Thinkpads Forum

asiafish wrote:Compare the T4x to the X6x/X4x and you will see that while much thinner than the Dell, it is still much thicker than the X-series. The fact remains that the palmrest is an area where a hot item can be placed without causing damage to other delicate components . If you want better cooling in that particular space, then you need a thicker palmrest, and with a thicker palmrest people will complain about their ThinkPad getting bulkier.

Umm, I think the wireless card (the main source of the heat) is under the palm rest because of user access, rather than protecting other components. IMHO, the problem is lack of adequate cooling on the right side, including lack of appropriate venting. Seems like a design problem. If it were necessary, I gladly would trade a bit extra thickness for less heat.

Not me. The heat is not excessive or painful, just, well, a bit hot. I'll take a bit hot in exchange for thin and light.

Of course, thats why I own an X41 instead of a T series, Dell or whatever.

asiafish wrote:Not me. The heat is not excessive or painful, just, well, a bit hot. I'll take a bit hot in exchange for thin and light.

Of course, thats why I own an X41 instead of a T series, Dell or whatever.

Alas, the palm rest on my X60s is much hotter than on my X40. Have you tried a X60s with the Atheros card?

Finally got to play with one in fact. Its hot, but for a machine of that size, I'll still take the heat. Sadly, the owner wasn't willing to trade straight up his X60s for my X41.

Not sure if anyone else has noticed a difference but...

I have the Intel card in the X60s and I noticed when I switched my APs in Access Connections from default (which is ABG) to G or B & G the right palm rest became noticeably cooler. It isn't room temperature but it's a couple of degrees cooler than the CPU (40-43) whereas it used to always be a few degrees warmer than the CPU (45-49).

I'd be curious to see if it affects anyone else.

smvp6459 wrote:I switched my APs in Access Connections from default (which is ABG) to G or B & G

I cant find it (but i have atheros) so please, how exactly did you do that?

SkiBunny wrote:I cant find it (but i have atheros) so please, how exactly did you do that?

I don't know if you can control it with the Atheros card, but with Intel wireless here's how I did it:

-Press Fn-F5
-Go to the bottom left corner and click "Open Access Connections"
-Go to the "Locations" menu and select the "Manage Profiles" option

This should bring up your various wireless location
-Right click the AP you want to use
-Select the "edit" option
-Select the "Wireless Settings" tab

Next to the option "3. Wireless Mode" there's a drop down box
-Select "802.11G" or "802.11B" depending on your connection.

Again, I'm not sure if this will help the Atheros card but it seems to have cooled down my Intel card.

You can also get directly to the wireless setting of the AP you're currently using by clicking on the picture of the wireless router at the Access Connections creen.

smvp6459,

Are you able to measure the palm rest surface temperatures (not internal) with an non-contact thermometer while using this A/B/G tweak?

I have no tool to measure the external temperature, but my palm tells me it feels cooler.

I have the atheros card (now), and I tested using Access Connections to change the wireless mode to see if it has an effect on temperature.

For me, it doesn't. Whether running on "Auto" or "g" mode, the APS temp is 52C.

FWIW