Heat from my Acer

Hi

I've had my Acer Aspire 1 for a while now and one of my biggest concerns is the heat generated when plugged to the mains which is mostly how I use it. Before I bought it I did not think it would heat up to this extent. It is not hot enough to burn me but it is pretty warm nonetheless. It gets more hot around the left side around the power cord. Is it normal to heat up like this and is there anything I can do to reduce it? I do try to keep the airvents as free as possible but I do use the unit on my lap or chest quite a lot. Thanks for all comments.

 

I have the 160GIG 1GIG Black version and mine also gets pretty warm. If i use it plugged in, it gets even hotter. Not to the point of burn but it's still hot to touch. :?:

 

Same here. I just received the Acer Aspire One net-book 10.1" 1GB ram; 160GB HD, blue (see my thread below) and the other night I had to download a lot of updates for AV and AS programs. After the downloads I ran the scans for both and found the net-book getting quite hot. I thought I would 'feel' a fan coming on to aid with getting rid of some of the heat.
This was while unit was plugged into wall outlet. I don't remember it getting that warm/hot when just using with just battery. I placed a light kleenex tissue near the ventilation slots, but no motion was detected. On my larger notebook, when I turn it on, I can actually feel the fan blowing out air. Not with this Acer. I really hope they didn't rush this unit through production in order to get it on the market and neglected to safety check all parts, especially battery and heat management, etc. If there is a danger of fire or explosion, it would invlove a lot of law-suits, expecially since young people are going to be using this unit.
I contacted Acer (email support), but haven't heard back from them as yet. Hope there is simple (?) explanation and that there is no recall of the product. My grandson would be devistated.
Hope that those of you who have the same unit and find out additional information will post it here.
(I bought this unit as a birthday present for my grandson, but will not give it to him until I make sure everything is set-up properly and that all programs are working properly. So many things wrong with this unit = no Recovery Disk enclosed, I don't see Web Cam program or DVD movie (playing) program or several other things. I questioned Acer and they said to load programs from Recovery Disk. How can that be done if no disk was enclosed. I also notice if I put curso over any program in lower right of screen (taskbar, believe it is called) and right click, an hour glass opens, but never closed. Anyone see the same thing?)

Why don't you guys email them also, so they realize that it is just not me questioning this heat/fan issue on these Acer Aspire One 10.1" units. http://acer.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/acer.c ... d=5*PGB2sj

 

Ok, I don't think you should start panicking just yet. I don't think the heat issue poses a great risk as such to you or your grandson. Nevertheless the unit certainly gets hotter than I would like. I don't think netbooks in general have proper fans built in because of their size whereas laptops can do. Because they are smaller the heat is more concentrated but I don't think it is a fire risk. As I said I would like to know if there is a way of making it cooler especially when plugged in to the mains.

I think you're being a bit too negative about the acer in general as it's a fine unit in many ways. There is a DVD or media playing program on my version and you can easily download free webcam programs such as Skype from the internet. Don't give up on it just yet.

 

You can put your AAO on a laptop cooling stand...

Something like this:

http://www.belkin.com/pressroom/release ... Stand.html


That should really help bring down temperature when plugged in the mains.

 

Here is the answer I received from Acer (email support):

The fan is designed to turn on when necessary in order to prevent the computer from overheating. However, you may also have the option in Acer eSettings under Boot Options to change the fan setting for "Fan Always On". The speed of the fan is not manually adjustable. If you feel there is a problem with the fan itself please contact Acer Technical Support. For in warranty products please call 1-800-816-2237, Mon-Fri 7am-9pm CST, and Sat-Sun 8am-5pm CST excluding holidays. For out of warranty products please call 1-866-621-2237. To arrange for in warranty repairs, you may go to http://www.fixmyacer.com.

The first sentence confuses me. I have never heard/felt the fan working, especially when net-book feels especially hot. Does anyone hear/feel their fan working when unit it HOT?

(The only DVD movie player on this unit is MS Media Player, which doesn't play DVD movies because it states "no codec" (or something similar) installed on this computer.)

