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Safe Laptop Temperatures and Precuations

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Hello everyone,
I own a dv6tqe-7000 and wanted some insight on the temperatures. I've never owned a laptop with 'high-performance' components so I'm not really sure if these temperatures are normal.

On idle, browsing, and regular tasks, the GPU (NVIDIA 650M) sits at about 45C. When I'm gaming it caps at around 70C. (I measured the temps using GPU-Z)

On idle, browsing, and regular tasks, the CPU (i7-3610QM) sits at about 40C. During gaming it's around 70C. (Measured using CPUID/HWInfo).

I would just like a general consesus on what you thought about these temperatures - Are they normal, well-within normal, very good, a bit high, etc.



The other thing I wanted to ask was about me carrying the laptop around on campus. I put in my backpack with a slot that is a pouch meant for the laptop (Has padding on the back where it's on my back and a bit of padding on the front). The thing is that I live in a place that has been in about 100F weather regularly.

Normally I'm only outside for about 15-20 min max - it's been a week on campus now so is it possible that if I keep doing this my laptop can be affected, specifically in temperature? Can the temperature even have been affected now after the week? What are some precautions I should take if so (Buying notebook case, etc)?

Thank you!

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Those temps are okay- a bit on the high side, but acceptable. Intel mobile CPU's can get really hot without taking any (immediate) damage (for example, the junction temp on your CPU is 105C. That means that's the hottest temp that the actual internal transistors can reach without taking damage. However, this number is somewhat higher than the external temperature (like 10C- maybe more for ivy) for the CPU, which is what CPU-z reads. So you don't want CPU-z to say 105C.), and GPU's are much more heat resistant than CPU's. The only thing I would suggest is to try changing some power management settings (maybe there is an option for active cooling vs passive in BIOS?)

As long as your not doing some hardcore gaming in 100F weather, its not a problem. 100F is like 37C, which is pretty low for a computer. As long as you feel like your not going to break your laptop in your backpack i wouldn't worry about it.

Also, to properly see the max temps for the CPU, use prime95, and Furmark for the GPU.
Laptop Expert

Those temperatures are completely normal. In fact they're so normal it's almost scary. The threshold for "too hot" is between 95 and 100 degrees centigrade for both the CPU and GPU. Many desktop cooling solutions will keep the CPU and GPU below 70 but 70 is still perfectly fine

Thanks for the reply; I have a Cooler Master U3 Notepal that I always use when I game. I think I don't have the fans positioned right though or they're not optimized if the CPU and GPU should be below 70C.

I've heard posts about U3s having an effect of up to a 10C drop in temps. I haven't gamed without the U3 so I don't know if the CPU and GPU would kick up to 80C on its own.

I game on pretty minimal settings and 1366x768 res, I also have TurboBoost disabled; any other tips on how to decrease the heat, for gaming specifically? I want to keep my laptop in top performance.
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Laptop Expert

touchtoplay said:
Thanks for the reply; I have a Cooler Master U3 Notepal that I always use when I game. I think I don't have the fans positioned right though or they're not optimized if the CPU and GPU should be below 70C.

I've heard posts about U3s having an effect of up to a 10C drop in temps. I haven't gamed without the U3 so I don't know if the CPU and GPU would kick up to 80C on its own.

I game on pretty minimal settings and 1366x768 res, I also have TurboBoost disabled; any other tips on how to decrease the heat, for gaming specifically? I want to keep my laptop in top performance.


If you're really concerned about the load temperatures, try replacing the thermal paste. Most OEMs really cheap out on it, some may even use those crappy foam pads.

I'm actually really nervous about doing that - I just got this laptop, and on top of that I've never disassembled a laptop, just a desktop.

I just re-positioned my fans - making clear markers and a definite position of how I'm placing my laptop on the U3. It seems to have made an effect - at least 5C lower on GPU and CPU just on idle and browsing. Have yet to try gaming.

Back to the thermal paste though, I might just pay some computer store to do it for me; but probably no time soon because I even get fidgety when people are just holding my laptop.

I did reduce the max processor capacity to 90% though; it was at 99% before just to disable TurboBoost. Any other tips you could possibly provide?
Laptop Authority

touchtoplay said:
Thanks for the reply; I have a Cooler Master U3 Notepal that I always use when I game. I think I don't have the fans positioned right though or they're not optimized if the CPU and GPU should be below 70C.

