Very Upset with Body Heating - NP530UC (just purchased) - Any Solution?

Hello,
I've purchased today a new NP530UC-A03 laptop (intel i3 processor),
it came with win 8, and by default the energy plan is "Samsung Optimized".

now, before purchase I've read this review, about same model only equipped with intel i5 processor:

Review Samsung Series 5 530U3C-A01DE Ultrabook - NotebookCheck.net Reviews

the review states that on idle mode the heating is not so bad, however, in my case, the heating seems to be like it's on the overload mode,
with the left top part of the body really heating up, making it unpleasant to type in about third of the keyboard surface, and also unpleasant to have the laptop on the lap.

few notes:
1. I'm not hearing the fan at all, I have no clue where it is located actually.
2. my CPU temp is about 60 degrees Celsius (when i start the computer it's about 45 - checked with an external app)
3. my CPU usage is is about 5%-20% at max (checked with task manager) - meaning i'm not stressing out the laptop at all (I'm working with about 20 browser tabs open, that's about it).

I'm very frustrated with this, is it normal at all? seems not according to the review above.
what can I do?

 

Samsung notebooks normally have fairly good cooling systems. I wonder if the fan isn't working or the heat pipe is defective. First run a monitoring program such as HWiNFO and check that the CPU is downclocking to 800MHz. Task Manager doesn't show the CPU speed. If the CPU is stuck on full speed then it will run hotter (but the fan should come on at around 60C).

Next, can you stress the computer with a CPU benchmark such as wPrime to check that the fan is working? It should definitely rev up to a noticeable speed. It would be useful to run HWiNFO during the benchmark so that you can also see the CPU speed and temperature. If the CPU gets above about 85C there's definitely a problem with the cooling system.

John

 

I've downloaded HWinfo, not sure how to check this downclocking thing, do u mean the value in "current timing"? it shows 798.9 mhz.

before I make this stress test, where is this fan located? I can't find it...
could this test damage my computer?

 

HWiNFO has a dynamic CPU speed display on the System Summary page while the Sensors page shows temperatures.

The fan usually sucks air in through vents in the base and blows the hot air out through a vent at the back.

The CPU should automatically throttle itself if the temperature exceeds about 95C, but you can watch what is happening in HWiNFO.

John

 

In the system summary, CPU section:
the "current core frequency", both core's value is now at 1797 MHz.
if understood your previous reply, is that way over what it should be (should be 800MHz??).

in the sensor page:
temperature of CPU: 64 c

temperature of Intel PCH: 68 c (is that the motherboard?)

temperature of S.M.A.R.T: 38 c

 

Those cores should be running at 800MHz under light usage with occasional bursts of extra speed to suit the workload. The result is higher CPU power consumption and heat (although the fan should get rid of it).

Go into the Power Options (right click on Power icon in the notification area) > Advanced settings and check the minimum processor state under Processor power management. It should be 5%. While there, check the cooling policy. It is normal to have passive when on battery (less power used operating the fan) and active when on mains power.

John

 

the min is set to 5%, the max is set to 100% with power connected, and 50% on battery.
as soon as I pull off the power cable, it goes down to 800mhz, however, as soon as I put it back in, it goes up to 1797mhz right away.

why does my laptop insists on using the whole amount of MHz?

 

Why indeed? Something isn't right. However, now we have a clearer understanding of a likely cause of the the heating then we can hunt for a fix.

Have you run Samsung's SW Update program? This may well offer a basket-full of updates. You can let SW Update do its work except that I recommend using the separate BIOS Update program (instructions on where to find it are in the first post in this thread) which keeps the BIOS updating as a separate task and less likely to have problems.

You may well find that a BIOS Update and / or an update of the Settings program will fix the problem. Report back once you have done any updates.

John