Well, I have the same machine, except my vid card is 64MB. My CPU idles at around 30C. After like 8 hrs of Counter-Strike/Day of Defeat. It's around 60C. I've never seen it at any time about 60C. My HD temp is usually around 40C.
I think Intel says your CPU temp should be no higher than 70. That's why your comp is slowing down, you are overheating. Start cooling it down with the air. Make sure you use your laptop on a hard surface if you are playing a lot of games, if you plug the vent on the bottem with your leg, if can overheat as well.
First of all, Dell doesn't read these boards, so you wont get an answer as to them taking your laptop back. As to your problem... here we go. The I5150 and I5100 have an overheating issue. Dust is collected in the heat sink and it is forcing your computer to overheat. It is a well-documented problem. I answer like 10 people a day with this problem. The first thing to do is to go buy a can of compressed air. Shoot it in small burst into the back vent of your laptop, you should see dust fly out. Make sure you do not spray the liquid in the vents, that could be bad. You should also download a program called 18kfanGUI (you can search for it). You can use that program to monitor your CPU temp. I've never seen mine go about 60 degrees C cause I keep it clean. (This program is not endorsed by Dell, so I would not use it to control your fans). If you are still having an issue, Dell will take it back and replace the heat sink and fan for you, as long as it is still under warranty.
Oh yeah, you should use the canned air at least once a week.
I suppose that's the only advantage to having a 5100 over a 5150 ... as far as I know, with the real desktop p4s, there is no slow down (just shutdowns if things get too hot!).
how long have you had your 5150? i tried to fix my overheating problem too late (6months later) and by the a can of compressed air WONT FIX IT, the layers of dust that built up was just way too thick, i opened up my laptop and took out the heatsink fan, and WOW, removed the fan and took out a really thick layer dust (quarter of an inch) that built up on the back vent, this was totally overheating my laptop by blocking 90% of the heat in, after that you should blow air in your back vents every few days/week so that it doesnt build up again. if you havnt had your laptop for long (a month or two the most) you might just be able to used compressed air without even opening up your laptop.
after i did the cleaning, my computer seemed 2x faster, and ran alot cooler (average temp around 40ish while surfing etc)
while playing games set the fans to high which will help alot.
also if you must open your laptap, try and get a professional to open it up and clean the vents cause, if u dont know what your doing and mess it up you will void your warranty, basically if your still under warranty you could send it into dell and they might replace your fan/heatsink and form then u can just blow it regularly.
Message Edited by da rickster on 08-27-2004 05:49 AM
I bought it from DELL.com I am its first owner. I opened the SEAL box. what i am trying to say here is that it was brand new when I bought it. and i had had those slow downs from the first day
anyway today I Am going to buy that can of air compressed thingy let's see if it's helps
also i will be opening the laptop's back too if can won't do a thing
Your mention of Far Cry rings a bell, it is unplayable at default settings on my i8200. The culprit most probably is too little video memory for textures. Set texture quality to lower. But the problem is that not all games support lowering texture quality, or not straight from any menu, you have to find out options, config files and such stuff.
Also try lowering the game resolution and see if it helps. It could also be an overheating problem like was already suggested, check out the fangui program.
i did buy the canned compressed air today from J&R and yea I do not experience slow downs now.. wooow mate that's what i want
you guys think i still need to have it changed (the heater sink)?
i thought DELL was the best Computer manufacturer. but now my opinion changed about that! 'coz i see not only me but others have the same issue, even with other models like 8x00
since your not experiencing slow downs anymore you dont have to open your laptop to clean it or get a new heatsink, just blow air in the back of the laptop vent every week or so to remove any new dust that will build up. just maintain it weekly to prevent it happening again.
