Gateway Parts

how do i know if my notebook is overheating?

i got a new sony laptop for christmas its a vgn-fz21m its a great computer and i really want to take care of it so i would like to know a few things one is that is it normal for it to just restart it self if its been say doing a download for a long spell but it doent seem to be all that hot.2 is there any kind of program i can find on line that will tell me the exact temp of the notebook and be able to alert me if and part of the notebook is getting to hot i hope i said all this properly thanks well i use it a most of all when im in bed so its sitting on top of my blanket i am a fanatic tho about keeping the vent on the left side open and free thats where the most hot air comes out of it but there are more vents under it that are blocked when i use it well its a brand new sony and im sure its under warrenty for the next 2 years and i installed a game called world of war craft and the program i just downloaded called fanspeed said that the computer went up 120f see im not sure what the normale temps are and when i should be afraid the game i put on here works a hell of a lot better then it did on my desktop

Public Comments

1. If it's over heating the fan would be making a lot of noise, it would be very loud. Also the computer will turn off on it's own or may restart. To prevent this, from happening. Never leave the laptop on 24/7, as they were not created to be. Before I go to bed, I turn off my laptop and unplug it.
2. Each system and CPU run a tad hotter than others. Especially if you have a dedicated graphics card. I use this program below. You can write the room temp down and temp under load, write the temp down if its really hot. If you think it goes beyon **** *%F you should consider get a laptop pad chiller. Make sure you have adequate air flow around your laptop.
3. theres a system monitering program that also monitors your temps called speedfan. I believe that its freeware but not sure. maybe donation-ware http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php
4. Not farmiliar with that brand, but the better built ones can run 24/7 without overheating, providing that you don't wrap them up in a blanket. Run your laptop continuously (25/7) when new to find out if it can take it. If it can't, better to find out when it's under warranty and get a different one that CAN take it. Don't baby it when it's new. run cpu intensive programs that heavily load the cpu to find out if it will overheat. You don't want your laptop blowing up on you when you really need it to do something intensive, when it's out of warranty. Laptops will run hot to the touch, but generally run much cooler than a desktop because laptops have very limited space and fans to dissipate the heat that it does generate, so that the case, especially on the bottom will become quite warm.