Switch alpha 12 heating?

Flemink

I recently sent my tablet to repair due to overheating. Got it back yesterday and it doesnt seem to be better. I don't know much about the temperature that my tablet should or should not reach so i installed a core temp checker. The tablet gets to hot for my hand on the back and the core checker indicate a temp of 60-63 degree. Is that normal or not? What can i do to fix it? Thanks!

brummyfan2

Hi,

I think it's quite normal and the CPU will cut off if it reaches 100 degrees. Keep monitoring the temps with HWmonitor or similar utility.

As an example:http://laptopmedia.com/processor/intel-core-i3-6100u/

Canadaloon

Hi Flemink,

I agree with brummyfan2 that your temperature of 60 – 63 degrees Celsius seems normal when under heavy load. I did some  looking into to it on the weekend and here's what I found.

The Intel website ( https://ark.intel.com/products/88193/Intel-Core-i5-6200U-Processor-3M-Cache-up-to-2_80-GHz ) states that the TJUNCTION is 100°C. (TJUNCTION is the maximum temperature allowed at the processor die.)

For processor temperatures, LaptopMedia.com at http://laptopmedia.com/review/acer-aspire-switch-alpha-12-review-a-tablet-that-can-actually-replace-your-notebook/ state in their detailed review “We started off with 100% CPU load for about an hour and to be honest, we were quite surprised by the results. The chip maintained maximum operating frequency for two active cores (2.7 GHz) for the better part of the test. Then the chip started running at 2.4 – 2.6 GHz but still no thermal throttling. Another great surprise was the fact that the silicone didn’t go above 75 °C and this is just an outstanding result for a passive cooling system with a Core-U CPU. After an hour or so, we turned on the GPU torture test as well but things changed ever so slightly. The CPU downclocked to 1.4 GHz in order to give some headroom for the GPU to perform but the temperature of the silicone remained stable at around 60 °C. This kind of throttling is quite normal and occurs on normal cooling designs and 15-inch laptops as well. Acer’s LiquidLoop cooling design seems to do its job pretty well and passed our test with flying colors.” They also tested rear case temperatures and found a maximum temperature of 52.6 °C.

Their rear case temperature reading matches really well with notebookcheck.net (see their comprehensive review at http://www.notebookcheck.net/Acer-Aspire-Switch-12-Alpha-SA5-271-56HM-Convertible-Review.167947.0.html ) which found a maximum case temperature of 51°C.

So, from my research I would say that your CPU temperature falls within normal range. My experience with my Aspire Switch 12 Alpha SA5-271 i5 model would be close to those temperatures. Using “Core Temp 1.6” I get 35˚C - 40˚C in normal use and 50˚C - 55˚C under heavy use. Finally, looking at safe i5 CPU temperatures on several respected websites showed that 65˚C is an acceptable temperature.

I hope that this puts your mind at rest. Silence does come with a price but it seems the LiquidLoop Cooling System performs really well and safely cools the CPU. The metal back gets hot because that's how the heat is dissipated. Enjoy hearing that pin drop ;-)