ibm thinkpad and 100% cpu?

there_is_no_spoon · 2003-11-17, 17:20

I've just bought (and received) an IBM Thinkpad with a 1.5GHz Centrino. Does anyone know if it's bad for the laptop to be running for long amounts of time with full CPU usage? I was planning on installing a DC Programme of some kind, but I'm not sure if it could in any way damage (or generally shorten the lifespan of) my laptop!

any comments?

PrimeCruncher · 2003-11-17, 19:56

I've been running my laptop (Sony P3-850) for almost a year now. No problems yet.

dsouza123 · 2003-11-17, 20:06

If you are running on battery, then for that session the battery will be used faster. The centrino may have some power saving settings that kicks in when idle to extend battery time.
It may have some setting that automatically lowers the speed if it gets to warm.

If you aren't running on battery and have it set to max performance then alot of idle CPU time is being wasted, using Prime95 will make good use of it.

The CPU should last longer than other parts of the laptop.
Setting the hard drive to sleep after some period of time and setting Prime95 to only write at some large number of minutes will keep the hard drive from powering up ( if Prime95 is the only thing writing to the hard drive ).
Hard drives are more of an issue than CPUs.

apocalypse · 2003-11-17, 23:18

I have found with thinkpads in particular, it is not a good idea to do heavy computations (100% cpu) for long periods when the machine is flat on a table. I have seen more than one machine start behaving erratically (nearly unusable) and I believe overheating from this to be the cause. I would recommend propping the machine (e.g. in a port replicator) to ensure this doesn't become a problem.

dsouza123 · 2003-11-17, 23:28

apocalypse brought up a good point.

I use 4 plastic bottle caps from juice containers as short legs on my notebook, it gives better airflow and cools it better.

nucleon · 2003-11-18, 06:48

Quote:

Originally posted by dsouza123
Setting the hard drive to sleep after some period of time and setting Prime95 to only write at some large number of minutes will keep the hard drive from powering up ( if Prime95 is the only thing writing to the hard drive ).
Hard drives are more of an issue than CPUs.

Better yet run prime95 from flash (like compact flash, flash key etc..) Then theoretically all HDDs should power down.

I'm currently running three machines each running prime off the same flash disk.

-- Craig

Xyzzy · 2003-11-18, 06:54

Maybe this will help?

http://www.mersenneforum.org/showthr...=&threadid=389

markhl · 2003-11-18, 20:33

Quote:

Originally posted by nucleon
Better yet run prime95 from flash (like compact flash, flash key etc..) Then theoretically all HDDs should power down.
-- Craig

Great idea!
Craig, do you find that your HDDs power down?

I guess automated tasks may keep the HDD alive, like Windows snapshots for the system restore function, antivirus scans, scheduled updates, disk indexing services, ...

E_tron · 2003-11-18, 23:18

My Compaq Presario 1700T w/ a Pentium 3 @1ghz is still running strong. I dont think i have turned the thing off ever(well, maybe 20 times, but still

).

I would recommend having Prime95 set to stop running when the laptop goes into battery operation mode, because the CPUs in notebooks use far more power when it's at 100% usage.

Also, have the HDD and screen set to turn off after about 45min, because they don’t last forever.

nucleon · 2003-11-19, 13:40

Quote:

Originally posted by markhl
Great idea!
Craig, do you find that your HDDs power down?

I guess automated tasks may keep the HDD alive, like Windows snapshots for the system restore function, antivirus scans, scheduled updates, disk indexing services, ...

I actually can't tell on my current machine (P4). I have a raid0 array, so it's hard to tell when it powers down as the case fan is "louder" than the HDDs so it's hard to hear the 'spin up' noise.

But in my P3 machine yeah the HDDs did spin down completely. I had set the HDD spin down time to 2hrs, and prime95 wrote to the flash every 30mins.

The P3 is now a linux machine and it uses samba to map a windows share off the flash disk, and it's HDDs seem to power down.

-- Craig

czolus · 2003-11-20, 06:02

I have a Compaq 1.4GHz Centrino that's always on. The one time it needed to kick its fan on was while under full load (Prime95) and sitting on a pillow (hence, no airflow). Computer was like that for about an hour (forgot about it) but worked just fine (albeit a little hot to the touch). I wouldn't worry about overheating/shortening the life of your Centrino.

2003-11-17, 17:20	#1
there_is_no_spoon Jun 2003 Switzerland 3×5 Posts	ibm thinkpad and 100% cpu? I've just bought (and received) an IBM Thinkpad with a 1.5GHz Centrino. Does anyone know if it's bad for the laptop to be running for long amounts of time with full CPU usage? I was planning on installing a DC Programme of some kind, but I'm not sure if it could in any way damage (or generally shorten the lifespan of) my laptop! any comments?

2003-11-17, 19:56	#2
PrimeCruncher Sep 2003 Borg HQ, Delta Quadrant 1010111110₂ Posts	I've been running my laptop (Sony P3-850) for almost a year now. No problems yet.

2003-11-17, 20:06	#3
dsouza123 Sep 2002 2×331 Posts	If you are running on battery, then for that session the battery will be used faster. The centrino may have some power saving settings that kicks in when idle to extend battery time. It may have some setting that automatically lowers the speed if it gets to warm. If you aren't running on battery and have it set to max performance then alot of idle CPU time is being wasted, using Prime95 will make good use of it. The CPU should last longer than other parts of the laptop. Setting the hard drive to sleep after some period of time and setting Prime95 to only write at some large number of minutes will keep the hard drive from powering up ( if Prime95 is the only thing writing to the hard drive ). Hard drives are more of an issue than CPUs.

2003-11-17, 23:18	#4
apocalypse Feb 2003 174₁₀ Posts	I have found with thinkpads in particular, it is not a good idea to do heavy computations (100% cpu) for long periods when the machine is flat on a table. I have seen more than one machine start behaving erratically (nearly unusable) and I believe overheating from this to be the cause. I would recommend propping the machine (e.g. in a port replicator) to ensure this doesn't become a problem.

2003-11-17, 23:28	#5
dsouza123 Sep 2002 2×331 Posts	apocalypse brought up a good point. I use 4 plastic bottle caps from juice containers as short legs on my notebook, it gives better airflow and cools it better.

2003-11-18, 06:54	#7
Xyzzy Aug 2002 5×29×59 Posts	Maybe this will help? http://www.mersenneforum.org/showthr...=&threadid=389

2003-11-18, 23:18	#9
E_tron Sep 2002 Austin, TX 231₁₆ Posts	My Compaq Presario 1700T w/ a Pentium 3 @1ghz is still running strong. I dont think i have turned the thing off ever(well, maybe 20 times, but still ). I would recommend having Prime95 set to stop running when the laptop goes into battery operation mode, because the CPUs in notebooks use far more power when it's at 100% usage. Also, have the HDD and screen set to turn off after about 45min, because they don’t last forever.

2003-11-20, 06:02	#11
czolus Sep 2003 9₁₆ Posts	I have a Compaq 1.4GHz Centrino that's always on. The one time it needed to kick its fan on was while under full load (Prime95) and sitting on a pillow (hence, no airflow). Computer was like that for about an hour (forgot about it) but worked just fine (albeit a little hot to the touch). I wouldn't worry about overheating/shortening the life of your Centrino.