NP8662 heat issues

Hi, I was thinking about buying the NP8662 for gaming/ school.

After doing some research on it, I found a lot of issues regarding the HDD heating up past 60c on Sager models


Picture from Harky's reviews on the NP8662 says that the HDD goes to 60c when IDLE! has this problem been fixed or should i consider another laptop for my budget.

< $2000

 

My idle temperature is around 52. During high workloads, ex. transfers, copying, installing, etc, it can go up to 60C but for me, that doesn't happen too often to worry. Most of the time, it hangs around at 55 which is fine.

I don't know what Harky's problem is.

 

as long as you updated the Intel Matrix Storage drivers (when using Vista) and optimize the background services/programs (that are accessing the HDD constantly)... then you should be fine.

Also...

The main issues usually stem from people and their different software installed.

Vista is infamous for having a lot of background stuff happening and constantly accessing the HDD... causing your HDD to be hotter.

As compared to XP, you just need to disable Indexing Service, and thats all is need to keep the HDD cooler.

Also, people install different anti-virus (malware) and utilities suites that also constantly access the HDD to make sure the system is clean and healthy... not really caring about temps.

That is my theory since it seems to be the most plausible... especially if most have the same HDDs.

I have done some tests of my own the some M860TU's around me.... the main factors are:
(in order of importance)
- ambient temp
- software (like I said above)
- type/model of HDD

Add-ons/mods that help:
- a good notebook cooler
- modding the bottom panel to give active cooling to the HDD with the cooler

 

why not people just choose the 5400RPM HDDs? its a safe way i think...

 

some 5400 rpm drives actually run hotter...go figure.

I've got two of these np8662s on order and can's wait to see what the temps are going to be....

 

i dont think it is hotter since that it is running on lower speeds , thus producing less heat...
when 5400rpm HDDS are hotter than 7200rpm ones...then there got problem with the laptop cooling system

 

I also have the same worry. I was planning on getting this laptop for college/gaming but after all these hdd overheating issues im double thinking this purchase. I know of the solutions you talked about Gophn, but this problem shouldn't have happened in the first place. My laptop has indexing on but it never overheats. I am disappointed that such a high quality laptop has this issue, especially coming from Sager.

 

the percent of people that has this issue are extremely small.... compared to the majority that has no issues.

forums are usually where people would come to post issues... rarely ever praise.

think about that.

 

Actually, there's been more people with 5400rpm with this issue than 7200rpm. I don't know why.

Also, Skull and yz, out of thousands of those purchasing 8662, the number of people having this problem is quite small. This kind of problem that affect small portion of the whole exists in all systems. I, for one, do not have this issue. In fact, it's running at 49C in idle right now without a cooler or anything else.

 

Thanks Gophn and sabricaze. Didn't think of that. People usually post issues on forums. Lol...I just reconsidered purchasing this laptop. Just might go with a 7200rpm hdd.

 

Ok I've got plenty of experience with the hdd hotness so I'll post whatever I've noticed (Goes in the same way as what Gophn described):
My processes and startup programs are clean. I've got a 320 GB 7200 RPM that runs cooler than some 5400 RPM I've seen here..

In vista, with ambient temperature at 20c, my hdd idles at 45-46c, goes to 53c when gaming, and 55c when doing alot of downloading/uploading/installing/multi-tasking at the same time.
In vista, with ambient temperature at 25c-28c, my hdd idles at 55c, goes to 57c when gaming, and would probably hit the low 60s under alot of hdd accessing.

In linux, with ambient temperature of 20c, the hdd idles at 55c, and goes up to about 58c while accessing alot the hdd.
Now the fun part, in linux, with ambient temperature of 25c-28c, the hdd idles at around 58-59c and probably goes up to 65c. I noticed this yesterday and the fingerprint and right plam rest areas were really hot, and windows explorer wouldn't work and I had to restart.

To me these are acceptable temps, since only the 60s are dangerous. But if you have no AC at your home you might have to watch those temps more carefully

 

I ran tests on mine last night while installing acouple of programs and the harddrive got up to 62degrees..(with a notebook cooler)....i havent installed the intel matrix drivers yet, just finished downloading them and waiting for power to come back on, and i thought that by optimising the harddrive i was basically lessening the performance of the H/D and i cant bring myself to do that, the reason i upgraded to the 7200rpm was because i wanted extra speed.....
Anyway...im still very happy with the notebook, its well built, and any 15" notebook that can score 10724 3dmarks06 straight out of the box gets a tick from me.

