IMPORTANT question for the experts

[Flashman2003]

Hello, I'm wrtiting because my computer (Vaio VGN-FZ21S) just came back from vaio service where the motherboard was changed because it burned. The problem even before that was that the CPU temperatures were way too high (it's a core2duo T7500). When used for desktop/internet the temperatures where usually at 70°C and when gaming, they could reach 95°C. Now they changed the motherboard and updated the bios and cleaned the laptop thoroughly. Clearly the temperatures are now between 65 and 70 for desktop (not much change) but in gaming, they now reach 85°C max. Which is still way too high for a core2duo and ultimatly the vents will get dirty again and there is no way of cleaning them without opening the whole case.

Now I'm worried because I know that if I keep it this way it's ultimatly going to break down again. And when buying a Vaio, I think of keeping it many years. And by paying extra money for a model with a better graphics card (Nvidia 8600gs instead of basic 8400gs) I expect to be able to play some games with it. It should be adapted somehow to the extra cpu and gpu load.

So what should I do??? Should I contact the service again? In that case what are the solutions? Because the problem doesn't appear to be just one component being defect but the whole computer seems badly designed.

I mean overall I really like this laptop, the screen is just awesome but if it breaks down every 6 months, I'll be ruined soon 😞

Thank you in advance

David Dyja

[Thalamus.]

Hi David,

I guess when playing games heat can be a problem especially in laptops as they do not have room for large fans or other cooling systems due to their compact size..

Have you thought of using a laptop cooler when playing games, something like the Antec laptop cooler

[Flashman2003]

I know there are ways to cool it down a bit, but it's a major inconvenient to have to use such things. And you need to buy them of course. I don't expect to buy extra cooling devices for an already more expensive computer. For me, these vaio (the FZ series) are just badly designed or something. A lot of people have problems with them. I don't know I'll wait until mine comes back from vaio service (they are changing some other parts)

My friends all have other brands like dell, toshiba or even LG and they can play games or do anything heavy on CPU without ever reaching such temperatures.

I must say I expected something better from SONY especially as they are a bit more expensive than the other computers.

[kee-lo_]

Sounds like they might not have put enough Artic Paste on the contact between CPU and fan, this is essential to get full conductivity, otherwise it's not as good. With Artic Thermal Paste I have seen people drop temperatures by 3 degrees.

As it's probably not a good idea to do it yourself, unless you're well versed in doing it I would contact them again and ask them to take a second look.

[Flashman2003]

That's just what I did

The spare parts were supposed to arrive today so I guess I'll have it back early next week.