 

I also wish Acer didn't use such inferior thermal grease.
So if you want to you can use AS5 if you want. It'll be better for the CPU. Although what they have is better then nothing I suppose.

This battery is pretty safe according to the label and uh, when smaller batteries such as these do happen to POP it's pretty mild.
Nothing like an actual explosion. I'm not saying it is common and a result of normal use; it usually has to be highly provoked into an explosion. Improper use and hot charges could shorten it's life span though.

 

Scissors - what do you mean by "So if you want to you can use AS5 if you want."?

 

He means that you can take off the pads and put some thermal paste on instead. I did it about a month ago and it seems like the temperature has decreased about 8C.

 

AS5 is a great brand of thermal grease.
It's short for Arctic Silver 5. It's called that because it contains 99.9% Silver
read about it, it's one of the best brands you can get.
http://www.arcticsilver.com/as5.htm

 

Has anyone actually heard or felt the fan running on the AA0 (when plugged into outlet or running on batteries)?

 

A lot of us have! That's why two great users have made two great programs (AA1FanControl and A1CTL). Both of them do pretty much the same thing. They let you choose at what temperature you want your fan to go off and when will it kick back in.

 

I'm talking about when you first take the Acer Aspire One out of the box and you run in for the first few times and you feel the heat. Did you hear or feel the fan turning ON? Or did you have to add a 'program' or make any adjustments.

I don't understand what you mean when you say:

"A lot of us have!" You have HEARD and/or FELT the fan as soon as you received the Acer Aspire One, when the unit bacame hot?

"That's why two great users have made two great programs (AA1FanControl and A1CTL). Both of them do pretty much the same thing. They let you choose at what temperature you want your fan to go off and when will it kick back in."
Are these programs you installed, or did they come with the Acer Aspire One?

I'm sorry to be asking so many questions, but I am a complete novice with computers and don't understand too many 'technical' terms, etc. Hope you understand.
Thanks
Alice

 

The only place where my AAO gets hot is around the WiFi module when it's in heavy use. The area left of the touchpad gets "warm", but not hot. Maybe it's actually the harddrive that generates the heat? I know the drive in my old 14" laptop got hot enough to burn your fingers if you touched it.

 

I just wanted to find out if anyone else who bought a AAO 10.1" 1GB Ram; 160 GB HD, actually did hear or feel the fan 'running'working' on the unit. I don't hear the fan running, nor do I feel any air going out of (or into) the unit.
Or could they be so quiet that you don't hear/feel anything?

The "ventilation slots and colloing fan" (as mentioned in the Quick Guide) are on the bottom of unit in two places. One is on the left side front and the other is on the right side middle (with the battery compartment at rear - when looking at bottom of unit).

But as I said, I never hear them running or feel any air coming our of, or going into, those two slots.
Just wondered if I am the only one, or, whether anyone else had same experience (not hear/feeling fans/ventilation, etc.).

 

When I first took it out of the box, it was all silent but after a few days it got kind of noisy.
I just noticed your signature, you have the 10" version so it might be or is slightly different.

Actually both, the Wi-Fi module and the hard drive are on the right from the touchpad.

 

But, does anyone FEEL (air coming out or going in) or HEAR the fan(s) working?

As I said, there are two places on the bottom of the Acer Aspire One 10.1" 1GB ram; 160 GB HD where there are "ventilation" slots and cooling fan located. Has anyone felt or heard air coming out (or going into) those places?

Or, are they so silent, you do not hear or feel anything? Or, does it have to get 'exceptionally' hot for those things (fan or ventilation slots) to work? Especially when plugged into a wall outlet.

I hope someone who has the same unit as me has noticed the same thing. If so, please let me know to satisfy my mind.

Thanks
Alice

 

If the fans wouldn't be working your Aspire One would be fried.

 

I just ordered a tube. I've checked their website and they have a lot of guides, none specific for the Atom. Should I just follow the single core guide? Any other pointers specific for the AAO?

 

All you have to do is put a thin layer of it on the CPU and Graphics controller.
You will have to take off those grey thermal pads and clean the back of the cooler.

Be very careful when applying the paste. I suggest putting a small amount of it in the middle and then spread it out carefully with a flathead screwdriver.