X60s palmrest heat: What's the story?

[Thinkpaddict]

I am thinking of getting an X60s, but all the comments about excessive palmrest heat have put a damper on my acquisitive impulses. What are your (X60s owners) experiences about this?

I suppose I could live with permanently disabling the builtin wifi and using a PCMCIA solution instead. Does turning off the builtin wifi make the palmrest cool?

It is too bad someone with a IR gun thermometer hasn't taken to perform some measurements, which might produce some scientific data (even if the usability of such might be undermined by the size of the sample.)

So what do you guys think, is the X60s palmrest heat a dealbreaker, or not?

[erik]

It is too bad someone with a IR gun thermometer hasn't taken to perform some measurements, which might produce some scientific data (even if the usability of such might be undermined by the size of the sample.)

i'll run a few large downloads through my X61 and take a reading with my IR temp gun.   i'm not sure how it'll compare to an X60s but at least it'll give you a point of reference.

[ryengineer]

I suggest for Thinkpad X6xs you should go with Intel's wireless card rather than Atheros, the machines use LV processor and handling the latter NIC can run them into some palmrest heat issues. I've used X61s with Atheros card and certainly the palmrest gets warm which I didn't find uncomfortable but it definitely can concern some users.

[erik]

while downloading a 250MB file twice, the palmrest temp averaged 35°C (95°F).   this is with the intel 3945ABG card.   for reference, my hands measured about 37°C (98.6°F) on average so the palmrest, to me, doesn't feel hot at all.

[SteveDC]

On a new X61s with the Intel AGN card, the palm rest, to me, feels warm but not too hot.

On an aircraft with the radio turned "off", it is still warm. I guess the baseband and other circuitry on the card stays active even when the RF is off.

[RedGreen]

On a new X61s with the Intel AGN card, the palm rest, to me, feels warm but not too hot.

I agree that it doesn't feel too hot most of the time.

But I must say that once in a while (at least for me) the palm rest of my X61s heats up to an uncomfortable temperature. This really only happens when I am using the machine in an already warm place. But I would expect the machine to be able to cool itself well enough for that not to be a problem.

Also, I have been more worried about other components due to heat. My HDD sits very near 50C at all times (which really worries me), and my CPU stays at about 45C.

Edit: I have the Intel AGN wifi card.

[Lugnut]

I have an x61s also with the Intel AGN. At times the palmrest gets toasty when using the wireless.

[apbudha]

Thinkpaddict, it's a tough call. This is a glaring downside, yet the xseries 6x has so much upside you're willing to consider it. Tell you what, I never notice the warm palmrest when I have it connected to external monitor, keyboard/mouse, which is a chunk of the time : } When I am using it without the above but on ethernet and wireless off, after a little while it does warm up, like a fellow poster mentioned. I suppose this is the interesting part.

[young guy]

I thought the X61/s with WANN include a second fan which addresses the heat issue? And the X61/s without WANN do not have the second fan, so it would have a warmer palmrest in comparison?

[EOMtp]

I thought the X61/s with WANN include a second fan which addresses the heat issue?

I do not have any reason to believe, based on my own tests, that the second fan makes any difference whatsoever ... (although it is difficult to imagine that IBM/Lenovo would have included it if it were indeed useless). I would like to know if anyone who has the second fan can provide anecdotal evidence of its effectiveness.

[apbudha]

as a holiday project one could try it.
for the HMM (not hidden markov model!):
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... 62866.html

page 85. take that, with an IR gun for the before and after measurement under various loads, and some egg nog you have a party.

[young guy]

I wonder if you installed the 2nd fan on a non-WWAN if it would mean a cooler palmrest? (Assuming the connector for the 2nd fan is present on a non-WWAN board.)

Add that to the holiday project to-do list.

[CyberDude]

My palm rest on my X60s normally is just a slightly warm but not enough to bother me. Occasionally it does get quite a bit warmer where I can see it bothering people an I would find it uncomfortable if it was always like that.

I think it gets hot when you're using WiFi and the battery is charging at the same time because I never notice it getting hot while running on battery only. I'll have to do some more testing.

A great laptop though

EDIT: Forgot to say i have the Intel 3945ABG WiFi card in mine.

[Thinkpaddict]

while downloading a 250MB file twice, the palmrest temp averaged 35°C (95°F). this is with the intel 3945ABG card. for reference, my hands measured about 37°C (98.6°F) on average so the palmrest, to me, doesn't feel hot at all.

Thank you for checking on this, this forum is amazing!
The temperature average sounds about right, but it must get a lot warmer on the right side of the palmrest, correct? Otherwise, I imagine people wouldn't be complaining about the heat.

I actually got my X60s, and it does get pretty warm on the right palmrest, even with the Wifi turned off. I have the Intel ABG card, which apparently is better than the Atheros one in that respect. It's not really a deal breaker for me though, because the system is very good otherwise. Just a little disappointing detail.

[Thinkpaddict]

I suggest for Thinkpad X6xs you should go with Intel's wireless card rather than Atheros, the machines use LV processor and handling the latter NIC can run them into some palmrest heat issues. I've used X61s with Atheros card and certainly the palmrest gets warm which I didn't find uncomfortable but it definitely can concern some users.

Thanks for your suggestion. I followed it, and I got my Thinkpad X60s with the Intel ABG card the other day. The right palmrest area gets definitely warm, much warmer than any of my previous Thinkpads (and I've had a few.) But it doesn't get so hot that it's definitely uncomfortable to type on it. Overall, I am very happy with the experience.

[Thinkpaddict]

Thinkpaddict, it's a tough call. This is a glaring downside, yet the xseries 6x has so much upside you're willing to consider it. Tell you what, I never notice the warm palmrest when I have it connected to external monitor, keyboard/mouse, which is a chunk of the time : } When I am using it without the above but on ethernet and wireless off, after a little while it does warm up, like a fellow poster mentioned. I suppose this is the interesting part.

Exactly my thoughts. I wouldn't consider getting rid of my X60s because of the warm palmrest, simply because it is such a nice computer in every other way. I'm sorry that you returned yours (I gather this from the burnt smell thread.) Are you going to give another unit a chance, or will you look for something else?

[Thinkpaddict]

My palm rest on my X60s normally is just a slightly warm but not enough to bother me. Occasionally it does get quite a bit warmer where I can see it bothering people an I would find it uncomfortable if it was always like that.

I think it gets hot when you're using WiFi and the battery is charging at the same time because I never notice it getting hot while running on battery only. I'll have to do some more testing.

A great laptop though

EDIT: Forgot to say i have the Intel 3945ABG WiFi card in mine.

I have the same card on my X60s
I agree with you that it does get quite a bit warm on the right side.

I've thought about the comments of many people that seem to indicate that charging the battery causes the temperature on the right to increase as well. I wonder if this has to do with the fact that the charging circuit is towards the right. The AC connector is on the right side at least(one of the things I don't like about this new series as opposed to the older Thinkpads that have it on the back.)