I've heard posts about U3s having an effect of up to a 10C drop in temps. I haven't gamed without the U3 so I don't know if the CPU and GPU would kick up to 80C on its own.

I game on pretty minimal settings and 1366x768 res, I also have TurboBoost disabled; any other tips on how to decrease the heat, for gaming specifically? I want to keep my laptop in top performance.


The temps you list are normal. No need to worry about them.

As for the cooling pad and the "10c" drop in temps. It really depends on how the laptop is designed internally. If the chassis allows for good airflow, then I suppose a "10c" drop is possible. However, if poorly designed, then a cooling pad will have no effect on internal temps. Generally speaking the larger the laptop the better the potential for good airflow, the smaller it is, the worse the airflow will likely be.

Other than disabling Turbo Boost or forcing the CPU to run at lower than stock speed, the only other alternative would be to replace the thermal between the CPU / GPU and the heatsink with something good like Arctic Silver 5 or IC Diamond or numerous other real good thermal paste. However, this can only be done by taking apart the laptop and it must be done slowly and carefully because everything is compact. Naturally do this would void your warranty.
Laptop Expert

touchtoplay said:
I'm actually really nervous about doing that - I just got this laptop, and on top of that I've never disassembled a laptop, just a desktop.

I just re-positioned my fans - making clear markers and a definite position of how I'm placing my laptop on the U3. It seems to have made an effect - at least 5C lower on GPU and CPU just on idle and browsing. Have yet to try gaming.

Back to the thermal paste though, I might just pay some computer store to do it for me; but probably no time soon because I even get fidgety when people are just holding my laptop.

I did reduce the max processor capacity to 90% though; it was at 99% before just to disable TurboBoost. Any other tips you could possibly provide?


Pay close attention to what I said about 70 centigrade being just fine. A temperature like that might seem unbearably hot to us but to electronics its at best a warm summer day. The chips themselves are actually cooked in an oven at a very high temperature prior to being packaged for sale, they can definitely take the heat. You don't want them running so hot that they solder starts to melt but there's no sense in fixing something that isn't broken. If the airflow improvements lowered the temperatures a bit that should be enough.
Laptop Expert

jaguarskx said:
I believe the maximum TDP on Intel CPUs is 100c before it starts to throttle down to protect itself from heat damage. The difference between 70c and 100c is pretty large.


The cores will automatically throttle when they hit 90C under tubo mode. This can be disabled by increasing the standard clock multiplier but it is highly ill-advised.

Thanks everyone for re-assuring me on my temperatures, really puts me at ease when using this laptop.

Sorry Pinhedd if it sounded like I was doubting you, just wanted to find all the ways to optimize cooling. Hope I didn't offend you.

Also, I'm guessing it's normal for the laptop to get a bit warmer when charging? I like to charge my battery to max and then take out the charger when it's at 100%. Then I use it till it's on critical and then plug it back in; it seems to be quite warm when it's charging back up so is this normal?

When I say warm, I mean when I'm using it on my lap or such. I believe it's only the battery too. If it's at a decent amount of charge though, it feels cool again, even with the charger in.
Laptop Expert

touchtoplay said:
Thanks everyone for re-assuring me on my temperatures, really puts me at ease when using this laptop.

Sorry Pinhedd if it sounded like I was doubting you, just wanted to find all the ways to optimize cooling. Hope I didn't offend you.

Also, I'm guessing it's normal for the laptop to get a bit warmer when charging? I like to charge my battery to max and then take out the charger when it's at 100%. Then I use it till it's on critical and then plug it back in; it seems to be quite warm when it's charging back up so is this normal?

When I say warm, I mean when I'm using it on my lap or such. I believe it's only the battery too. If it's at a decent amount of charge though, it feels cool again, even with the charger in.


Huh? no, not offended at all. I would never expect something to do something that they're not comfortable with, there's a lot of ways that something could get broken.

It is normal for the laptop battery to get a bit warm during charging and discharging (wiki "Internal Resistance" if you want an explanation as to why) if but there's no need to unplug it, in fact this can wear the battery down faster. Once a battery is charged to its rated capacity the voltage will be equalized with the external power source and it will not charge any further no matter how long the power source is applied. Laptop batteries also have internal regulators to make sure that they aren't overcharged because if a Lithium-Ion battery is overcharged very bad things can happen. If the power supply is left attached the laptop will run purely off of AC power which is desirable unless no power plug is available. Laptops will also automatically throttle themselves to reduce power drain when they are running off the battery, leaving it plugged in ensures full performance.
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