Static & Heat

Hi, here's another wierd question from me. I keep getting zapped by static whenever I touch the Hel 80 keyboard or the touchpad. Is anyone else experiencing the same symptoms. Is it because this is an aluminium finish?

Another problem I am experiencing is the Heat on the left palm rest. It isn't that much of a problem though but just wanted to confirm again. I have read the posts where it said that due to the 7200RPM HDD the left side is the warmest etc. The left side does get pretty warm and I haven't even started running any major games/applications. Also notice that the Fan is almost always running. Is that a problem?

Also notice that there are 2 vents. 1 is on the side where the Fan is and the other is at the bottom. While reading other posts it was mentioned in one of them that we should not block the vent at the bottom on the left side. Does that mean that I can't place the laptop directly on a table and have to place it on a laptop cooler or something like that. Sorry for asking so many questions. Thx for helping.

 

It is winter and I've noticed I get shocked by many more metal objects that in other seasons, probably due to the taking on and off of coats and such. I have never experienced that shock before from touchpad, but it is understandable because it is metal.

How long have you had your computer? How long has the heat issue been going on?

The vent on the bottom left side is the intake vent, and there are two output vents (left side of the computer and one on the back). You don't block the input vent when you put it on a table, because it just takes in the air around it, so no problem.

As for the fan always running, maybe there is dust accumulation in your vents also. Go to your desktop, right click and click properties, hit the settings tab then the advance button, click on nVidia GeForce 7600 and click on the temperature settings. This, when you are not gaming, should really be at or below 50. I recently cleaned out my vents (check this guide out), and my idle temp went from 60 to 40.

 

I returned mine mainly due to screen quality, but the left palm rest heating up was my second biggest complaint. I am left handed and a constant touchpad user and it was too warm to leave my hand on without feeling like I should turn on my air conditioner to cool me down. Can't imagine how it would be in the Texas summer. When I got a replacement (The Asus G1) I made sure to get one that stays cool on the palm rests.

It is really hard to know what is important to you before you buy. I had never had warm palm rests to know I'd hate them. Now I know.

 

I have had the laptop for a week now. I am not running any games on it. Just normal browsing and playing with it. I am still getting used to it. I am going to try and clean the fan. My GPU temprature is 53 C.

Ok the static is really getting to me now. I have been getting zapped umpteen times since this morning and in addition I just got zapped in the ear through my headphones. I am also experiencing this problem in the headphones which sounds like interference or something. It happens every few minutes. I have disabled the mute and all.

 

Is your house fairly dry? If so, that's probably why you're getting the static. Do you get shocked touching any other metal around you?

I have a 7200 RPM drive in mine, and it gets warm there too. I've only had the laptop shut down twice (in 4-5 months) due to heat. One time was my fault - I had it on my lap and the intake vent was blocked. The 2nd time it had been running for > 24 hours on my desk, and I started doing massive file transfers to my external drive. I blew out the fan and was surprised at the amount of dust that was in there.

What firmware are you running? The later ones had better fan control. It'll tell you when you boot up the computer if quiet boot (?) is disabled. It may also say when you go into the CMOS setup (F2).

 

If you think the HEL80 puts out a lot of heat, you must not have used any older laptops, or those with P4's in them. They were HOT!!! In fact, I couldn't use a toshiba satellite (P4) on my lap for more than an hour or so. The P4m was better, but still ran very hot in comparison.

I still think you got a bad screen. I have no complaints with mine, and it's definitely the best looking one I've seen in a while.

 

Hi Brianj,

As mentioned by csinth above the intake vent is the one at the bottom. How is it possible to not block the intake vent with the laptop being on your lap or say it is placed on a solid surface like a table. The bottom of the laptop will always be blocked hence blocking the vent. Is there something I am missing here? I usually use my bag as a platform and place my laptop on that when I am travelling. Could that cause a problem later? Thx

 

you shouldn't need to clean the fans after only a week of use unless you're actively throwing dust into the thing.

most laptops draw air in from the top beside the keyboard or speaker type vents below the screen - depending on the design! but air is not generally drawn in through the bottom\side vents - they are mostly to allow the escape of hot air from the hard drive and cpu fan! if these exit vents are blocked (from resting on carpets or clothing, etc.), hot air has nowhere to go, which is what usually causes overheating issues.

Tip: I tend to carry a dinner "Place Mat" (hard, not soft\floppy) in my bag\case for when I have to use it on my lap, it doubles as a mouse mat when I'm at a desk.

Static might be caused by the type of clothing\footwear you choose! If it happens only at home - it might be generated by something like a carpet you have walked across. I know I used to suffer static shocks when I wore my poly tracksuit.

 

when it's on my lap, I just tend to push it to one side or the next to keep the bottom vent fairly open. If you notice the air out of the vent getting really warm, or not blowing out as fast as it should, just check to see if the vent is open. It's not really a big deal.

I picked up one of these to use on my desk. Should be here Friday.
https://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=373526

It got pretty decent reviews, and has a USB hub built into it, so it seemed like a decent price. Out of stock now though...

 

My Toshiba Satellite has a 4-M in it and gets quite hot underneath. Thing is, I can avoid that by moving one leg slightly to where the hot part isn't on me. I could find no way to avoid putting my hand on the Compal's palm rest - plus the hand sends a lot more heat signals back to the brain than the lap does.

As far as the screen, powernotebooks assures me that the screen was normal. I added to my earlier thread that the screen sparkles like the MacBook Pro but most people don't seem to be sensitive to it.

The computer never gave me a shock, but I'm not very prone to static shocks. The Sony SZ series is the only one I've heard with this particular problem and I think it was fixed with changing out the power adaptor for an off brand model that must have had better grounding. So to the Sony forum here and search for "electric shock". Maybe their solution will help.

 

Shop shuffling your furry slippered feet on the carpet while sitting at your computer in flannel!

 

On a hard surface, there will be enough space between the notebook and the surface for it to draw in the air it wants.

That is definitely a likely cause. Your bag is soft, and will let your notebook sag into it and prevent the vents from pulling in the air they need. The notebook is also supposed to "breathe" a little through its keyboard, but the bottom intake is primary.

The HEL80 does need to have its bottom clear. A hard surface to work on would be a good idea.

Not a bad idea. The Sony SZ was shocking some people due to an ungrounded power supply. Perhaps this is a possibility--but I would also guess it's static electricity.

And if I'm not mistaken--aluminum doesn't conduct electricity very well.

 

you'd be mistaken

Nearly all of the power lines (Distribution and Transmission) are Aluminum. Some still use copper, but aluminum is standard. They still use copper wire in your home though.

 

How do I find out what the CPU Temprature is? Is there a built in program in windows or do I have to install something else? Thx

 

You can use CoreTemp or RMClock. If I remember correctly, Notebook Hardware Control didn't read my CPU's temps. Perhaps an updated BIOS would fix that though.

Apparently I was wrong about that. Thanks for catching that. I don't know why I had that in my head ;p. Apparently aluminum is conductive. I apologize for any confusion I may have caused with that earlier post.