XPS 702 Getting VERY Hot from Streaming

All I am doing is streaming a video and my computer has been getting incredibly hot lately. Any idea what, if anything, can be done about this? I've had the computer for a year but am only noticing the incredible heat in the last month.

I hardly think streaming a sporting event should be so hard for such a powerful computer to handle so what gives?

 

I would try blowing out the dust in the fans, heatsinks, heatfins. Also what defines "hot", what temperatures are you getting? Just because your laptop is shooting out hot air doesn't mean anything.

 

+1 to cleaning out the heatsink. If the problem is recent on an older machine, this is almost certainly the issue.

 

Thanks guys. What is the easiest way to clean that stuff?

As for how hot, I am not really sure how to check, but you can be sure I am not just whining about hot air out of the fan. The area around the mouse and the palm rest areas are scorching hot. I can have my palms in that area without burning, but it is very unpleasant.

 

Air duster (sold at pretty much any computer store) in the vents will go a fair ways, do it on both inlet and outlet (inlet is under the machine, outlet is on the side - left side of course). The palmrest gets hot because the CPU and GPU and the heatsink for them is right under the left side.

If you want a REALLY good dust-out, you can do a system tear-down, but it's pretty intensive and takes a little research on how to do it properly. But the upside is you can really get all the crap out of the box. But hitting both vents well from the outside will go a long way.

 

Thanks a lot for the air duster recommendation. A couple follow ups. Is it just a spray you shoot in the vents and that's it?

Is there anything I can do right now that doesn't involve a screwdriver that would let me see some dust to remove while it is too late to go to a store?


edit: I just blew really hard in the vent and got a face full of dust as a result so that seems like a good sign. This laptop seems much harder to get inside than my last Dell so hopefully most cleaning can be done externally.

edit: holy #@$#. All I do is blow on all the vents and 30 min in after a restart and the computer is not getting hot at all while streaming. Wow.

 

I would like to just ask what the easiest way to clean the heatsink is. I don't really even know what or where it is but is it something that can be cleaned without taking the machine apart?

Also, is there any way to blow out the dust from the vent without swallowing a bunch of the dust ?

 

yes? someone reccomended you buy a can of duster LOL, don't blow it with your mouth silly.... two bad outcomes from that. Allergens and moisture from your mouth.

Take the duster can, from the side of the vent (where the fins are) just give a quarter of the duster can some work in there and you should be good to go. Like Tsunade said though, your external temps (if it feels hot on your palm) is NOTHING compared to what's heating up inside, get a temperature monitor software and measure your temps and come back. As the heat from the palm rest and etc. is normal.

 

My opinion is to suck it out vice blow it. Using a vacuum cleaner nozzle should remove it as opposed to blow it from one place to another.

 

Good theory but unfortunately unless you have a very strong (5 hp+) vacuum and a really small nozzle for it, this doesnt effectively clean the dust out of a heatsink/off the fan.

Get a can of compressed air, turn your comp off and let it cool down (freeon and a 60+C cpu probably wouldnt like each other) or just be careful to hold it strait up and blow until no more dust comes out... (should take a max of 5 seconds)

While some dust goes other places in your computer most of it goes out, the fan spins up very fast when you blow compressed air in it and forces the dust out the exhaust even if your blowing the air into the exhaust. And dust wont hurt/heat up your other parts of your comp unless theres so much in there that it could act as insulation...

 

I go with both approaches, compressed air to break things up, then vacuuming.

At work, there's a auto shop sized air compressor with probably a 100 gallon tank. I've been using that to blow out the desktops I maintain for more than 10 years. I've also used a two gallon portable at home. I start at least a foot away and try to avoid over spinning the fans. If your fans are making siren noises, you're too close.

I've read recently here at the forum that compressed air from a compressor can produce a static discharge that might damage the computer. I've done this hundreds of times and never had a problem BUT, that's with this particular air compressor, and the small one at home. I would be more concerned that the compressor had a good water trap. If they are in constant use, condensation builds up on the inside of the tank and can come out the nozzle. You can check for this by spraying on something large and smooth, excessive water will be obvious. I have not been concerned by a small amount of moisture when cleaning desktops. If there seems to be some moisture, I'll let them stand in a warm room with the case open after cleaning. Due to their closed constrution I wouldn't want to get moisture inside a laptop unless I was prepared to remove the palmrest or back cover before I let it sit.

I don't vacuum at work, mainly because there's no vacuum, and the air compressor does a decent job by itself. For vacuuming the XPS-17 at home, I have an old Craftsman shopvac that came with different shaped attachments that neck the main hose down to a smaller orifice. I think it makes sense to finish up by blowing in the exhaust and vacuum out the inlet.

You can hold a cloth around the contact point between the attachement and the laptop to provide a more airtight seal, or temporarily duct tape the vacuum attachment to the laptop. You can also put the hose on the vacuum's outlet and get compressed air. It's not as powerful as an aircompressor, but it work pretty well when the vacuum has a new or recently cleaned filter.

 

*facepalm* Air duster =/= your mouth

Compressed air from shop lines can be used, but there is a danger of static issues (not huge, but certainly present). The cans of air duster found in plenty of places are better. Just make sure you have a driver's license...some places ID you because kids like to use it to huff and manage to kill themselves...

 

off topic, but matt, I have no idea why these kids are soo obnoxiously stupid. That stuff kills brain cells faster than you change your underwear *facepalm*. Yet kids STILL do it. The wasted energy their parents put on them...