SP3 i7 heats up during I/O

[imsam67]

Prior to getting my SP3 i7, I had the SP3 i5 which I used for a month. I had practically no heating issues.

As soon as I got the SP3 i7, I noticed some heating issues but wasn't sure what was causing it. After using for about a week or so, I know that anytime I'm writing to the hard drive, my SP3 really heats up.

Today, as I was downloading the updates, I noticed the fan kicked in. By the time, updates were installed and the device rebooted itself and came back with the message "Updating... Please do not turn off your computer", my SP3 showed me the thermometer icon on the screen and shut itself off!

I thought this would create some issues as the installation of updates were not yet completed. I waited a few seconds and manually turned on my SP3. It came back on, finished the installation and resumed normal operation.

There was no heating after that and the fan never started again.

I have to say though that my SP3 i7 really has a very low tolerance for heat -- or it really heats up fast. Anyone else having the same issues?

 

[ctitanic]

That was a scary moment! Just keep your eyes opened. The fan went on during the firmware installation in my SP3 i5 but for just few seconds and did not got too hot.

 

[malberttoo]

Prior to getting my SP3 i7, I had the SP3 i5 which I used for a month. I had practically no heating issues.

As soon as I got the SP3 i7, I noticed some heating issues but wasn't sure what was causing it. After using for about a week or so, I know that anytime I'm writing to the hard drive, my SP3 really heats up.

Today, as I was downloading the updates, I noticed the fan kicked in. By the time, updates were installed and the device rebooted itself and came back with the message "Updating... Please do not turn off your computer", my SP3 showed me the thermometer icon on the screen and shut itself off!

I thought this would create some issues as the installation of updates were not yet completed. I waited a few seconds and manually turned on my SP3. It came back on, finished the installation and resumed normal operation.

There was no heating after that and the fan never started again.

I have to say though that my SP3 i7 really has a very low tolerance for heat -- or it really heats up fast. Anyone else having the same issues?

I saw another user complain of the same thing today. May be an i7 problem coming to light.

 

[ctitanic]

I saw another user complain of the same thing today. May be an i7 problem coming to light.

Well, I have to admit that it does not suprice me. I always thought that it was a miracle to have an i5 in the SP3 body and that an i7 was impossible because of the heat issues.

 

[Moonsurface]

There are a few i7 owners on here, so I'm surprised, if it was a major issue, that they aren't jumping all over this thread. Of course i have a vested interest in finding out if it is a general problem with the i7. Personally I would expect a bit more heat, but I have read threads from people who say theirs doesn't seem to heat more than the i7, so I'm interested to see if others owners will say they have a problem or not.

 

[GreyFox7]

Well, I have to admit that it does not suprice me. I always thought that it was a miracle to have an i5 in the SP3 body and that an i7 was impossible because of the heat issues.

Thermal Design Point TDP for the package is the same whether i5 or i7 the performance difference of the i7 with a lower base clock than the i5 (1.7 vs 1.9) is where the Intel secret sauce gets applied.

There are a few i7 owners on here, so I'm surprised, if it was a major issue, that they aren't jumping all over this thread. Of course i have a vested interest in finding out if it is a general problem with the i7. Personally I would expect a bit more heat, but I have read threads from people who say theirs doesn't seem to heat more than the i7, so I'm interested to see if others owners will say they have a problem or not.

I have seen several posts about the thermometer being displayed and shutting down and I believe they have been both i5s and i7s. This may be new units which have not had one of the other firmware updates applied. Although there are several firmwares I believe each firmware update is inclusive so you'll get all updates by applying the latest fw.

 

[Moonsurface]

Yes the reports with the thermometer scare me, but I think I've seen them from i5's as well as i7's.

 

[GTiceman]

I am actually considering returning my i7 for the i5 because of heat issues. The fan kicks on a lot and the device certainly gets very hot. I have had the thermometer issue twice while encoding goPro video

 

[FlySwatter]

My I7/256 received 46 updates including firmware yesterday. As I was installing the the updates and listening to the fan spin away, I was reading comments on the forum from folks who had various mini-scares with the updates. Those experiences had me concerned, but mine actually updated, installed, and rebooted with no issues. Of interest, is that when I rebooted it later, it told me it was updating the system (again?), and that update seemed to be the firmware update as it all happened in "black screen mode". Over-all, I surprised that it went as smoothly as it did after reading other comments.

 

[GreyFox7]

My I7/256 received 46 updates including firmware yesterday. As I was installing the the updates and listening to the fan spin away, I was reading comments on the forum from folks who had various mini-scares with the updates. Those experiences had me concerned, but mine actually updated, installed, and rebooted with no issues. Of interest, is that when I rebooted it later, it told me it was updating the system (again?), and that update seemed to be the firmware update as it all happened in "black screen mode". Over-all, I surprised that it went as smoothly as it did after reading other comments.

You really do have to temper online comments as its often the one with the squeaky wheel and everyone else is fine. Like you, mine updated with no problems. Then I created a problem see:

http://www.surfaceforums.net/threads/no-display-on-external-monitors-oh-boy-ive-done-it-now.10393/

in the process of resolving that I installed/uninstalled/reinstalled & rebooted etc. Then tried going back the last restore point... before yesterdays updates... backed out all of that ... still didn't fix it. I did a Refresh... yea, problem fixed. Then 42 updates to do since I refreshed ... The fan ran, it got warm but everything went swimmingly.

Pretty good stress test for the SP3 and me.

 

[Moonsurface]

That's why I'd like as many i7 owners to chip in as poss...

 

[ctitanic]

Prior to getting my SP3 i7, I had the SP3 i5 which I used for a month. I had practically no heating issues.

As soon as I got the SP3 i7, I noticed some heating issues but wasn't sure what was causing it. After using for about a week or so, I know that anytime I'm writing to the hard drive, my SP3 really heats up.

Today, as I was downloading the updates, I noticed the fan kicked in. By the time, updates were installed and the device rebooted itself and came back with the message "Updating... Please do not turn off your computer", my SP3 showed me the thermometer icon on the screen and shut itself off!

I thought this would create some issues as the installation of updates were not yet completed. I waited a few seconds and manually turned on my SP3. It came back on, finished the installation and resumed normal operation.

There was no heating after that and the fan never started again.

I have to say though that my SP3 i7 really has a very low tolerance for heat -- or it really heats up fast. Anyone else having the same issues?

May be it's time to get one of this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-list...r-20&linkCode=sb1&camp=212353&creative=380553