Surface Pro 3 screen too hot to touch

[Jordi32]

I have had a Surface pro 3 for almost a month. It is the i5 version with 8 GB of RAM. The screen gets very hot on its right side, which makes it uncomfortable to use for webpage scrolling. It gets this hot just by browsing. What is your experience? Do you use your fingers to scroll or do you have to use the pen not to burn your fingers?

Thank you in advance for your feedback.

Best regards,

Jordi

 

[GreyFox7]

Did you install the firmware update from 8/19. most people are noticing cooler running after that.

If you have installed it then id recommend a refresh because something is wrong. Some have reported issues with a process using high % CPU.

Then the question is how hot is it really???
Download hardware monitor http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

 

[jnjroach]

I haven't had my SP3 become hot to the touch, it has been warm but no more than any other Ultrabook Class Machine.

Which browser (Brand and Version) are you using? Are you using a 3rd Party Security Suite? If so, which one? Is this with any particular site or all sites...

My son spends hours on Roblox playing through his browser and it works without heating up.

 

[kundas1]

yea same here, I game all the time on it and it's never gotten too warm to the touch, it gets slightly warm thats it...

 

[Jordi32]

Dear GrayFox7,

Thank you for the link. I installed HDMonitor and it shows an air flow temperature value of 98 degrees F and a maximum of 104. RealTemp shows 120 F degrees. Is this normal?

I just use Internet Explorer when reaching these temperatures.

 

[jnjroach]

Are you located in a very warm climate? Such as the SE or Midwest US or the Middle East or India? Those temperatures are not normal for just browsing.

If that is not the case....

I would do a reset first and then see if the issue returns exchange the unit....

 

[GreyFox7]

I'm not sure what RealTemp is, the AirFlow is on the warmish side but lets look at the CPU temp.
Here is mine just after startup... this AM.

It was actually a little higher when I first checked it as I had applied an update for .NET framework 3.5 and restarted. its nice here this morning room temp is 73F with 68F coming through the window.

CPU is 39C - 102F. with Max of 48C - 118F
The Airflow temp I think is the temp from the Samsung SSD.

Typically I will see my CPU be around 43-45C when mostly idle. Last week before Refreshing and Applying the 8/19 firmware is was having problem and was running about 10C hotter @ 55C idle.

When running an extended 20 minute CPU test with the new firmware my CPU stabilized at 71C with 100% utilization. during the early part of the test CPU temp hit 89C. That's about as high as CPU should go as Thermal Throttling will kick in at 89-90C to control heat.

So if you do nothing for 5 minutes and you're running 55C at idle I'd recommend doing a Refresh. Ambient temp does come into play and it would be good to know if your in a hot room.

If you had a temp shutdown while applying updates you definitely need to Refresh and take steps to avoid a temp shutdown while doing updates after the refresh. I can provide specifics if needed on that.

First things first though... lets us know your idle CPU temp and aprox room temp or normal range.

 

[GreyFox7]

A second reading after doing some routine stuff...

 

[mitchellvii]

Usually better to track temps in C rather than F since that's what most of us computer nerds are used to. Basically anything up to 80C should be considered normal for the i5. You need to always check your Task Manager when this is going on to make sure nothing is churning your CPU. Just look for anything with an unusually high percentage of use, especially something you aren't actively doing.

 

[Jordi32]

I live in San Diego, California. The weather is mild.

I went ahead and replaced my surface pro 3 i5 for an i7 at the Microsoft store. While the computer was installing the latest firmware it showed the temperature icon and shut off. It wouldn't turn it back on for about fifteen minutes, even though I was pressing the on button. Is this normal?

Later, I ran Postmark and while running the i7 reached 90 C.

 

[Jordi32]

I just realized the screen has one dead pixel... Should I exchange the unit?

 

[mitchellvii]

I just realized the screen has one dead pixel... Should I exchange the unit?

Yes.