Anyone else noticed the fans & heat from SP2 a lot more recently? Poss since update?

[jrapdx]

All I can think about, for those who have the problem is:
-> A software you use got updated and is more system intensive (Chrome?)
-> Intel integrated graphics drivers got updated. Check out the driver control panel (newly added), and make sure that things are setup properly. These are my settings (a video I did which covers how to disable all color banding/dynamic contrast ratio, for best picture quality on the screen): GoodBytes Intel settings
-> Ensure that your fan are clean. Perhaps blowing a bit of air through the air holes will help.
-> Summer is coming if you are in the northern hemisphere, so temperature is warmer where you are, so the device gets warmer, especially if you don't have AC and it's hot already where you are. Although, I don't think it's a problem if you are in the state or Canada, I think we are all... enjoying... this extended winter.

Never heard the fans and haven't had problems with the display, maybe because I've used my SP2 hardly at all for graphics-intensive apps.

However, I have often seen CPU utilization going wild, at >30%, and the device getting warm. It does occur at random times, often without any indication in Task Manager or other utility that a particular application or service is going haywire. Sometimes it's just "System" or "System Interrupts" that is running at high %, but that's pretty non-specific. Better just to restart the SP2 when that's going on.

Can't see how the season has a whole lot to do with it. I bet few people use an SP2 outdoors, baking in the sun; indoor temperatures are pretty constant year round in most places. I think ambient conditions are rather unlikely to contribute much to overheating and high CPU loading that many users are reporting.

 

[amk.]

Never heard the fans and haven't had problems with the display, maybe because I've used my SP2 hardly at all for graphics-intensive apps.

However, I have often seen CPU utilization going wild, at >30%, and the device getting warm. It does occur at random times, often without any indication in Task Manager or other utility that a particular application or service is going haywire. Sometimes it's just "System" or "System Interrupts" that is running at high %, but that's pretty non-specific. Better just to restart the SP2 when that's going on.

Can't see how the season has a whole lot to do with it. I bet few people use an SP2 outdoors, baking in the sun; indoor temperatures are pretty constant year round in most places. I think ambient conditions are rather unlikely to contribute much to overheating and high CPU loading that many users are reporting.

System and System Interrupts, its a common Windows 8.1 bug, its been seen on other laptops.

It happens pretty much every time you hibernate or turn on your Surface when it has been shut down AND a MicroSD card is inserted. Does not TEND to happen when the machine Sleeps. The work around (as weird as it sounds) is to disable the Realtek Audio hardware from the Device Manager (As soon as you enable it, the process will eat cpu again).

This tends to happen only when a MicroSD is present on boot.

 

[jrapdx]

System and System Interrupts, its a common Windows 8.1 bug, its been seen on other laptops.

It happens pretty much every time you hibernate or turn on your Surface when it has been shut down AND a MicroSD card is inserted. Does not TEND to happen when the machine Sleeps. The work around (as weird as it sounds) is to disable the Realtek Audio hardware from the Device Manager (As soon as you enable it, the process will eat cpu again).

This tends to happen only when a MicroSD is present on boot.

The CPU-on-waking+sound-driver+mSD bug is well-known--I've encountered it many times, in fact almost daily. My work-around for it is putting the SP2 in sleep state then waking it up. The CPU rate then settles down to 1% or so.

Unfortunately, similar CPU behavior occurs randomly as well, which doesn't always respond to the "sleep-wake" trick. Restarting the SP2 will give normal CPU load, but that's not very convenient in the middle of trying to do a task.

Obviously some bugs need to be fixed, but not saying anything new there...

 

[hksrb25s14]

I haven't updated my surface pro 2 since launch date, it still gets real hot and the fan goes crazy so it might not be a update thing, it only gets hot if I play a high demand game.

 

[GoodBytes]

It should get real hot. It should get warm only.
Real hot means you can't touch it anymore, and cook food on it.

 

[hksrb25s14]

It should get real hot. It should get warm only.
Real hot means you can't touch it anymore, and cook food on it.

Lol yeah, but it does gets unbearable, lucky the back panel is metal, my razer edge pro was plastic and the vents started warping and lifting. We need surface mittens pro 2

 

[Defbear]

I received my replacement sp2-512 with Firmware from Sept 2013. I have never updated the Firmware. I have taken the Windows and security updates though. I believe the tablet runs warmer after the March updates. I have never had the fans start up except when I did a full Windows Defender scan. I am not worried but the tablet used to run dead cold. Now it gets a little warm.
The official Update 1 is supposed to be released next Tuesday. Scared to death to update the Firmware on this perfectly running Surface Pro 2. (Quirks and all)

 

[benjitek]

...Scared to death to update the firmware...

Such strong feelings about firmware mg:

 

[GoodBytes]

All I can think about is that at some point the firmware is spinning the fan less. Here is why?
In October Microsoft released a firmware which boosted the battery life of the device. If the system is warmer, then the battery would be less. I mean the processor needs to gets its energy from somewhere.
If March update made the device warmer, then we would have noticed reduce battery life, but I am not seeing anyone complaining about that, so I don't think it does.

That's my take on it.

 

[macmee]

Such strong feelings about firmware mg:

I am hesitant to update my firmware too.

After the December firmware disaster (where Microsoft literally ran out of exchange surfaces due to the botched update), I don't think I'm ever going to update my firmware again until I know for sure that future updates are working for other people first.