PofE
8 Posts
0
August 27th, 2004 03:00
one last question dude
what is the normal temperature that my laptop should have all the time
the laptop's specs
I 5150
pentium Iv 3.06Ghz (no H/T)
512mb 333mhz sdram
nvidia geforce fx5200 32mb
60gig HDD
cobra_2004
2 Intern
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217 Posts
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August 27th, 2004 03:00
I think Intel says your CPU temp should be no higher than 70. That's why your comp is slowing down, you are overheating. Start cooling it down with the air. Make sure you use your laptop on a hard surface if you are playing a lot of games, if you plug the vent on the bottem with your leg, if can overheat as well.
cobra_2004
2 Intern
•
217 Posts
0
August 27th, 2004 03:00
You can get a car of air at any computer/electronics store.
cobra_2004
2 Intern
•
217 Posts
0
August 27th, 2004 03:00
Oh yeah, you should use the canned air at least once a week.
Hopefully that helps you out some.
PofE
8 Posts
0
August 27th, 2004 03:00
the program shows my cpu temp is 71C and HD temp is 62
that is not normal isn't it?
'coz i always have regular slowdowns on all games however when i open a DVD, i don't have any problem
PofE
8 Posts
0
August 27th, 2004 03:00
thank you mate you've been helpful so how do i get that program (can you give me a link?) send it to my email webmaster@wolkysoft.co.uk
and where can i get that compressed air can from?
thank you you are more helpful than DELL customer reps.
NemesisDB
2 Intern
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7.9K Posts
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August 27th, 2004 04:00
I suppose that's the only advantage to having a 5100 over a 5150 ... as far as I know, with the real desktop p4s, there is no slow down (just shutdowns if things get too hot!).
Compressed air should work though, so good luck.
da rickster
105 Posts
0
August 27th, 2004 07:00
how long have you had your 5150? i tried to fix my overheating problem too late (6months later) and by the a can of compressed air WONT FIX IT, the layers of dust that built up was just way too thick, i opened up my laptop and took out the heatsink fan, and WOW, removed the fan and took out a really thick layer dust (quarter of an inch) that built up on the back vent, this was totally overheating my laptop by blocking 90% of the heat in, after that you should blow air in your back vents every few days/week so that it doesnt build up again. if you havnt had your laptop for long (a month or two the most) you might just be able to used compressed air without even opening up your laptop.
after i did the cleaning, my computer seemed 2x faster, and ran alot cooler (average temp around 40ish while surfing etc)
while playing games set the fans to high which will help alot.
also if you must open your laptap, try and get a professional to open it up and clean the vents cause, if u dont know what your doing and mess it up you will void your warranty, basically if your still under warranty you could send it into dell and they might replace your fan/heatsink and form then u can just blow it regularly.
Message Edited by da rickster on 08-27-2004 05:49 AM
PofE
8 Posts
0
August 27th, 2004 14:00
I bought it from DELL.com I am its first owner. I opened the SEAL box. what i am trying to say here is that it was brand new when I bought it. and i had had those slow downs from the first day
anyway today I Am going to buy that can of air compressed thingy let's see if it's helps
also i will be opening the laptop's back too if can won't do a thing
thank you all you guys
i just wanna play my MEDAL OF HONOR agaiiiiiiin
mikelambert70
102 Posts
0
August 27th, 2004 14:00
Also try lowering the game resolution and see if it helps. It could also be an overheating problem like was already suggested, check out the fangui program.
cobra_2004
2 Intern
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217 Posts
0
August 27th, 2004 15:00
PofE
8 Posts
0
August 27th, 2004 15:00
after cobra 2004 told me to get that program called 18kfanGUI. I did play CALL OF DUTY with no SLOW DOWNS even on 1280*1024 resolution.
PofE
8 Posts
0
August 27th, 2004 22:00
i did buy the canned compressed air today from J&R and yea I do not experience slow downs now.. wooow mate that's what i want
you guys think i still need to have it changed (the heater sink)?
i thought DELL was the best Computer manufacturer. but now my opinion changed about that! 'coz i see not only me but others have the same issue, even with other models like 8x00
anyway thanx a million doc!
Message Edited by PofE on 08-27-2004 06:11 PM
NemesisDB
2 Intern
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7.9K Posts
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August 27th, 2004 22:00
da rickster
105 Posts
0
August 28th, 2004 08:00