 

Thanks everybody for the good info.

and True say mtness, the specs are really awesome on this model. I guess that I'll have to keep my fingers crossed and hope i don't become the small number of people that get HDD problems..

I will definitely go with the 7200 RPM HD, and run through all the Heat issue solvers and see what temperatures i get.

Edit: Probally getting it from XoticPC tmr

 

Nice mate, i found Xoticpc a pleasure to deal with....goodluck

 

hehe ya i did install anti-virus ...(McAfee)

 

There are more variables than the rotational speed. For example, how often and for how long does the harddrive need to be spinning?

A 7200 rpm drive with fewer platters and a very large cache might require less time to seek a particular file than a 5400 rpm drive with more platters and a lower cache.

If there is one platter rather than two, the drive doesn't need to pull file segments from two platters. If the drive has a large file in memory cache, it may not need to spin at all to retrieve the file. If the drive is spinning fast, it may find a file quicker and therefore spin back down.

But, you're right, it is counter intuitive.

On the other hand, if the drive is doing a lot of work, a 7200 rpm drive will generate more heat.

It's hard to say where the tradeoff occurs.

 

My 7200 RPM runs over 5C cooler than any 5400 RPM's I have tried under load and when idle too.

 

Installing the intel matrix storage drivers lowered the temps on my H/D considerably, where i was over 60 after installs etc im now sitting in the 56/57 range most of the time, with a max temp of 59...this is exceptable to me......whew its such i nice machine, love the screen, a real pleasure to game on.......just wish it had a backlit keyboard.... ;-)

 

After I downloaded that Intel Matrix Storage thing, my NP8662 tends to idle at about 50 degrees on a hot summer day. If I'm doing lots of downloading or installing, the HDD can run up to 56 degrees. While gaming, I usually only see temperatures as high as 53 degrees.

The HDD model is a 250GB 7200RPM Hitachi.

 

you might want to consider an external cooler - those are still rather high HDD temps. it's a shame all the m860tu users are basically forced to buy an external cooler because of such a glaring design flaw.

 

update.....now after an hour of gaming, some internet, and some steam game installs i have a max h/d temp of 57..and it seems to hover around 54-55 degrees..it seems to be stabilizing now and im happy enough with these temps.

 

Can I get a link to this Matrix thing?

I plan to buy this Laptop soon, and I will definately need this

BTW I have a question, ...I have an old outdated B router for my internet...I noticed this laptops wireless card is a Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 5300 802.11 a/g/n Wi-Fi Link... will it find and be able to use my B connection, or am I outta luck?

 

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Product_Filter.aspx?ProductID=2101

It will work fine.

the card should support A, B, G, and N

overview here (Intel 5300):
http://download.intel.com/network/connectivity/products/wireless/319982.pdf

 

I have the M680TU from PCMW but up to now I have been experiencing really hot temps on the right palm rest under the keyboard.

@Gophn

I 've asked my question above before but is this really normal? I know all about the keyboard ergonomics and the Intel Matrix Storage Manager and the disabling of Windows Vista services, did all of that but still it's hot. My HDD (320GB 7200RPM Western Digital) idles at 56C.

I tried opening the back panel while the laptop is running, trying to isolate which component is the hotest, and I can really feel that the hottest part is the HDD itself.

 

are you running any Anti-Virus or Internet Security Suite software in the system?

and are you using any System/Tune-up ... type of programs as well running?

those are usually the culprits for constant HDD accessing when you have disabled the typical Windows services.

 

I'm just running Kaspersky Anti-Virus software and Spyware Doctor, yes.

But I can't see the HDD led blinking, so I'm assuming that it is just accessed very seldom?

 

disconnect your internet (disable your network adapters in Device Manager)

disable (not remove) your AV and Spyware protection

then what are your temps?

Also you did make sure to disable the SuperFetch in Vista too right?... that thing is trouble for an HDD.

 

did your suggestion.

It went down to 54C.

You think it could be the WiFi card that's casuing the heat?

 

54C is a perfectly acceptable temp.

whats the temp during load... if its ~60C and not higher than 64-65C
... then you're fine

 

Ahh. But the right palm rest is really hot?

What really is causing the heat in the right palm rest of this notebook?

Should I be replacing the hard disk drive?

