Comments on: Notebooks run much cooler today than in times past

By: vm-01

vm-01 — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:55:39 +0000

i don’t know jk. Those new macbooks can get pretty got when they’re plugged in.

By: James Kendrick

James Kendrick — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 00:35:57 +0000

The 2133 does run warmer than most notebooks/ netbooks. It uses the older Via processor which is not energy efficient. My evaluation of the 2133 didn’t see it getting really hot, just fairly warm.

By: CSMR

CSMR — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 22:06:17 +0000

Intel has moved quickly since pentium 4, with process shrinks and architecture changes including power saving technologies that were very lacking before. Dual core also helps since you can cut down frequency and VCore. Only its chipsets are still hot and that will improve when graphics are incorporated into the CPU. Arrandale later in 2009 should be a big step forwards.

By: Jacob

Jacob — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 16:57:18 +0000

Lenovos seem to be the best in terms of running cool. They have spent much time engineering better fan and cooling systems. Unfortunately Lenovos still aren’t much to look at, and I think the workmanship quality has gone down recently.

By: everbrave

everbrave — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 12:07:06 +0000

The best evidence for the -still- low efficiency of current CPU families is that most laptops -still- need forced cooling by means of at least one fan! So, how long will it take when most laptops are fanless?

By: Luscious

Luscious — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 11:53:07 +0000

Tell me about it James. My HP zd7000 has been a great space heater, but any notebook that uses desktop processors is like that – darn hot.

Intel have gone a long way with their mobile C2D lineup to deal with the heat problem. The next big step is getting that same heat under control from mobile GPU cards, which if you’ve ever used an SLI notebook, will know what I mean.

As for design, notebooks still can be found built thick. The Toshiba Qosmio X305 series sit 2.5 inches high off the table, but that a testament to the excellent thermal design which keeps everything not only cool but does that quietly.

I’ve gone through a lot of notebooks these past six months, and if you keep up with my reviews on my blog, you’ll see that I also examine heat on every notebook I get my hands on.

By: Joseph Kim, MD, MPH

Joseph Kim, MD, MPH — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 03:36:03 +0000

My Lenovo Thinkpad X200 tablet runs so cool that I can use it directly on my lap and I don’t notice any heat from it. It’s amazing, considering that it has a 7200 RPM hard drive and that it’s so thin.

By: Oliver

Oliver — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 22:58:53 +0000

My HP 2133 gets nice and toasty hot. And it’s not *that* old :)

By: gmazin

gmazin — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 21:57:53 +0000

Yeah at the moment AMD processors seem to be hotter and less energy efficient than their Intel counterparts.

Personally I don’t think the heat issue is at a good level yet, but it’s better than before.

By: James Kendrick

James Kendrick — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 21:38:54 +0000

It’s been my experience that AMD processors run much hotter than Intel’s. Most notebooks I have used with AMD inside get much warmer than similar Intel-equipped notebooks.