Folding Forum

Where I live, it was determined that a woman and her 4 children died in a house fire recently because they left a loptop on a soffa overnight.

I have a laptop cooler but it's too much of a hassle to use so I finally settled on a food tray for $2 like they use in a cafeteria. It's nice and flat and depending on size of laptop/tray, may have room for optical mouse. Also if I use it on my lap, it's a lot more comfortable. You may also have a baking sheet or cutting board lying around that might work.

my Asus laptop folds nicely... abt CPU (T9550) at 65C when when using SMP only, or GPU (HD4650) at 88C when using GPU client only... if i run both together, CPU reach 68C, and GPU can reach 100C... not a very comfortable temperature for the GPU...

I let the area that has the exhaust fan hang over the edge of my desk so that the heat doesn't get trapped inside the laptop. Unfortunately there wasn't an option to get an extra-large battery for this one, unlike my previous laptop. Those 12-cell ones double as an effective way to prop up the back end of the laptop so they don't overheat as easily. Unfortunately I killed the old laptop trying to replace it's processor with a slightly faster one so I could fold a bit better. But I got this new one to replace it, and it folds much better!

I have folded on 3 Dell laptops over about 4 years and have not had any significant problems (earlier than that, I ran SETI@Home which also worked fine).

Some pointers:
1. Most good laptops can handle being run at 100% for SMP or Uniprocessor. If you have a bad fan, you might need to set it lower. Dells usually have good fans.
2. The fan will run constantly and you will need to clean it every 6-9 months. Fans always get dirty, but folding generates more heat so the fan needs to be cleaner.
3. You need to keep the fan port clear or your computer will overheat.
4. Set the client not to run on battery power, or you will quickly deplete your battery.
5. More important than a temperature monitor is a monitor that tells you the speed of your CPU (i8kfangui for Dell does both). If your CPU ever goes below max speed while on F@H, that means it is speedstepping due to excessive heat. That is when you need to clean/unblock the fan. (CPUs also speedstep when the processor is under low utilization to save power, but using F@H it should not speedstep for this reason).
6. If your laptop draws air through the bottom of the laptop (many do), don't put it down on a soft surface like a sofa or pillow! The soft surface will plug up the air port and make it hard for your fan to operate. (When on hard surfaces, this doesnt happen because the rubber bumps keep the laptop slightly above the surface and allow air to circulate.)
7. I have had less success running GPU2 on laptops. Heat is a bigger issue and if you only have 1 GPU and you are trying to use the laptop for other things, it might become less responsive. Then again, with a newer laptop and newer GPU2 client (I haven't tried it for at least a year) you might have more success.

HTH!

weedacres wrote:Core temps generally are higher than I'd like (mid 70's c)

Same here on my T61. Mine range from mid 60s to low 70s

Low 70's here. I keep a deck of cards (in the box) under the front of my laptop (under the spacebar) to let the air flow. Works like a charm. Been folding on it for well over a year now with no trouble.

Running laptops with SMP, SMP/GPU and uniprocessor client(s). CPU and GPU temps vary from mid 60s to low 70s.

As others have said, propping something under the back bottom of the laptop to let some air flow really helps with temps.

Excellent long-term solution is a rack like uncle fuzzy linked to or even a dedicated laptop cooler pad with fans.

rbpeake wrote:I am considering purchasing a budget laptop with a P8700 dual core processor, and was wondering if it would get too hot running Gromacs on a steady basis?

Does anyone have any experience with this? (I have always used a desktop to run FAH.)

See the undervolting guide (last page) here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/forumdisplay.php?f=27

I can run F@H 24/7 without exceeding 62C on my T8100 Core 2 Duo. Increases battery life too.