NEW T60 Temperature Thread - Especially high GPU Temperature

[nhidog]

My temperature was abnormally high as well, while trying to locate the piece of paper Lenovo sent me to fill out for troubleshooting the notebook, I decided to blow into the heatsink. Surprisingly my temperature went down 10C. I kid you not, what's strange is, I can feel cold air coming out from the heatsink slot now. Wonder if something was just jamming up the [censored] thing. The HD seems to run alot cooler and the RAM isn't crazy hot anymore either. The area where the palm rest. Weird, I might just still send it in.

CPU 44C now while was sitting steady 56C before.

Nhi

[agarza]

I decided to blow into the heatsink. Surprisingly my temperature went down 10C.
.
.
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CPU 44C now while was sitting steady 56C before.

Do you mean that you removed the heatsink and blowed compressed air or what?
I'd say 44C for the CPU is perfectly normal.. Maybe all laptops have that problems with bad interface between CPU/Heatsink

[Splaktar]

I had a suggestion from someone to blow compressed air into mine, but I haven't opened it up yet to be able to get to the heat sink / GPU. How involved is it?

[infrd]

My 14" T60p has the V5250 running at around 64 degrees C at idle, and around 80 after running 3dMark. Is this more or less normal?

[foodle]

Running World of Warcraft full screen (1600x1200) with most settings maxed out on AC power (performance optimal card settings), my GPU temp reaches above 110 C and the machine crashes. Temp measured using TP fancontrol. Machine is a 15" T60p (2623DDU).

How much trouble should I expect from Lenovo if I ask them to repair this under warranty? For those that have sent their machine in for GPU heat problems, how easy was it to convice the tech support people to repair the machine? I don't want to go through 2 hours of tech support troubleshooting just to convince them that the problem is GPU temp. Also, how long does the repair take? I'm guessing they'll just replace the planar card.

[jgrobertson]

Running World of Warcraft full screen (1600x1200) with most settings maxed out on AC power (performance optimal card settings), my GPU temp reaches above 110 C and the machine crashes. Temp measured using TP fancontrol. Machine is a 15" T60p (2623DDU).

Have you had the fan assembly off to change CPU or such or is that a virgin 2623DDU?

I have the same machine and can not get fancontrol to run. Says it can not find or load the winio.sys. Did you have that problem? Do you have all patches on the Win XP?

[foodle]

Have you had the fan assembly off to change CPU or such or is that a virgin 2623DDU?

Virgin machine. Warranty intact. Although it sounds like the stock heatsink attachment to the GPU isn't that good.

I have the same machine and can not get fancontrol to run. Says it can not find or load the winio.sys. Did you have that problem? Do you have all patches on the Win XP?

Hmm, I don't seem to have that problem. TP fancontrol works fine. I believe that I am up to date on my XP patches (auto-update is enabled, but I can manually double-check later).

I'm going to call Lenovo tomorrow and see what they are willing to do for me. 110 C is beyond the spec for commercial ICs so the heatsink/fan is not doing its job.

[mss1337]

My T60 (x1400) was running extremely hot. On the high performance setting in Vista, I was seeing temperatures as hot as 85C while idle! I used a can of compressed air and i stuck it in the fan vents and went to work. I sprayed liberally in both fan vents (one in the upper left corner and one by the power input). My results have been nothing short of amazing. I have reduced my idle temperature by about 20-25C. I highly suggest that anyone who is having heat problems clean out their fan with some compressed air or otherwise. You could also take off the keyboard and clean it out that way.

[skpsm]

jgrobertson,
You have to run Tpfancontrol.exe as an administrator. If you are using Vista then you can right click and select "run as administrator". I too had the same issue while running this and I got advise from experts here to resolve it.

[jgrobertson]

You have to run Tpfancontrol.exe as an administrator. If you are using Vista then you can right click and select "run as administrator". I too had the same issue while running this and I got advise from experts here to resolve it.

I have done those things. Nothing changes.

[kulivontot]

When I get time, I will be doing just that. Using copper plates though. (better thermal conductivity) Ive already got the plates here (various thicknesses, from about .8mm-1.4mm)

one thing that needs to be watched is not to use too thick of a plate, as this will push the heatsink up and off of the motherboard Northbridge. Care must be taken to ensure that the northbridge is still cooled.

mabye I can do it tomorrow or monday.

Any updates? Has modding the heatsink made any difference?

