idle temp for T61

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tnn2000 · #1 Post by **tnn2000** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 10:35 am

Hi T61 owners,

Can you please post your idle temperature.

Mine idles around 61 C? ?!?!?!? Is this safe? Why is it so high? Only anitvirus is running and a little bit of web surfing (I am posting this thread). Process explorer shows 99.22-100% idle

I am comparing this with my desktop experiences. I've always used aftermarket coolers on the CPU and GPU. On my current rig with Tuniq Tower and Accelero S1, I am idling around 30-35 for both CPU and GPU.

Is there something wrong with my unit?

My TP is: T7500, 80gig 5400, integrated graphics, 1 gig of RAM, fingerprint reader, CDRW/DVD. 6 Cell battery.

Wouldn't this setup be the coolest running?

SHoTTa35 · #2 Post by **SHoTTa35** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 11:21 am

while i don't know the temps it should be but yeah i'd say that's a lil warm. My Core Duo is 44C at normal temps. I have a ATI x1400 card too that definitely makes it warmer. Where are you using your system tho, in your lap, on the bed? Also have you cleaned the fans at all?

ulrich.von.lich · #3 Post by **ulrich.von.lich** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 11:25 am

1. Press Fn + F3 to choose/create a different power plan. ThinkPad default instead of Maximum performance for example. You can also install NHC (Notebook Hardware Control) to underclock your CPU/GPU.

2. If you find your T61 is running hotter than before, maybe it's time to clean the fan. You'll need a can of compressed air.

My T60p idles at about 50C to 60C, but the T61 is supposed to be cooler.

Pocket Aces · #4 Post by **Pocket Aces** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 11:30 am

My T61p idles at ~60C when my processor is set to maximum speed. Using TPFC, I've managed to bring that down to ~50C.

tnn2000 · #5 Post by **tnn2000** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 11:35 am

I got this TP a week ago. It's placed on my desk.

I am using TPFC and I can keep it down. I am just a little surprised that it's idling at 61 and that I would need to tweak it.

mixz1 · #6 Post by **mixz1** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 11:52 am

According to TPFC, my CPU is idling at 46 degrees C. The tray icon indicates the "switch" temperature to be 50 degrees C. This is when running under BIOS control and not in "smart" mode. I think anything over 60 degrees C is a bit warm for a machine at idle.

mgo · #7 Post by **mgo** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 11:59 am

tnn2000 wrote:Hi T61 owners,

Can you please post your idle temperature.

Mine idles around 61 C? ?!?!?!? Is this safe? Why is it so high?

Have you considered elevating the rear of the computer about one inch or so off the desk surface? I use little plastic feet thingies attached with velcro. This gets the unit away from the heat reflecting desk surface, and allows for better airflow.

It also give me a better typing angle for the keyboard.

My T60 units (not T61 of course) usually run around 52-55 degrees at light load.

tnn2000 · #8 Post by **tnn2000** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 1:07 pm

mgo, TPFC is working for me. I am just surprised that 61 is normal idle temp??? And that we have to do all of this tweaking to get it to an acceptable temp. I am quite disappointed.

I've also email lenovo to get an official answer on idling temp. Will post back what I find.

Thanks for your help.

tnn2000 · #9 Post by **tnn2000** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 10:26 am

Well, I spoke to tech support. I am gonna send it in for them to look at it. The guy said it was too high. I am glad he agrees with me.

Lenovo has an advantage with me because I've been a longtime fan of TPs and can be a little enthusiastic for them. But they should fix this issue if they want me to continue being a fan.

Thank the heavens I didn't have to go in and do all the mods I've read about.

In a strange way, despite my having to be without my TP for awhile, I am glad that this is an unacceptable issue that Lenovo will look at. It means that 60+ idle temp is not something we have to accept for out TPs. In other words, we don't need to have our fans constantly running at 3000+ RPMs.

My girl's Toshiba, my old TP43, friends T60s, don't idle so high.

Will report back with any new info.

tnn2000 · #10 Post by **tnn2000** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 11:32 am

Also, just to pass another info along so other can compare,

I ran Orthos and it quickly reached 72+ degrees even with the fan full throttled.

