How can I keep my SP2 nice and cool? Temperature concerns

[Gajuno]

Just wondering how I should maintain my SP2 from getting to hot. I mostly do Photoshop, and very light gaming (Guild Wars 2, less than an hour a week).

When doing a lot of these activities, the heat tends to get around:

1. 55-65 C for Photoshop
2. 70-78 C for gaming

Should I be worried? I hear that these are not very good temperatures and I want to find methods of keeping the temperature at least in the 50-60 C.

I was looking at cooling pads, and thought of getting one. But am I wasting my money?

Any suggestions would be welcome Thanx

 

[CrippsCorner]

Everyone seems to talk about temperature concerns but I've never actually seen any issues with over heating.

 

[horseflesh]

As long as your vents aren't stuffed full of cat hair, your Surface will be fine. If using your Surface normally was going to destroy your computer, there would be a thread sticked at the top of every forum, and articles on every tech site.

Relax and enjoy your Surface!

 

[krypticide]

As long as the room is relatively cool, you could set up a small fan to blow on your surface when you're using it for intensive stuff. I do that all the time with my smartphone in the car.

 

[Seneleron]

Here are the specs for the i5 5300U. The 4200u should be approximately the same thermal spec:

ARK | Intel® Core? i5-4300U Processor (3M Cache, up to 2.90 GHz)

*IF* I understand my tjunction vs tjmax, then 100c according to this is the temperature at which the computer will shut down to protect itself, and it will start throttling performance @ 95c to avoid shutting down

If I have it confused, then it THROTTLES @ 100c, and shuts down @ 105c.

Either way, you're WELL within thermal spec for the unit.

Mine runs around 83c playing Diablo 3 for hours on end, haven't had any issues. Yes, over time sustained high temperatures can affect long term reliability. Unless you decide to keep the thing for 10+ years, however, the odds of it ever becoming an issue are slim.

 

[jollywombat]

Those temperatures are fine, well within specs. It actually starts to throttle around 80-85c, well below TJMAX of the CPU limits so no real danger of overheating or damaging anything. Use the surface as you normally would and enjoy it

 

[krypticide]

For me, the concern would be more around battery life as higher temperatures have a proportionately large effect on battery life.

 

[GoodBytes]

Those temperatures are more than fine.
CPU and GPUs are specifically design for high heat environment. Manufactures even put the process into an oven to simulate ludicrously hot environment that are unrealistic.

 

[GoodBytes]

For me, the concern would be more around battery life as higher temperatures have a proportionately large effect on battery life.

No, not really. It does affect it, but we don;t know what is the temperature needed for the specific battery in the Surface Pro can hold without being affected.

 

[Gajuno]

I guess I'm also thinking about the long run. I expect to move onto a new tablet in about 5 years, but I try to take care of my electronics. I'm still somewhat paranoid.

 

[macmee]

My surface cooks upto 80C+, my MacBook 95C+.

Not sure what to think, I've actually noticed the battery on both my devices become worse than initially, not sure if it has to do with the frequent hot temperatures though.

I'd like to think that the SP3 will run cooler. It's still too large of a beast for me to really love though

 

[krypticide]

Trying not to be too pedantic, but there is no threshold for battery damage from heat, it just gets exponentially worse as the battery temp goes up. So don't be paranoid but don't let your batteries heat up unnecessarily too.