New Surface Pro (2017) - Overheating under load when plugged in.

[Eebes]

I've had my Surface Pro (2017) I7, 512 GB since September, it has worked great with no problems until recently.
I am an insider and have kept it current on the Redstone 4 insider previews. I have build 17046.1000 currently installed. Recently my surface has started running hot when plugged in (60c to 73 c) and best performance selected, when this occurs I start hearing a beeping sound until I unplug it and it returns to about 41c.

 

[theveterans]

Don't use best performance all the time. Just stick with recommended power savings to save power during idle

 

[feduchin]

I have had my Surface Pro since about the end of 2015. Initially I bought it in September 2015, but Microsoft insisted on replacing it when it got too hot. The fact is that much of the time, when on charge, it gets almost too hot to touch.
Frankly I don't think this is a good long-term prognosis. I think I should probably sell it and get a traditional laptop, which is built to take apart. It's a pity because the Pro 3 is a convenient, light machine.
Part of the problem is that, after reading about difficulties of removing the screen in one piece, the labour and parts costs, then replacing stuff; well the idea of any repair is highly unattractive.
ANY COMMENTS PLEASE?

 

[theveterans]

The new Pro doesn't get as hot as the old SP3 under load in my experience.

 

[feduchin]

The new Pro doesn't get as hot as the old SP3 under load in my experience.

Risky.. I wish it wasn't.

 

[theveterans]

At idle, core temp is just sitting at 35 degrees celsius and on the back is not even hot at all. Room temp is 77 degrees F which is an ideal room temp IMO

 

[feduchin]

At idle, core temp is just sitting at 35 degrees celsius and on the back is not even hot at all. Room temp is 77 degrees F which is an ideal room temp IMOView attachment 8855

I do appreciate the grid of measurements, however it is too detailed to be very meaningful.
It seems to indicate that normal temperature should be about 35 oC: I would say my machine has a normal temp, when not overheating, closer to 45, and 75-85 when overheating.
It is a fact that we, as humans, tend to 'sense' what we think is normal and abnormal: Frankly I find that a HIGHLY frequent temp approaching 75-80 is abnormal. That's what worries me, and; regretfully; is persuading me to give up the Pro 3; also to not trust the Pro 4; and to get something that's probably clunkier, but much easier and cheaper to repair.
I really like the Surface, but I think the 'overheating' is becoming an imponderable. It's a fact that if almost ANYTHING goes wrong with these machines, Microsoft have not done their 'due diligence' on our behalf. They have not made these machines repairable/retrievable at a reasonable effort and cost.
Microsoft have actually built machines that are virtually throwaway, and they should probably be punished for doing that. Bear in mind that MOST people, when replacing their machines, like to get something back by selling the used one. Speaking personally, $300-$500 is better in my pocket, than on the rubbish heap!

 

[theveterans]

Well, you're looking at the wrong machine IMO. You might as well spend the money on 1"-2" thick laptops with plenty of heat pipes and huge dual or even triple fans if you're so concerned with overheating. Obviously, putting a 25 W peak CPU chip on a really thin chassis like the Surface Pro would cause the temps to rise to over 80 degrees on load.

In my experience, the chassis is fine even if I'm gaming for an hour to two at max GPU load and moderate CPU load. Temp goes up to mid 90s during gaming since the GPU is using about 15 watts of TDP and add the 5 to 10 watts of CPU TDP. No FPS drops that occurred during those gaming sessions as well.

 

[feduchin]

I'm unsure you are grasping my meaning. Firstly, Microsoft do not agree with you! If your Surface is in warranty they will replace it immediately, no argument. Indeed when I told them about my first machine 'appearing' to overheat, the guy on the phone didn't even wait for me to finish the sentence, he simply said, I'll send you return instructions immediately my email; then he rang off!

After over 25 years in and around electronics, I can assure you that electronic items do not like to be overheated. The consequence of an overheated part is failure of that part: In other words, whatever part it happens to be, 'it' will need replacing.

My whole point is: If it's a Surface Pro and it is seriously overheating, then it's a fact that you don't want to be within shouting distance of that machine! Because 'it' (that part within the Surface Pro) will be almost impossible to access and replace.

A Surface Pro is just about irreparable, thus regretfully your gaming, at high temperatures, has a finite life.
If I MYSELF was a gamer, I would want a machine which I could easily have repaired WHEN (not if) that overheated part, departs from this life.

Maybe I'm wrong. If so, ignore me. Just saying..

 

[theveterans]

^ I know about the overheating warranty, but I do know Surface Pro chassis' limitations regarding heat dissipation. That is why I am not concerned about throttling at high temps even if the core temps reach upper 80s at load. Keep in mind of the design of Surface's heatsink. It contains a fluid that gets vaporized at the base then condenses at the end of metal plate attached to the chassis. If the chassis is too hot, the vapor won't condense as fast back to liquid resulting to poor thermal transfer as gas heat convection transfer is much worse than bulk liquid heat convection transfer. That's why Surface Pro thermal throttles quicker than regular laptops to maintain its chassis temperature to a certain level so if you don't defeat that throttling feature by using something like Throttlestop program, you will seriously overheat your Surface Pro and cause premature hardware failure.

All in all, Surface isn't meant for long video edits nor prolonged gaming. I'd consider it as a very versatile office laptop, but if you need the full power and no throttling, go buy those workstation grade laptops like Dell Precision or HP Elite, or if you like games, then go with Eurocom or Sager or Alienware, etc.

 

[NickyHepp]

I'm having this problem on same model when I use Lightroom for more than 10 minutes, not even editing, just in Library module. Twice the SP has powered itself down, this evening after leaving it to cool, it came back where it left off but then froze -- an hour later it is still displaying, screen frozen, fan running, non-responsive, even after ctrl-alt-del. I unplugged it from dock and it's still running too warm, I'm off to bed hoping it will have used up battery overnight and gone to sleep. Typically, it's frozen the day before i go away for a week! I'm not happy to pay this much money for what seemed to be an amazing piece of kit and have it unavailable to use with Lr. I'm retiring from photography but that's not the point.

I'll be contacting MS when I get back from my trip, on which I expect to take a couple of thousand images I won't be able to edit!

Disappointed.

Anyone aware of a resolution?

Nicky

 

[NickyHepp]

After my trip there was an update from Adobe for Lightroom, quite a big one, and lo and behold, no more overheating! So when I spoke to Adobe guys who said it was a Microsoft problem, Adobe must have been already aware and preparing a fix?! Bizarre...