I quickly shut it down.

ulrich.von.lich · #11 Post by **ulrich.von.lich** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 2:39 pm

72C doesn't sound that unacceptable. Does your old T43 run much cooler? My T43 can run up to 86C while doing intensive tasks, I saw my friend's T43p went up to 95C and my T60p has reached higher temperatures that it shut down itself (probably due to GPU)

You have a 2.2Ghz C2D so your T61 will run naturally hotter than those who have only a 1.8Ghz or 2.0Ghz. Speed and coolness are like intelligence and happiness, one goes up, the other goes down. Hmmm

tnn2000 · #12 Post by **tnn2000** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 3:45 pm

Actually, since the T7500 is on the 65nm process, it should be more energy efficient and give off less heat while performing the same computations as the Pentium M. At the very least, it should have a much lower temp at idle.

Those numbers you're running at are extreme for me. If they are acceptable to you then.... Although your computer turning off due to overheating should be perhaps taken as a sign that it isn't acceptable.

In any case, my old dell 700m and T43, both idles at 38-43. Loaded never exceeding 70. Actually much lower than that. The contact between the cpu and heatsink was good enough where the fan was able to keep it at that top threshold. I took each apart and worked on the TIM and heatsink contact. I think that is the problem here. From my research, if Lenovo wasn't going to do anything about it, I would've taken a look there (and also, look to another company for my next laptop).

My idling at the 61-65 range (the bios threshold looks to be around 62-64 C) has kept the fan on most of the time. As far as I am concerned, at idle, you shouldn't be needing the fan. Something is wrong.

Pocket Aces · #13 Post by **Pocket Aces** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 4:15 pm

When I play Bioshock, my GPU reaches 75C and my CPU around 70C. These are all within acceptable temperatures.

hellosailor · #14 Post by **hellosailor** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 4:21 pm

How would I find out the CPu temps in the Tpad?

tnn2000 · #15 Post by **tnn2000** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 4:56 pm

You can use tpfancontrol, notebook hardware control, even i8kfangui.

I've noticed that NHC doesn't read it correctly, off by 10 C lower. fangu iand tpfc have matching numbers, at least for my TP.

You can use tpfc v018b in xp fine. I couldn't get it to work under Vista. You will need v041 instead. You can find that version here:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=56222

ulrich.von.lich · #16 Post by **ulrich.von.lich** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 5:04 pm

Tnn2000, if Lenovo can't solve the problem, I would suggest to use the Arctic Silver 5 instead of stock thermal grease. If it still doesn't help, you might want to consider downgrade the CPU. I don't know much about the CPU architecture but the lower frequency it has, the cooler it will be. Also, from what I heard on the forum, the same machine running XP is about 10C cooler than running Vista.

38-43C sounds quite impressive for a T43. High-end T43s run actually way hotter than that. And believe it or not, the T60p running almost at the water boiling point gets only "warm" at the bottom while the T43 running at 86C will get "hot". If I didn't know the temperatures, I would consider the T60p more acceptable to use on the lap.

pae77 · #17 Post by **pae77** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 7:38 pm

Under vista, a free program called PC Wizard will also give you the temps. http://pc-wizard-2008.en.softonic.com
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tnn2000 · #18 Post by **tnn2000** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 10:45 am

Wow. I sent it in Wed night. I just received it this morning (Fri). That's fast depot service. Wow.

I open it up and stress the CPU to 67. It doesn't get beyond that. Looks like they tweaked the BIOS for it to turns on at that temp (66).

I turn the stress test off and now it's been idling at 42! Now that is what I am talking about! I am doing everything that was causing it to hover around 60+ before.

Good job Lenovo.

One other thing I need to mention is they scratched up my monitor. So it's going back again. You would think the first thing they do is to put a plastic bag around the monitor (similar to what the car dealership does to the driver seat when you bring your car in for maintenance). But that's neither here nor that. I don't mind though waiting for a little while longer since the more important fundamental problem has been fixed.

tnn2000 · #19 Post by **tnn2000** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 11:05 am

ulrich.von.lich: yeah, that's what I would do if Lenovo couldn't fix it. I've done it in the past with any laptops I thought needed it. I would be more inclined to work on laptops if the stuff was more accessible like my desktops though.

These temps don't go anywhere near as low as my desktops. But that's what you have to accept for a notebook if you don't want the fan to run all the time. The fans on my desktops are running all the time.

Anyways, I admit I am pretty an@l about temp.

ulrich.von.lich · #20 Post by **ulrich.von.lich** » Thu Jan 31, 2008 3:55 pm

I'm glad Lenovo got your ThinkPad fixed. And I'd be very interested to know what kind of spell they cast on it. Anyway now you have a cool and fast machine. I do wish my T60p could run at those temperatures.

When you have time, I would still suggest you to check out Power Manager. It allows you to take control of your machine and to get it run the way you want it to.

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