What to make of the thermal complaints

[Alexander]

After reading many posts and having a friend of mine with the same issue, I have become perhaps too preoccupied with CPU temps and the fan. I don't mind when the fan goes on because it appears to do a good job at cooling things.

But what temperatures should I expect when browsing, with Firefox or Chrome, when it is being charged and when it is discharging? What temperatures are safe for the machine to stay at for more than a few hours?

I ask this because while in Chrome I can maintain temps at 60-70 Celsius when opening things quickly. Is it ok to stay at those temps for several hours or should I not be getting those temps in general.

Does anyone have a general sense of the average temperature while under light use versus heavy usage?

 

[InspectHerGadget]

I would try using IE for a day or two and see if it gets noticeably hot. My i7 runs very cool while doing the normal IE web browsing email, MYOB, Outlook, that sort of thing.

If is getting hot it also means it is chewing up the battery so your battery life would be fairly miserable if you're not on power.

I have heard that Chrome isn't very power friendly due to the way it interacts with Windows 8.1.

 

[GreyFox7]

After reading many posts and having a friend of mine with the same issue, I have become perhaps too preoccupied with CPU temps and the fan. I don't mind when the fan goes on because it appears to do a good job at cooling things.

But what temperatures should I expect when browsing, with Firefox or Chrome, when it is being charged and when it is discharging? What temperatures are safe for the machine to stay at for more than a few hours?

I ask this because while in Chrome I can maintain temps at 60-70 Celsius when opening things quickly. Is it ok to stay at those temps for several hours or should I not be getting those temps in general.

Does anyone have a general sense of the average temperature while under light use versus heavy usage?

Those temps are nothing to worry about.
However, the higher the temp the more battery being used so you'll have to charge more often.

Maybe I should repeat, those temps are nothing to worry about.
If you're ok with the battery life your getting then you're free to use and enjoy the experience to the fullest with piece of mind.

You can safely ignore all those obsessive compulsive posts, all the posts just seeking attention, those stirring the pot for the fun of it, and the FUDites.

Have fun, be happy.

 

[Alexander]

My battery life is pretty good but I mainly use Office and work software rather than watching movies or heavy surfing when on the road. Thanks for the tips!

What are FUDites?

 

[GreyFox7]

My battery life is pretty good but I mainly use Office and work software rather than watching movies or heavy surfing when on the road. Thanks for the tips!

What are FUDites?

FUDite: Noun - One who spreads FUD (Fear Uncertainty and Doubt).

 

[hughlle]

I gave up monitoring computer temperatures years and years ago. I used to get worked up because my cpu was at 60C until i figured, who cares, it works just fine.

The only reason i'd worry about temps and throttling etc would be if I am actually experiencing significant unexpected performance issues. Not because it's simply throttling as it's designed to do.

 

[Michael Lovett]

Being someone who was a bit freaked out by the heat/throttling issue at first, my best advice is also "don't worry too much about it".

I did learn and accept that there are certain things the SP3 cannot do well (such as run cpu intensive applications for more than maybe 15-30 seconds at a time) and I simply don't do those things on it.

Apart from that, I find that the heat and throttling "just work". Sometimes the fan comes on and I don't know why (and TaskMgr isn't much help) but soon enough it goes off again.

Follow the recommendations on this site about how to get good battery life, and you probably get acceptable, but not stellar, battery life. Definitely use the "sleep report" if your device seems to be draining its battery too fast while sleeping for long periods (such as overnight). You would be surprised to find out that some apps install drivers that run all the time (even in sleep mode).

HTH
Michael

 

[bluegrass]

I thought this subject had cooled down.

 

[Alexander]

Being someone who was a bit freaked out by the heat/throttling issue at first, my best advice is also "don't worry too much about it".

I did learn and accept that there are certain things the SP3 cannot do well (such as run cpu intensive applications for more than maybe 15-30 seconds at a time) and I simply don't do those things on it.

Apart from that, I find that the heat and throttling "just work". Sometimes the fan comes on and I don't know why (and TaskMgr isn't much help) but soon enough it goes off again.

Follow the recommendations on this site about how to get good battery life, and you probably get acceptable, but not stellar, battery life. Definitely use the "sleep report" if your device seems to be draining its battery too fast while sleeping for long periods (such as overnight). You would be surprised to find out that some apps install drivers that run all the time (even in sleep mode).

HTH
Michael

I think this is a very honest answer. Thank you.

It is a great little machine but it really struggles

 

[malberttoo]

I think this is a very honest answer. Thank you.

It is a great little machine but it really struggles

I would have let you go with "great little machines", but not with "it really struggles".

I hate blanket or subjective statements like that.

I haven't done a thing yet on my SP3 that it has struggled with, and I do a LOT on mine.

So you need to specify what you do on your SP3 that it struggles with...

 

[leeshor]

I'm wondering how many people have owned fairly recent vintage laptops who haven't had the same things happen. Processor throttling has been going on since the Centrino processor and probably even earlier than that, as has the heat and the fan noise. Most of those older systems didn't have the tools that are currently available to keep people informed.

I would say that a little information can be dangerous to your mind.

 

[GreyFox7]

Being someone who was a bit freaked out by the heat/throttling issue at first, my best advice is also "don't worry too much about it".

I did learn and accept that there are certain things the SP3 cannot do well (such as run cpu intensive applications for more than maybe 15-30 seconds at a time) and I simply don't do those things on it.

Three's no reason to make that limitation. compared to any of the Atom based tablets or ultra books even throttled the SP3 will perform much better on a sustained basis. Throttling seems to have become more of a mental block than a physical limitation. FREE your mind!

It is a great little machine but it really struggles

No, it doesn't. you're just using it wrong.