Leaving a laptop running all day?

Hi all
I apologize if this is a dumb question but after my first laptop (A Protac) dying I was told not to leave a laptop running all day as they over heat etc thus causing it to die.
I now have a Sony VIAO and am very wary of running it too much.

Anyway is this true?
I did buy a cooler with three fans that my laptop sits on top.
Thanks!

 

I'm no pro.

But I'd assume that it'd be fine. They design them to stay cool.

 

Thanks for your reply, I do appreciate it!

My laptop does get rather hot only where the usb ports are though?

 

the laptop temp is not directly proportional to the time you use it. It will depend more on what you use it for.. If you are running some apps which makes it boiling hot like 80 degree celcius, then you better watch out..

Otherwise it should not give you major problems with respect to heating..

I have my friend who uses it with limewire for days continuosly.. and he has been using it for 2 years now.. it still can give other laptops a run for their money..

it will be more like, ur usb ports will be near the processor.. its not the port's problem but processor heating up.. which is unavoidable unless u have a cooling pad..

 

Did your old laptop have a Pentium 4 CPU? They were/are notorious sources of heat.

What temperatures are you seeing in your present computer? You can use software such as MobileMeter to show you. Laptop temperatures vary considerably between makes and models of computers depending on the power of the hardware, the design of the cooling system and the temperature settings for the fans.

Personally, I usually have my main computer (Samsung NP-X60 plus) running all day and sometimes overnight. The temperature is usually around 50C but rises to over 60C if I give it hard work to do. I take no speacial measures for cooling but I have undervolted the CPU which recuced the heat generated when the CPU is under load. Powerful GPUs can also generate a lot of heat when under load.

John

 

Thanks for all the info guys, much appreciated.I have downloaded the mobile meter too.
Thanks again.

Ok the "temp" is running at about 43 c, it did go briefly up to 48 but seems to be hovering around the 43 c mark now.The "HDD#0 " temp is 40 c.

 

Upto 55-60 is fine.... No chances of anything acting up at those temps. And since you do have a cooling pad, I don't see any issues coming up.

 

Thank you so much everyone for your help

 

It should be fine - if you're just using it at home, I would take the battery out. Windows Vista was taking awhile to shut down, so I just closed my SZ and stuck it in my backpack thinking that it'd shut down on my way home. After grocery shopping and a little general cleaning around the house, I was reaching for some papers in my bag...which felt like it was on FIRE! Windows was still in its "shutting down" screen, and the battery was extremely hot... :[
So I'd assume that using the battery for that long would make it...very...very...hot...watch out!

 

Isn't it unhealthy for the battery to be plugged in while leaving the laptop on for a long period of time? I'm very scared of "killing" the battery and wearing it out so soon.

 

I guess it is best to take out the battery when using your adaptor plug-in.

 

at my job we have a old p2 laptop that hasnt been turned off in years

 

LOL. Why this laptop is brand new - so I don't wanna wear it down already. Even now I'm bit scared cause the battery takes so long to charge so I have to leave it in to charge while using - hopefully that isn't a bad thing!

I'll always try and use it down to 10% before plugging it in again now.

 

i turned my laptop 14 hours a day. When it's running in battery mode, i would use the battery saving mode to clock down everything and thus will not overheat.

 

i was going through an article after reading so many questions abt batteries.. it says that the Li-ion batteries can go into a 'deep discharge' mode and can refuse hold any charge further, if they are continuously recharged.

But i am not sure if we always keep it charged, it will constitute recharging or not..

 

Well I'm not sure if its' my constant leaving the laptop on with the Acer laptop that I have that resulted in a 35% battery wear after a year (still dropping fast). That's why I don't want to mess up with my new SZ's battery.

 

its normal for a battery wear every year.. a 20% loss is not unimaginable.. but 35% YoY does seem to be on the higher side..

if u cud tell us how u were using that old notebook, we will know how not use it.. and m not pulling ur leg

 

I quite often use it at home plugged in with the battery in for like 4-5 hours at daily basis and there were a couple of times a week where its' just on for like 12+ hours. Maybe that's why its' gone down so much already.

