Wifi card heat problem

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pdudas · #1 Post by **pdudas** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 6:34 am

Hi!

My X60's palmrest gets warm when I use the wifi.
Do you have this or is it only my problem?

edbern · #2 Post by **edbern** » Sun Apr 16, 2006 2:47 am

pdudas wrote:Hi!

My X60's palmrest gets warm when I use the wifi.
Do you have this or is it only my problem?

Same here -- much worse if plugged in and recharging. But tolerable, overall, given everything else this machine does right!

trentblase · #3 Post by **trentblase** » Tue Apr 18, 2006 6:25 am

Hmm... I haven't noticed this. I may just not be sensitive to palmrest temperature. I notice the warmness of the bottom side much more.

Blueblazer · #4 Post by **Blueblazer** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 10:29 pm

Just got my x60s and i totally agree. the rightside palm area of my laptop gets so hot i'm thinking of returning it, or looking for some kind of heat shield. could be a deal breaker for me.

trentblase · #5 Post by **trentblase** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 10:35 pm

I stand corrected -- came home and noticed this today. It seems to only become a problem if I leave the lid closed.

pdudas · #6 Post by **pdudas** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:23 am

Could you write down the type of the wireless card in your thinkpad.(My computer, manage, device manager, network adapters,11 a/b/g Wireless LAN MINI PCI-Express adapter, general tab, manufacturer).

I have an atheros card.
Maybe the heat problem is with the atheros based cards.

trentblase · #7 Post by **trentblase** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 7:48 am

I've got the intel card -- when I was tinkering in the palmrest, I noticed that it may be possible to use a heat-conducting gel to spread out the heat so it's less noticable.

Blueblazer · #8 Post by **Blueblazer** » Sat Apr 22, 2006 2:14 pm

Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG

If i'm using just the battery (ie not plugged in) it's not as warm, but still uncomfortable for me.

is there anyway to fix this?

c

sugo · #9 Post by **sugo** » Sat Apr 22, 2006 2:50 pm

It's a wide known issue with X60/s. People find the intel card hotter than the atheros. I can't imagine what it will be like when both WiFi and EV-DO are turned on (they are both located under the right palmrest).

Too bad, otherwise a perfect travel notebook.

aceo07 · #10 Post by **aceo07** » Mon Apr 24, 2006 10:39 am

I wouldn't consider it to be HOT. Hot is when I can't leave my hand on my laptop. It's noticably warm though.

ninepoundjammer · #11 Post by **ninepoundjammer** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 9:12 am

Same problem here. While I don't think I could fry an egg on it, I'd call the area around my wifi card (to the right of mouse buttons) hot, particularly if I run it for an extended period.

domi · #12 Post by **domi** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 2:46 pm

Just curious: is the wifi adapter located differently on the X60 as on the X3x and X2x? I had an X22 previously (with built-in wifi) and am now using an X31: I've never noticed a heat problem on the palm rest area with neither model.

yasu · #13 Post by **yasu** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 1:33 am

I got the same problem here
if the wireless getting very hot, my wireless will got diable.

I need to reboot or colddown the wireless card to use it again.

domi · #14 Post by **domi** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 1:41 am

ninepoundjammer wrote:While I don't think I could fry an egg on it, I'd call the area around my wifi card (to the right of mouse buttons) hot, particularly if I run it for an extended period.

Which card do you have (Intel or Atheros)? Have you noticed a difference between the various modes (a/b/g) supported by the card? Would running it at 11 Mbps translate into lower temperature?

ninepoundjammer · #15 Post by **ninepoundjammer** » Thu Apr 27, 2006 12:14 pm

I've got the Atheros card which I run exclusively 80211.g.

I've seen claims that heat in this area is generated when the battery is charging, but I'm skeptical of that. Also seen claims that it gets worse when you leave the top closed. Of course, I only run wireless at home, where the machine is more likely to sit on my coffee table with the lid closed (to not obstruct the TV

.

I just found the thermal zone info, so maybe I'll try to do some controlled experiments. Right now I'm using wireless with the lid open, it's only warm, and I get:

THM0
state: ok
temperature: 47 C
critical (S5): 127 C
THM1
state: ok
temperature: 49 C
critical (S5): 97 C

This issue may get pushed pretty low on my priority list as I'm seeing screen flicker accompanied by a high pitch whine when running off battery and I've had two system lock-ups this morning.

rjih · #16 Post by **rjih** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 11:21 am

pdudas wrote:Hi!

My X60's palmrest gets warm when I use the wifi.
Do you have this or is it only my problem?

I have it as well, on my X60s 1704 (with the Intel card). Though my right hand side gets really hot whether or not I'm actually using the device. Nothing really helps. I tried disabling the device in Windows and in BIOS (both hiding it and shutting down the radio). The radio on/off button doesn't seem to do any difference as well.

As people have said, it seems as it is even worse while charging the battery. If I'm running on only the battery or from the power outlet the heat is almost bearable, but even then my hand sort of hurts after a an hour or so of work.

I thought it perhaps would help if I removed the wifi card all together, so I just did, but I'm not really sure it helped. My hand still gets really uncomfortable. I'm starting to think the heat problem (also?) lies with the Bluetooth device, which is situated just besides, if I'm not wrong. Perhaps it is a combination, perhaps it is not. One thing is for sure, I don't understand why.

As the BT card was secured by some more screws I didn't feel like playing with it right now; not sure if the warranty covers it.

Since this is my first Thinkpad ever, I'm a bit unused to the ThinkVantage system, but as far as I can tell I'm upgraded to all the current device drivers. Though I still haven´t tried manually removing the driver and the software, and then installing them again.

#17 Post by **archer6** » Sat Apr 29, 2006 8:07 pm

pdudas wrote:Hi!

My X60's palmrest gets warm when I use the wifi.
Do you have this or is it only my problem?