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Help, my VAIO is burning!

post #1 of 2
Thread Starter 
Hi,

I bought a Sony VAIO VGN-BX297XP a month ago (beginning of September, 2007). It is an old model w.o. Dual Core, but I wanted the big screen with the wonderful resolution of 1920x1200 and didn't care about the lack of Dual Core. Another positive thing was that the OS is Windows XP Pro, as I really dislike Vista, which I think is pure bloatware.

I also got it really cheap (to be in Sweden), 10000 SEK (1600USD) instead of 22500 SEK (3500USD), which was the normal price.

I mainly use it as a DTR and I like it a lot, but there is one really annoying thing with this notebook: the CPU fan is blowing constantly and it's burning hot!
Idle in the Windows desktop the CPU temperature is around 70 degrees Celsius (158 degrees Fahrenheit), and when running some applications it can reach up to 85 degrees C (185 degrees F)!
Even at 70 degrees, the fan blowing sound is very high, and at 85 degrees the fan really revs up and the sound is ridiculously high, it feels like it's gonna break any minute (it hasn't, so far).

The specifications are:
CPU Pentium M 760 2.00 GHz
2GB DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz
2x100GB HDD
DVD+-RW drive
ATI Mobility Radeon X700 graphics card
17.0" WUXGA 1920x1200 X-black LCD screen (wonderful!)

Has anyone else experienced unusually high temperatures on their VAIO(s)? Replies from people who has (or has had) any model of VAIO, or this model in particular, are welcome.

What could be a possible solution? Can my notebook be faulty? Could it just be bad mounting of the CPU cooler, or is my CPU faulty/of bad quality, or could it be that the CPU cooler is inadequate on this model?

As a side note, I think that the lack of a built-in microphone is really strange. How can a notebook with built-in web camera lack a built-in microphone? That's annoying but I can live with that. It's harder to live with the CPU fan blowing like crazy all the time.

Regards,
post #2 of 2
I have an even older model – A297XP, exactly 3 years old, everything fine, still running very cool and quiet.
To clarify - is your BX new or used (secondhand – eBay etc.)?

If it's a used one I would consider opening it carefully, cleaning CPU/GPU heat sink – there may be lots of dust blocking air flow.
Many users including me recommend using a vacuum cleaner regularly to suck off dust from the fan intake grill as a prevention measure. This way I didn't have to open and clean my VAIO yet. I also clean my desk once every day – I might be crazy though.

If it's new I would contact support. Usually such Sony models are very quiet, at least when running idle most of the time - office work etc.

One thing you can try in any case:
Free software RMClock http://cpu.rightmark.org/ lets you undervolt the CPU among other things. Less voltage means less temperature. I have extraordinary improvement because of this on my A297XP, it keeps the fan at idle speed most of the time. E.g. my Intel Pentium M "Dothan" is absolutely stable at only 1.02 V @ 1.8 Ghz instead of default 1.34 V. But be careful and use stress tests (e.g. Prime) to confirm stability.
Right now free tool "MobileMeter" says: 35°C CPU temp, 33°C HDD temp (ambient room temp about 20°C).

MrM
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