Dell Studio 1558 temps

Hi,

Last year I've bought a Dell Studio 1558 laptop. The specs:
i5 520m
HD5470
Intel 6200 wifi
500gb 5400rpm

I guess these are the relevant specs for this issue. I've got an in-home warranty with accidental damage coverage.

The fan noise has always been a problem, but last weeks it's getting worse and worse. According to this review, the average temps should be around 35 degrees. I'm having a faster GPU than the one in the review so I guess mine should be a bit higher, but currently, the avarage is about 60 degrees:

(Please ignore the max temps - these are not under load. I've also seen GPU peaks up to 67 degrees while idle!)

These temps are on a (almost) clean Windows install; I've reformatted the HDD a few days ago. Right after installing Windows, the temps were a little lower (around 50-55 degrees, which is a HUGE difference in fan noise!).

I haven't tested it yet under load, but after playing Minecraft for about 5 minutes, I noticed the CPU temps were about 85-90 degrees, with peaks to 100 degrees. I really have no clue what the max temp of the CPU might be, but I guess it's not far from overheating. The GPU also gets temps of around 90, but I've heard it only gets dangerous starting at 120 degrees, so I guess that's fine (for now).

My knowledge of hardware is zero. I can clean my desktop's fan, but that not really hard ofcourse. I've never disassembled a laptop. After searching some information about this, it seems it's very hard to get to the fan and some pieces can easily be broken (it seem to have happened to more experienced people!). I also don't know how to effectivily apply thermas grease and such things. I know a few people who could do it for me, but I don't really like that... if they break things, I assume I can not rely on the warranty.

So:
1) Does anyone have the same hardware as me? What temps are you getting?
2) What's the max temp of the CPU before there is a chance of overheating?
3) Could I call Dell and let them clean the laptop for me? It's not really a defect, but it's just a matter of time before it starts overheating, which will be a defect. And the fan noise is also way too unnaccaptable. Anyone having experience with this?

Thanks

 

i have the amd4570, which i think the 5470 is based on. my idle is 56c which is pretty high, i think its just the card architecture.

what i can tell u is that dell for sure wont clean the laptop for u just because the temps are kind of high. I replaced the thermal paste on my gpu and cpu about a year ago and it dropped the temps by quite a bit. I was scared to do it myself so i brought it to a comp repair shop for around 20 bucks which i can live with.

 

*sigh* after a few minutes on 100% CPU load, the temps go to 100+ degrees. I guess that can't be normal anymore...

 

100+ is not normal.

Mine idle 60C when plugged in (voltage is 1.2V), Unplugged it idles around low 50C.

Under load playing games it goes as high as 95C but quickly drops.

I had to do copper mod on the GPU as mine were hitting 100C but after the mod they stay low 90C under max loads.

 

Hi I'm experiencing the same problem with your same rig. On idle gpu temps are about 58; when the gpu is on full load during gaming they easily reach the threshold limits and then the throttling kicks in. I've also modded the latest bios (a12) in order to undervolt the gpu but that didn't help at all

May I ask u something? which ati drivers are you currently using? I've started having these problems after having installed 11.6 but now I'm not able to install anymore any ati driver (dunno know why). Try to install the old 11.5 and then tell me if that did help.

 

In CPUID Hardware Monitor, my temps just browsing are fluctuating on Core 0 around 43 and Core 2 is 39. That is plugged in. I have similar specs as the OP.

I am using much older ATI drivers, the 10.8 version.

Have you checked your vents?

 

The Realtek driver could be causing it. When I had it installed it was using about 20-30% with just minimum load browsing websites etc. This also caused the fans to spin with warm air. I uninstalled it and it automatically installed the High Definition Audio Device on reboot. Now the CPU is low and the fans don't get warm or hot under normal load.