Latitude E7450 runs very hot / fan often on

I'm running a fresh Windows 7 64-bit on a Dell Latitude E7450 with a Core i5-5200U Broadwell CPU, and the fan is often on when the CPU utilization is around 25% (why the CPU does that, I'm not exactly sure, but it must be related to having many open tabs in Chrome).

The fan keeps spinning way too often whether I had the Intel Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework installed or not.

If it's warm in the room (87F / 30.5C), the fan is spinning when the CPU utilization (taken with Process Hacker) has been under 10% for the past several minutes.



Below, the fan was blowing loudly, when the ambient temperature was 72F/22C, and the CPU utilization was around 30%:




The second screenshot include the settings for the Intel Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework:

• Low TDP
• Power limit: 2 level
• Acoustics limit: 1 level

(what these settings mean isn't explained anywhere, despite the fact that hundreds of thousands of computers have this driver installed)

All these problems occur while plugged in. While on battery, I haven't noticed the issue, but I'm rarely using the laptop unplugged.

Is there anything I can do?

PS: as my avatar shows, CPU utilization goes through the roof during Google Hangouts. I never had these problems with my former Dell Latitude E6410.

 

Several thoughts:

1. Your first Systen Info screen shows that the CPU is running at minimum speed (0.64GHz) while the second System Info shows 2.32GHz (ie maximum speed). It looks like that one process is fully loading one core of the CPU on the second example.

2. Use Task Manager to check what processes are loading the CPU (on the Processes tab use View > Select Columns to add CPU Time which shows the cumulative CPU time) while % CPU won't exceed 25% for the CPU (one thread on one core running flat out).

3. You can check the CPU package power on the Sensors tab of HWiNFO which will also show the temperatures.

4. Fully load the CPU using a program such as wPrime and see what the temperature and fan speed does. If you get above about 80C under full load then repasting the CPU might be beneficial but if the maximum temperature is well below 80C then the fan rules need to be improved (check for any BIOS update).

John

 

The Windows Task Manager doesn't show any task with CPU consumption more than ~3%. Process Hacker shows different number, but I'm not sure what to make of them.

 

Double check what HWiNFO shows as the CPU speed. At the load those processes are giving the CPU should be ambling along at minimum speed. Also make sure that you are using a performance on demand power profile rather than a maximum performance profile (in reality there's negligible difference because of the CPU's ability to quickly change speed).

Once you are satisfied that the CPU is running at minimum speed then the evidence points to a problem with the cooling system. Most likely whoever assembled the computer applying too much or too little thermal paste but check that the screws are tight. However, don't remove the heat sink unless you have some new paste to apply.

John

 

I would bet on badly screwed on heatsink if there was a problem. Dell preapplies a thick paste layer at the factory on their heatsinks to avoid bad application of thermal paste. The layer is pretty thick though, so a repaste would likely lower temps. However, that isn't something I'd do lightly, it shouldn't void your warrantry, but it can be a delicate operation.