new VAIO SE (i5) runs very hot and loud!

Hi everyone,

I bought the latest VAIO SE about a month ago and have had issues with the ventilation fan and the CPU temp.

the laptop runs fine most of the time (CPU temp measured around 55 degrees), but as soon as I launch Photoshop or a 3D game, the ventilation fan kicks in extremely loud and makes it really uncomfortable after a few minutes. It becomes actually painful after one hour. the CPU temp raises to around 90-92 degrees Celsius and the system freezes and crashes at least once per session, although I am still not 100% sure if this is due to temperature.

I tried contacting Sony support, but that was a big disaster, and no one was able to give me a better advice than "change your power plan" or "reset the BIOS settings to default" (both of which had no effect obviously).

the online tech support told me (via chat) that a CPU temp of 90-92 degrees Celsius was ok, but I've sent an email asking for official confirmation of this, since I have serious doubts.

Anyone owns a VAIO SE? If so, could you please tell me what CPU temperatures you have?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

J.

 

^Under full load, those temps seem pretty normal for such a thin laptop. When you start hitting 100+ is where you will see throttling and shutdowns.

 

the temp being 90c is ok, however you are experiencing shutdowns, on what surfaces are you using the notebook?

 

I'm having the same problem as you. I get a load temp of 77 Celsius when I multitask. Same specs as you. I noticed the vent is somewhat blocked by the hinge of the screen, it's a weird design choice.

 

The "blocking" part is actually curved so it's not outright blocking the airflow, just impedeing it slightly. Looking at it, and a Macbook Air/Pro, I think Sony's original intention was to copy that (which is argueably, a fair bit better than the Vaio SA/SB/SC/SD/SE exhaust design because it exhausts both ways), but somehow didn't in the end...

 

Yes, i've noticed the same thing. I guess the idea was to allow the hot air to flow out of the chassis following the curve of the screen, but after a while, it makes the hinge quite hot (hoping it won't affect the screen's pixels lifetime by the way).

What makes me think that this design is not ideal, is that the air flows out much easier when the screen is halfway closed (45 degree angle).

 

If the vent was beside the optical drive, that would be more efficient (but more uglier). I'll make that trade off. It's a shame that cooling was left behind as a priority.

I also noticed that when the AMD GPU is on, the CPU temperature is 10 Celsius higher (45 idle).

Makes me want to find the heatsink and replace the thermal paste on the CPU and GPU, but I'm afraid to since it's brand new. Can't return it because it's a CTO.

 

^It won't help. Thin laptops run hot, all of them. Don't sweat it.

 

^ maybe after a couple of years when the current thermal paste has dried out?

 

^Thermal paste dries the first time it is heated. It does that by design. Hot things don't stay moist you know?

 

sure, thanks for clarification!
i don't want to sound like a smart-, but every thing has a life-time beyond which it stops functioning the way it was designed to. that's all i meant.

 

^I get that. A lot of people here talk about replacing dry paste and I can't think of a single time I've ever needed to do that? I could be lucky. I'm sure someone will point me to a statistic of some sort

 

Here's an example of someone replacing thermal compound on a Macbook, haha.

Replace thermal grease macbook part 2 - YouTube

I'm not satisfied with the idle and load temperatures, so I might do this once the warranty expires. Now to find instructions on how to open the Sony SE (not just the cover for RAM, storage and battery).

 

Probably better for Vaio owners, lol. I know in the Alienware section, replacing TIM well is nearly guarenteed a few C drop in load and idle temps.

 

^Shame on alienware then

Issue on these Vaio's is how thin and light they are, and the fans spin down. I don't think there's a transfer issue between the CPU and heatsink. It's getting the heat OUT of the machine and keeping the noise down. This gets exaggerated in machines with GPU's on the same cooling system. I think if Sony saw any improvement with different paste they would've used it.

If you don't like the idle temps, hack the fan speed.

 

The fan is already audible at idle, so I don't want to hack the fan speed. Just want to lower the temp with some other method. I have heard that some OEMs install too much paste or too little paste during manufacturing.

 

It's not likely a paste issue. The CPU/GPU are going to generate the heat. Where do you expect it to go?

 

I am willing to just accept the high temps but the fan noise is really a nuisance, and I cannot believe that there isn't a higher quality fan somewhere that generates the same airflow with less decibels.

anyone has experience with replacing those cooling fans? I'm conscious that it might be a bit risky, but in this situation, i feel it is worth the effort.

 

To beaups:

Well, in a distantly related thread in the SONY section, this one:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/594314-vpc-z-change-thermal-paste.html , shows that after changing the thermal paste, the temperature drops (therefore the fan noise can be lower, a positive side effect).

Proper application of the thermal paste is also a factor, as you can see here in my next sentence. Sometimes OEM gunk is just shoddy or questionable quality (aka generic brand) or it has not been applied properly (too little or too much), thus the heat transfer is ineffective.

I have some quality MX-2 paste leftover from a desktop build that I did, this is why I am willing to open the notebook up and fix the temperature problem.

and yes, the heat is supposed to go out of the only air vent at the rear, which is why that place is the "hot-spot" of the notebook.

To jeremg:

I haven't started opening the notebook up. I don't think replacing the fan is a good idea, it's not as easy as a desktop fan replacement. But you are welcome to try and find out. You should consider changing the thermal paste while you are at it.

By the way, in the link that I posted, a guy was able to have his VAIO Z temperature lowered with a new fan replacement. But you will need to find the right fan.

 

^I've read that thread and if you read through the whole thing you'll see that most users are see no improvement and some are even seeing worse temps and/or higher fan speeds.

As delicate as designing a thermal solution for an ultraportable can be, I'd be shocked if a casual user can randomly create a better solution than a team of engineers. Do you know how much time goes into developing these thermal solutions?

 

And as for sony's application, they use a preformed thermal pad, so the odds of being under/over/misapplied are quite slim.

 

You could try operating it on a laptop cooler just to give a work surface that offers that poor little overworked laptop at least a fighting chance.

What kind of a surface do you find yourself on when it conks out due to overheating? (you did imply it was kicking out due to heat).

I agree that the thin laptops have very carefully designed cooling systems, with less margin for error. Running them on a bed or a lap, the airflow is not as good as when they are on a table.