predatorsense has GPU fan at 0RPM even when temp gets very high, but CPU fan is always at max speed

I noticed my predator has been running hot so I've been checking the temp on predatorsense and it has been getting to the high90s on CPU and mid80s on GPU (celsius).

I took it to acer care center to get it looked at - they just cleaned it out but the temp hasn't changed and since I got it back the gpu fan hasn't been running. Is it possible something got knocked loose while it was being cleaned?

The laptop will sometimes hit high 90s (celsius) though it always drops back down quickly if I exit programs and let the laptop idle for a bit. It also seems like the fans never turn off max after the temp spikes- is this a common issue?

thank you for any help

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ven98

You can use a flashlight to see through the vents if one of the fans isn't actually spinning. If it isn't spinning use a needle or other thin object and push the fan a bit, as it might be temporarily stuck.

lThe laptop will sometimes hit high 90s (celsius) though it always drops back down quickly if I exit programs and let the laptop idle for a bit.

That is normal.

Temperature spike of 90C+ are normal if the CPU is running at around 80-85C. Download HWiNFO and if the average CPU and GPU temperatures don't go above 85C there is nothing to worry about. To reduce the temperatures you can undervolt the CPU with throttlestop. Undervolting doesn't harm the CPU in any way. By reducing the voltage the heat output of the CPU reduced and therefore the overall temperature. You can find many video guides explaining undervolting and showing how it is done. You can also go to the pinned thread on the top of 'Predator laptops' forum page.

aluminumman

ven98 said:

You can use a flashlight to see through the vents if one of the fans isn't actually spinning. If it isn't spinning use a needle or other thin object and push the fan a bit, as it might be temporarily stuck.

Tried this but couldn't see past the inner casing; seems that the fan on the left side of the laptop next to the power port is blowing but the one on the opposite side isn't doing anything.

How long is acceptable for the CPU to be at 90+ degrees? Or do you just mean spikes a few seconds long?

How much effect will undervolting have on performance? If I undervolt by 15% will it reduce CPU efficiency by 15%?

Thanks for your reply

edit- is 48celsius a normal idling temperature? I think if this fan is really stuck I will have to get it serviced.

ven98

Can I have your device's model and specs?

As I wrote in my previous post undervolting doesn't reduce performance. Download a stress test like aida64 and run it while undervolting. Begin by reduce the voltage offset of both core and cache by -100mV and then keep reducing it by -5mV at the time until the system freezes/crashes. Restart and set the voltage offset to the last value the system was stable on.

In my opinion the average temperature shouldn't be higher than 85C. Temperature spikes of 90C or higher are normal and it is the same for every CPU. Of course if the CPU is running at around average 60C you won't see spikes of 90C, but they might be fluctuating between 65-70C. In a case when the CPU is running at 80C, then spiked of 90C+ will happen. The reason why you want the CPU to run as cool as possible, because if the temperature is too high the CPU will slow itself down(reduce frequency) to prevent thermal damage and this is known as thermal throttling. It is even safe for the CPU to run at 100C all the time, but it will be hard throttling causing fps drops in the games. The same thing goes for the GPU. Usually the system begins to throttle once the average temperature goes past 90C. If the average temp is 90C for example, the system won't throttle, but then the temperature spikes will cause throttling for a short amount of time, but enough to drop ingame fps. When the average temperature is 85C, then usually the CPU doesn't throttle on temperature spikes.

48C at idle can be normal, but that depends on room temperature and whether the device is on a hard or soft surface like a bed or a blanket for example. Also it depends on how many applications there are running at the background, which use CPU even if you are not doing anything on the laptop.

aluminumman

Ok, I will try the undervolting and reply back once I know how it's going. Is it worth trying to open the laptop to see what the problem is with the fan or would you recommend just sending it to acer? I'm still on warranty so it wouldn't cost me anything.

Specs-

model number: G9-593-73N6

Part Number: NH.Q1YAA.001

CPU: i7-7700HQ @2.80hz

GPU: gtx 1060

thanks again!

ven98

I think you should be able to reach the fan through the vents, as it is right underneath it.

It is possible that the Acer technician has forgotten to connect the fan back after the assembly. It would better to send it back to the service centre instead of trying to fix it yourself.

aluminumman

Ok so I tried undervolting like you said and the temp has been more reasonable since then.

The GPU fan still says 0 in predatorsense though, and I can't feel it blowing. I can take a pic but there's another layer between the vents and the fan so I can't actually see the fan at all without taking the case off.

I may end up taking it to get the fan repaired but as of now it's not getting hot enough for me to be too worried.

Thanks for you help!

ven98

Wait, there isn't such a layer on predator laptops. It is possible that the Acer technicians could have installed a dust filter. Nice addition, but not really, I wouldn't be very happy about it, because it protects dust from entering in the system, but it also obstructs the airflow making your system run hotter. The dust filter will be full with dust in a month or 2 and that will obstruct the airflow even more. There is no reason for dust filter, because the fans are at the back and the dust will be sucked by them, so there won't be any dust going inside the components. Also there is dust the application dust defender, that helps removing the dust to some degree.

I am not completely sure whether the technicians have installed this dust filter, but I don't remember it having a dust filter by defult either.

You have to contact Acer about the fan and send the device to the service centre once more. I would suggest you to ask them to remove the dust filter if it was placed by them, because it is not really needed and just obstructs the airflow.

Whatever the CPU and GPU temperatures are now, they will be better with the 2nd fan running, especially the GPU temperature.

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