, then without warming it up, turn it on, and let me know if you notice anything strange about the display.

Edit: Old Busted if you do this, make sure when you turn it on you put the display brightness to min as soon as possible.

 

It lives in the truck and so far no issues if I fire it up in the AM. A frigid 45º here in San Diego.

edit:

What edit?