[OnnoK123]

I've got my T60 for 6 months now. It was always pretty cool and quiet. (only GPU temps of ca 70 degrees). But the last week it has been extreemly hot. Room temp is 20 degrees.
After transcoding a dvd movie file the temps rises to almost 100 degrees.

http://lh6.google.nl/image/onnokamer/Rm ... Fbe8/1.JPG

[ctgilles]

Has anyone done the copper trick yet? I might be getting a T60p since the T61 availability is...well...none here in Belgium.
I tried AS5 on my T42p but didn't remove the pink pad since I did not have any copper sheets.

[Somewhat Damaged]

My T60 just shut down on me, pretty sure it was due to it overheating.

It's wierd because when I first got the laptop (in january) it was running very cool, could have it sit on top of my lap and no problems.

Over the last couple of months though I've noticed it becoming REALLY hot, and I wonder what it could be since it didn't start off this way?

Today was the first time it finally just shut down on me. I hope this isn't a regular occurrance or I will not be a happy camper.

What are some possible problems/remedies? I don't know if it's the GPU (i can't seem to find the temperature guage for it, btw i have the 64MB card, not the 128 one like some of you)...the battery seems to be running around 35-43celsius, also depending on how hot it is in the room. The laptop itself at the bottom definitely gets VERY hot (hotter than the battery temp indicates) to the point where I can keep my hand at the bottom for 3 or 4 seconds before having to take it off due to the extreme heat.

help?

[DavidNY]

I am sending my T60 to the shop. It started going into standby and shutting off on its own since the warmer weather began.

The CPU gets to around 84 deg C (183 deg F) according to the T43 fan controller.

[jgrobertson]

What I found on mine (2623 DDU T60P) is that the wire going to the WiFi antenna on the left side (under the keyboard and forward bezel was hitting the fan blades and stopping the fan or at least slowing it down. Also made noise that changed pitch as the lid position was changed.

I opened it up and tied the wire away with the tiny wire tie and that problem went away.

All that aside, mine is getting a little hotter too although it is still below 70 C according to what Speedfan 4.32 reports.

[Pascal_TTH]

My 14" T60p has the V5250 running at around 64 degrees C at idle, and around 80 after running 3dMark. Is this more or less normal?

That's good and it should be like that for every T60p.


I plan to buy a T60p to replace my T41p because I would like to have DVD burner, bigger harddrive, nicer screen, Core 2 Duo and extra 3D power. T42(p) and T43(p) do not have really different graphics. In better cases, it's only a PCI-Express version of FireGL T2 with little higher clock. Also on most T60, Mobility X1300 did not bring much more performances then FireGL T2.

FireGL V5200 or Mobility V5200 seems to be a good choise and T60p offer all features that I need. But I'am afraid with such high temperature. Those from are good but other one : my god !

*Overheat* is an issue on most T60p ? Perhaps it's better to got for a T60 with X1400 ? But how this card score vs FireGL T2 ?



for those who got issue with TP fan control, there are two versions of the software. One run with tpfancontrol.exe and the second with fancontrol_service.exe. With the second you got to start a DOS box and type : net start tpfancontrol.

[agarza]

Mobility Radeon X1400 is much powerful than the FireGL T2. For gaming the NVIDIA QUADRO 140M fitted on the T61 would suit your needs and wouldn't overheat because of the newer heat dissipation design the T61 series sports.

FireGL V5250 is a good card optimized again for OpenGL application (just like its predecesors), but newer T61p coming out end of July would sport a NVIDIA QUADRO 570M (MUCH MORE PPOWERFUL THAN THE V5250). So, if you're considering performance vs heat, the T61 is your best bet.

[Pascal_TTH]

I agree with you xtr. But, monday I was at Toshiba annoucement for new products. I discuss with a technical guy. He tells me the same laptop with Quadro NVS 135M runs 1 our less then the same one with Intel X3100. He also tells me that the TDP of the new NVIDIA mobile GPU is hard to handle within a 14 inch laptop...