 

the right palm rest.....

I think it might be the Wifi card... which some people reported.

you can test this by either disabling the wifi card (in Device Manager) or removing it physically (with the notebook off of course)

 

Ahh, that's sad I need the wifi almost always

 

I said to test it... if it is the wifi card, maybe you can get another that won't generate that much heat

 

Here's what I did to my wireless card. No more hot palm rest. No loss in signal.



BONUS: Recently I just bought a new camera to replace my aging Canon SD400. The picture of my wireless card has been taken with my new camera. If someone can guess the make and specific model that I used to take that picture, I will ship the winner a free tube of Arctic Alumina that I have for sale here, ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=387873). Only one guess per user.

 

thats a good a cheap solution right there.

 

Ahh, that's weird, do you also have the M860TU or NP8662 laptop? It seems not the same board as mine, considering the position of the Wifi card or so.

 

I have an M570TU.

I don't know how much clearance there is between the wireless card and the backplate on an M860TU. If there is atleast 5mm of clearance, then any M860TU user can apply the mod.

 

Ohh, right.. Uhm, where can you buy those tin heatsinks? And how did you "stick" it to the wifi card?

btw, what wifi card do you have? I'm assuming you also have the 5300AGN because it has 3 antennae?

@Gophn

Also, after I run 3dmark06 I get a max temp of 81C with my 9800M GTS and 72C with both cores of my CPU, you think that's normal?

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Akasa-AK-VMC01-...3.l1177&_trkparms=240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50

I bought these aluminium heatsinks from this muppet. I used Sekisui #5760 thermal tape to apply the heatsinks onto the card. I have a bunch of them left over if you want to buy any from me.

As a disclaimer, I am not sure if removing the sticker from the wireless card will void it's warranty. I'm leaning on the "yes it will" side, but I'm going out on a limb on this one.

Yes, I have the 5300ABGN card.

 

Thanks for the link.

Before you applied this mod, did you experience really hot feeling in the right palm rest of your M570TU or mild hotness only?

 

I don't understand why some palmrests get hot, while some like mine barely get warm. We all have the same Wifi cards...

That's fine. What do you max at, if you run Furmark?

 

pretty normal.

you can easily lower the temps of your CPU by just undervolting it with software like CPUGenie or RMclock.

 

The wireless card on my M570TU doesn't get hot. The reason why both M570TU users and M860TU users have warm palm rests is because the heat is coming from the northbridge, not the wireless card.

My right palm rest, specifically the area slightly below the arrow keys, is somewhat warm, though not as warm as the M860TU (I have felt the palm rest of an M860TU before). My palms never touch the laptop so it doesn't matter for me anyway.

 

I was thinking that it could only be the wifi or the chipset heatsink.

I went over this before.

the chipset heatsink can be removed and changed out, but no one has been up to changing it out yet.

 

I remember reading in this forum that an M570RU user swapped out the northbridge's aluminium heatsink with an Enzotech copper heatsink. It was a primative and shoddy job, but he did get it done.

 

I see that you've used a 13mmx13mm VGA RAM Heatsink. Do you think that size is the max size that can fit the 5300ABGN Wifi card?

@Soviet

If your wireless card doesn't get hot, why did you do the mod of putting in a heatsink? I'm confused.

 

You must have good eyes then if you can precisely measure the dimensions of my heatsinks in the picture, haha. Yes, they are 13x13x4mm. The surface area of the wireless card is ~30mm width and 24mm long in the picture. However, the main concern here is ceiling clearance. If the heatsinks are too tall like my 8mm tall copper heatsinks, the backplate won't fit.

I modded the wireless card because I was bored.

 

Uhm, if you undervolt your CPU does that necessarily mean that you are also underclocking it?

Lol, I saw the dimensions on the link you gave me. Yup, I understand that the Height would be the primary concern but do you think a 13mmx18mm (WxL) can fit in the wireless card?

What solution will I follow then to get away with this hot palm rest?

 

If you plan to put four of those 13x18mm heatsinks, then it would be way too long.

Smart answer: You can try replacing the thermal pad on the northbridge. It won't help much, but every little bit counts.

Smartass answer: Don't touch the palm rest.

 

Well, if the wifi card heat is not the problem then I won't mod it, lol. I'm from the Philippines and it's hard for me to get hold of the components needed for modding computers (have to order the from eBay).

What alternative solution can I do to solve this heat problem?