Lenovo Recalling More All-in-One Desktops for Fire Hazard

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One has to question how these "All in ones" were tested. I think their is way too much emphasis on quiet instead of cooling. But I also have to wonder why the other safety features don't work? Such as the temp sensor on the CPU. I think their must be more to it then what Lenovo is saying. Apple has done "All in ones" for a long time, so has HP and Dell. None of which have had significant over heating issues and all use Intel chips.
 
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After reading the Lenovo recall notice. it seems the problem is more related to over heated power supplies. I guess they designed a little too weak on the PSU.
 

alextheblue

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[citation][nom]jescott418[/nom]After reading the Lenovo recall notice. it seems the problem is more related to over heated power supplies. I guess they designed a little too weak on the PSU.[/citation]Seriously, you couldn't read a few paragraphs in the Tom's news article? They mention "power supply" twice. Maybe they need to TL;DR all their articles for "Today's Readers".

TL;DR - Power supply make fire! Fire bad![citation][nom]fb39ca4[/nom]That's what you get when you use $10 PSUs in your products, Lenovo.[/citation]They all do it. Outside of highend systems and boutique builds, all the mass produced OEM boxes use dirt cheap PSUs. The really bad part? The majority of these OEM junk boxes don't have any issues for years, so long as you don't add/upgrade anything that will tax the PSU more than stock components. Very little headroom, and generally not very efficient, even when they're otherwise dependable.
 

jamie_1318

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[citation][nom]jescott418[/nom]One has to question how these "All in ones" were tested. I think their is way too much emphasis on quiet instead of cooling. But I also have to wonder why the other safety features don't work? Such as the temp sensor on the CPU. I think their must be more to it then what Lenovo is saying. Apple has done "All in ones" for a long time, so has HP and Dell. None of which have had significant over heating issues and all use Intel chips.[/citation]

CPU thermal sensor is irrelevant in a PSU failure. For the CPU to get hot enough to shut down a fire would have already started and become self-sufficient down in the power supply. same is more or less true for the mobo thermal sensor(assuming they have one). The thermal limits on AIO Desktops are already quite high, it would even further delay any automatic shutdown.

As many others have pointed out Lenovo obviously used cheap and poorly protected power supplies. clearly very badly designed for them to catch fire before anything stops it indeed. Destroying a computer is one thing but risking homes, and more importantly lives is another. Especially odd for a respectable company like Lenovo.
 

molo9000

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[citation][nom]jescott418[/nom]One has to question how these "All in ones" were tested. I think their is way too much emphasis on quiet instead of cooling. But I also have to wonder why the other safety features don't work? Such as the temp sensor on the CPU. I think their must be more to it then what Lenovo is saying. Apple has done "All in ones" for a long time, so has HP and Dell. None of which have had significant over heating issues and all use Intel chips.[/citation]

Quietness is important when a PC is 60cm in front of your face, which all-in-ones tend to be.
 
not surprising, have any of you used an all in one? the are like radiators, particularly Appls's version, the heat coming from those things even at idle is surprising. Good if you live in a cold climate and need your room heated.
 

waethorn

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[citation][nom]jamie_1318[/nom]CPU thermal sensor is irrelevant in a PSU failure. For the CPU to get hot enough to shut down a fire would have already started and become self-sufficient down in the power supply. same is more or less true for the mobo thermal sensor(assuming they have one).[/citation]

Not really, no. The motherboard chipset has lower thermal tolerance than the CPU. When the CPU gets hot, a lot of heat will dissipate from the heatsink, but the dissipated heat will reflect onto the chipset (Northbridge or single-chip, due to required proximity to the CPU), which itself generates less heat (so it needs lesser cooling - sometimes only passive) but also can't tolerate heat in response, and thus will alarm the motherboard thermal sensor often well before the CPU overheats, causing a system shutdown.

Best advice with every computer is have it checked out by a trained technician to disassemble and have your fans and heatsinks cleared from dust, lint, pet hair, smokers tar, etc., before it gums up your fans and blocks heatsinks. If your fan bearings are already rattling, it's likely already too late, so you'll need to replace those fans. Have it checked AT LEAST once a year, although some people need to have it checked once a month if they live in filth. If you can do it yourself, be my guest, but don't procrastinate. It's required maintenance and needs to be done.

Oh and CHANGE YOUR DAMN FURNACE FILTER! I see too many people that have pet hair and dust hanging out their filter insert because they don't change it regularly, and that's just gross! You should check it at least once a month. And make sure you put it in the right way around. If you have the cheap Walmart filters, replace them every other month. This is just general health advice, but cheap filters let lots of dust through, and it's bad for your computer, as well as your lungs. If you use central A/C, don't forget that it still works through your furnace vents, so it's still blowing dust through. Having your vents cleaned by a professional cleaning service once in a while doesn't hurt either.
 
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