I read a lot about all T4x's, T60's and upcoming T61's. I know lenovo tells about a new chassis whitch can handle much heat. But according to a lot of OEM/ODM, all GeForce 8 Mobile are quiet hot. So, I'am sure that any T4x's will bring me enough extra power. I'am considering T60p because :
- there are aviable at nice price
- there is a lot of feedback
- battery life is pretty good
- 14" SXGA+ aviable
But
- FireGL V5200 seems to be hot, so fan runs and noise is prensent

About upcoming T61(p)
- I already got a lot of Thinkpad. I don't know why, but I did not believe any more in silent Thinkpad (since A31p) or incredible thermal solution...
- TDP of the new NVIDIA GPU is very high
- I prefer Forceware driver then Catalyst with their crappy Catalyst Control Center
- prices and aviability is a pity in Europe for any new Thinkpad.
- still not sure there will be a T61p with 14" SXGA+ (yes according to last news)

So, for the price, 14" SXGA+ aviable even if it's still with an ATI GPU, T60p looks powerfull enough to replace my T41p. I just hope I can deal with TP Fan Control to get the T60p quiet (not silent) but this topic makes me doubt.

With fan off, my T41p si silent (with Arctic Silver) :

CPU 50°C (0x78)
APS 51°C (0x79)
PCM 39°C (0x7a)
GPU 55°C (0x7b)
BAT 37°C (0x7c)
BAT 28°C (0x7e)
BUS 0°C (0xc0)
PCI 0°C (0xc1)
PWR 0°C (0xc2)

I don't care if FireGL V5200 runs at 65°C, most recent GPU can handle more then 100°C. But not my legs ! And I don't want a fan running most time at more then 3500 rpm. I alreay work with a T60 with Radeon X1300 (about the same 3D power of the Fire GL T2), at low speed ~2800 rpm, noise level is acceptable for me.

Any advise is welcome... I already see some very nice offers for T60p. Without reading this topic, I still have buy a T60p. I keep on reading any topics about T60p/T61p, FireGL V5200, fan spin, thermal issue, gaming,

PS : sorry for my poor english

[agarza]

As I have understood, now all T60p have the issue with the GPU overheating, if you buy one T60p you'll be OK if your GPU reaches the low 80C mark. You say you don't believe anymore in a silent Thinkpad. For me it's hard for me to tell if the new T61 is quieter than the T60p, but people who already got a T61 report the fan is on but is barely noticeable with the CPU in the 30C mark, unbelievable.

Depending on your budget, you either go for the T60p or the new T61p. I think your Thinkpad experience would change radically with the new T61p, but again is hard to tell.

T4x temps are quite high in general, mine (fan OFF):
CPU 47°C (0x78)
APS 48°C (0x79)
PCM 40°C (0x7a)
GPU 50°C (0x7b)
BAT 42°C (0x7c)
BAT 39°C (0x7e)

Arctic Silver 5 does no good when the CPU is idling, my max FireGL T2 temp at load is 80C (with Arctic Silver 5 too), but the bottom always get crazy hot.

So I'd say a T61p is one step forward from a T60p in terms of coolness, noise and heat dissipation.

[Pascal_TTH]

There are a few things that make my doubt about cooler T61.
- Rollcage is not a new feature. All T60 already got it.
- Picture show same kind of cooler with copper and heatpipes
- A lot of manufacturer tells that DirectX 10 GPU eat a lot of power
- First Centrino like T40p need about 14 watts, last T60p need about 22 watts (office applications). I guess T61p will reach more then 25 watts.

So they got do deal with the same weight (about 2,5 kg), keep the same 14" form factor but have to handle two times the thermal dissipation of the first Centrino. Also, since Intel launch first Centrino in 2003, battery life is shorter each new generation. I don't believe in miricle... But I hope that I'm wrong ! Some part need less and less powet (CPU, wifi and chipset, memory) but all new GPU generation consum more and more power. Desktop GPU like G80 and R600 booth use more then 160 watts under heavy load. All derivative GPU are also power hungry.

Here is what NVIDIA tells about TDP of the new GPU :
http://www.nvidia.fr/page/quadronvs_notebook_ts.html

At least 10 watts without the graphic memory. Mobility M9 in 2003 also have 10 watts TDP but with 64 Mb of memory (and it was an high end GPU). Quadro NVS 320M even reach 20 watts TDP also without memory (that's more then all a first generation Centrino). Of course we got much more power now, but perhaps too much. And it can't be handle in silent and without high temperature.

I don't understand why Lenovo or other manufacturer don't use long heatpipes on the keybord base. With two heatpipes as large as the laptop, they can spread the eat all over the keybord base. Or they can also use large part of the rollcage like ultra baie house to spread the heat.



This is how look a T60, T61 is not different.