What are the great tips to save the battery and not to kill it off so soon? Is there like a best % before plugging it in to charge? At the moment I'm using it down as much as I can before plugging it in and just take the battery if I know that if I'm going to be sat there for a long period of time with the AC plugged in.

 

I keep my SZ switched on 24/7 while I have mains power access. I reckon I keep it on 90% of the time. I've had no problems yet, though in the 8 months I've had it my battery capacity has dropped by 6%. My temperatures aren't too high, the CPU idles at 34-35C on stamina mode and 37-39C on speed mode. I just removed the battery and it felt very slightly warm, which is a good sign.

 

Well I have to plug it in while using and charging it and MY GOD does it take ages to charge. Been sat here since five and its' still charging. Only just reached 90% after 5+ hrs of charging while in-use.

 

here's a few points i would like to contribute:

1) my brother has an older sony FE model which he uses winmx (limewire) 24/7 with multiple external hdd plugged into his usb ports and everything. hes been doin that for at least a year or so. plus he has a cooler master w1 laptop cooler. its been fine and he took off his battery.

2) i have a new sony fe recently and there's one thing i'm not gonna mess with is havin the battery plugged in all the time with the AC plugged in. i had a sony Z1 before and i use to do that very often. everytime i need to use the computer with just battery power, i get 30 min to 1 hour max. it's pretty bad. so i suggest u if your power source at home are reliable (power won't jump), than take the battery out.

3) get yourself a laptop cooler, brands such as VIZO, COOLERMASTER and JETART are all good.

 

Well yeh that's what I'm trying to do - avoid AC with battery in at the same time unless it needs charging and needs to use laptop at the same time.

But why need a laptop cooler? It's running fairly good I think. Its' just warm and not hot. Although the fan is usually constantly spinning under 'Performance' mode.

 

Go to the Sony site and down load the patch, for 'CPU usage going to 100%, my GRX was running super hot and seizing up. After 3 years of putting up with it my HD blew up and when reconfiguring it I came across the Sony patch on their site. If it gets really hot the task screen performance will show 100% usage. I downloaded the patch and resolved the issue. Hopefully the new HD will last longer? Good luck, Don

 

dont the sony's stop charging after its already full charged? i use a dock when i'm home and usually its on for hours a day, i have it set to hibernate after like 30min of no use.

 

Weird. For me leaving the notebook whole day, my speedfan reports that the hard disk is being used over the limit.

 

Well mine's just charged to 100% so I shut it down and removed the battery. Just for safety measure. Not cause of the heat problem, but I don't want to increaes unncessary battery wear.

 

Don't let your battery run down. Just plug your laptop in a soon as you have power. LiIon batteries have no memory effect.

A lot of good information is here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_ion_battery#Guidelines_for_prolonging_Li-ion_battery_life

 

Well I charge it when it hits 10% then charge, then unplug battery when under long use.

 

i never knew we can use the laptop with the battery unplugged and the AC in! i remember longtime before i tried that once and it didn't workd. u had to have the battery plugged even though on AC to power on the laptop... i'm gonna try that out!

 

I never knew that before but saw it in my local dealer and thought - what the!!! lol

 

Leaving laptop running all day is fine, I used to do it all the time leaving it on for several months while I'm in another country. I never leave the battery in the laptop though. I only use the battery when I need it. But since all the hype of global warming and the depletion of natural resources I try and be more environment friendly.

I'm a hardware engineer at a large research centre. Most of the pc here is left on all year round. The only problem arises is when we need to power the machine off and relocate or restart the machine. Quite often that after a restart they fail.

 

chrisyano has a great battery guide here.

I believe the optimal storage charge for Li-ion batteries is around 40% --- if you're taking yours out of your machine for extended periods of time, it's best not to have it at 100% (unless, of course, you're anticipating actually using it! ).

 

Is 6-8hrs "extended period" or okay?

I charge it fully then take it out if I'm going to be sat there for the day plugged in to the AC. But will definatley use the fully charged battery within 24hrs max.