How hot is too hot for FZ190E?

Greetings everyone,

I have been using a Sony FZ190E since June 2007, it’s my first ever laptop. If I had only one complaint about this laptop, it’s that it gets hot—really hot. At first I shrugged this off as normal for this particular laptop…..but lately it seems to be getting hotter than normal, enough to make me concerned over whether I have a defective model or if maybe a fan has failed, or something else entirely….and if that’s the case what do I do?

So, just how hot is it getting you ask? Well, the heat is mostly on the left side of the computer. It’s so hot I honestly cannot touch it with my hand…. as it burns…..and if I can’t even touch it for more than a second I worry what’s happening to the internals. I feel like this laptop is going to blow up in my face….Can some informed people help me out with what is going on here? How hot is too hot for a Sony FZ190E? And what do I do about it?

NOTE: Before anyone asks, the vent is unobstructed. In fact, I’m using the extended battery which protrudes on the bottom, allowing for better airflow….and it sits on a hard surface, not my lap.
Below are the specs for this machine:

OS Name Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium
Version 6.0.6001 Service Pack 1 Build 6001
Other OS Description Not Available
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Manufacturer Sony Corporation
System Model VGN-FZ190E
System Type X86-based PC
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T7300 @ 2.00GHz, 2001 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date Phoenix Technologies LTD R0050J7, 4/18/2007
SMBIOS Version 2.4
Windows Directory C:\Windows
System Directory C:\Windows\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume2
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "6.0.6001.18000"
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 2.00 GB
Total Physical Memory 2.00 GB
Available Physical Memory 894 MB
Total Virtual Memory 4.22 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.94 GB
Page File Space 2.29 GB

 

probably need to open up all your compartments and blow the dust out really well. second, i would make sure your fans are working. if your fans are not working cleaning it is useless. another recommendation is to get a laptop cooler or a small fan. you can get a small fan for less than 10 bucks if you don't want a laptop cooler and set it next to your laptop where it would get the best airflow for the intake vents and/or the place/side it gets hottest. are you using it in a room with normal room temperature of about 72 degrees? ambient temperature helps too.

 

I'm totally ruling out environmental factors as a cause because; (1) the vents are all open and not blocked in any way. (2) My room is well ventilated, ambient temp always at ~68 degrees F. and (3) computer is not sitting in sunlight or hotlamp or anything else.

Dust is a possibility, but seems unlikely. I've only owned it for a year.

How do I go about checking if all fans are working? And say I were to dust it, how the hell do I do that?

I don't want to rip my laptop open unnecessarily. In fact that’s the last thing I want to do, since I have no clue what I’m doing I’ll probably break something.

 

i don't know what compartments are available on the fz but i will assume you have access to ram, hdd, and processor and/or fan. i'm sure you have access to a screwdriver. just take the screws out of these covers, get some compressed air and goto town. i'm not saying rip your laptop open. just open these covers, especially the one with processor/fan. you said you've had it about a year and to me you've implied you haven't cleaned it. i usually take a vaccuum cleaner about once a month and hit the intakes and exhaust vents for about 2-3 seconds apiece. about every 3 months i open it up and blow with compressed air. i think justin or donald said the dirty laptops were the number one reason for overheating or something like that. there are programs you can download to check your fan. some programs work better than others and some better with certain brands. i just make sure i have a quiet enviroment and feel and listen.

 

First get a handle on how hot it REALLY is. Get the latest copy of Speed fan. Make you you have start it with ADMIN rights. The new version shows temps on the FZ series correctly (the previous version had a bit of an offset).

http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php you want to get version 4.34

I am also running an FZ190, with a the same processor as you and the Nvidia video. It never gets too hot to touch. It idles at about 50 degrees celcius.

Gary

 

Well, can you feel the hot air being blown out of the exhaust vent on the top left of the computer?

 

Hot is a relative term. It feels warm to me but I would not describe it as hot. This is why I suggest you install SpeedFan right away. This will give us REAL numbers to compare not "it feels hot". Make sure you use the Celsius settings, most of the comparisons you will find are in C not F.

Gary

 

You don't understand why I asked the question. If he doesn't feel "hot" or "warm" air coming out of the exhaust vent then that means the exhaust fan is not working. I figured I would start by asking a very simple question to get it out of the way.

 

Sorry, I thought you were the OP asking ME that question and wanting to compare against my fan exhaust. I understand now.

Please post a bit of a quote when you reply so we know to whom you are directing your reply.

Gary

 

Okay, I downloaded the speedfan utility and—this is the first time I’ve used this utility so bare with me—here are the results:
CORE 0: 78-85C
CORE 1: 81-87C

So, is this too hot?

And to answer the other question: Yes, my exhaust port is open and is venting air, and I hear fans working.

 

That sounds very hot. Mine idles at 49-50C.

Ok what about the rest of the FZ190 users here. What is your idle temp?

Gary

 

Here are the temps for my FZ-190 at idle:

High performance:

Core 0: 62C
Core 1: 62C

Power Saver:

Core 0: 51C
Core 1: 51C

 

it might be venting air but it might be struggling to vent that air. try and clean it. in order to troubleshoot a problem you have to find physical problems first and that would be make sure the intake/exhaust are operating smoothly. there's a couple of other things you can do externally without troubleshooting, like external fan/cooler, but those temps are higher than normal. after cleaning it, then you might have to do logical trouble shooting, like software for fan and cpu throttling.

 

This does sound like a dust issue to me. These temps are very high. You can't really throttle the fan on a Sony FZ model.

Gary

 

Mine idles at 43 C right now.

 

What version of SpeedFan are you using? I was at 43C until I updated to the latest SpeedFan which now has the correct offset (the old version was lying to us when compared with the Intel temp tool). Now I am at 50C.

Gary

 

I am using version 4.34. May be that was low because I ran it within 1 hr after start up.