[Troels]

- What's new on the T61 is the LCD roll cage, which the T60 doesn't have (to same extent, but there's still much more protection than with the T4x, at least with the 15")

Thanks for the link to the nVidia page. I'm really shocked that Lenovo would introduce such GFX like the NV140M in the thinkpad in the first place. Yes, benchmarks show that it performs good, but we've not seen how it fares generally with benchmarks and gaming, at different resolutions.

For high resolution gaming it will be pretty bad with it's 64 Bit memory interface.
This is extremely low, and it's technology from 2000 and 2001 where this was a standard. Surely latency is lower now, but that's a inefficient approach to gain performance.

The T60 fans are made by Toshiba.
Ironically i've always had bad experience with Toshiba's products like unrealiable notebooks, hard drives and a TV. It was not cheap stuff either.
This whiny fan is no exception either following the proud Toshiba tradition. Perhaps i should try to mount a different fan, from someone who knows engineering better, for example Panasonic or Papst.

[agarza]

Also, since Intel launch first Centrino in 2003, battery life is shorter each new generation. I don't believe in miricle... But I hope that I'm wrong ! Some part need less and less powet (CPU, wifi and chipset, memory) but all new GPU generation consum more and more power. Desktop GPU like G80 and R600 booth use more then 160 watts under heavy load. All derivative GPU are also power hungry.

Let's go back to use everyone T40's

Santa Rosa platform is believe to be a step back in terms of the chipset the T60 had, because now Santa Rosa generates much more heat, just like the chipset the not-so-well-received T43 - T43p. We really couldn't argue if the new cooling system would dissipate the heat on newer GPU's like the 140M or 570M, but what's a concern is the huge impact power consumption affects battery life.

[Pascal_TTH]

No need to got back to T40p. But for exemple, the evolution from T40p to T41p was nice. FireGL T2 128 Mo is much more powerfull then the FireGL from T40p. But TDP is still low and battery life did not really change. To tell the true, it's ATI and NVIDIA fault. While CPU become more powerfull while keeping low TDP, GPU are really mad battery eaters !
If you have a look at the transistors count, GPU are now much more complicated then CPU. ATI and NVIDIA got to work better on 2D and 3D frequencies, more advanced clock gating. Or manufacturer have to use one intergrated core for 2D and an other dedicated for 3D.


Edit

I find some pictures of the T60p board. I place some additionnal informations.





While CPU got a git dedicated heatpipe and planty of copper, the GPU shares a smaler heatpipe with MCH. With such a design, it's normal that GPU is very hot compare to CPU.

[Mennofer]

please help me i have 104 C degree GPU ... this is bad, isnt it?

[agarza]

please help me i have 104 C degree GPU ... this is bad, isnt it?

Blow some compressed air into the exhaust of your thinkpad. This should solve your problem, if not you could reseat the heatsink opening up your laptop.
or
sending it to service. I rather prefer the first suggestion.

[own6volvos]

For all those interested about the T61 GPU temps, it runs MUCH MUCH cooler. So far under load it peaks at 60-64C, and idle it stays right with the CPU around 45C or so.

[Mennofer]

please help me i have 104 C degree GPU ... this is bad, isnt it?

Blow some compressed air into the exhaust of your thinkpad. This should solve your problem, if not you could reseat the heatsink opening up your laptop.
or
sending it to service. I rather prefer the first suggestion.

ok temp is about 15 C lower after cleaning exhaust. if i reseat heatsink, wiil i still have warranty? thanks

[agarza]

Mennofer: I believe the heatsink is a CRU (Customer Replaceable Unit), which means you can replace it, even Lenovo would send you a new heatsink in case the one on your laptop fails. However if you change the thermal grease supposedly would void you warranty if you later decide to send out your laptop to Lenovo for some repair issue, the technicians might find the thermal paste is different, but if you only remove it and reset it your warranty would be fine.

own6volvos: Which T61 are you using, the one with the X3100 Integrated Graphics or the NVIDIA QUADRO 140M?

[Pascal_TTH]

own6volvos: Which T61 are you using, the one with the X3100 Integrated Graphics or the NVIDIA QUADRO 140M?

I also whant to know. NVS 140m is supposed to be very hot. It will be a very good news if it runs as cold.

ok temp is about 15 C lower after cleaning exhaust. if i reseat heatsink, wiil i still have warranty? thanks

My god, 15°C lower ! Your latop was full of dust. I read HSF is CRU and Harware maintenance guide tells to place 0,2 gr of thermal material between CPU and HSF base. So, I suppose you can use Arctic Silver.