Intel 10750k performs well under high temperatures without load (up to 90°C).
Intel 10750k performs well under high temperatures without load (up to 90°C).
I own a DELL G5 5500 i7 10750k. I’ve seen it heat up quite a bit, so I added Core Temp and HWMonitor. When idle it started around 90°C (it jumped to about 100°C for a short while before dropping back). After adjusting the thermal settings in Alienware’s command center to cool it to a balanced profile, temperatures stabilized between 55°C and 65°C without any load. This is still a bit high for idle, even though I keep the laptop on an elevated desk to avoid blocking vents.
HWMonitor adds a small strain to your CPU. I've observed a 2-4°C rise in similar laptops when it's running. These low idle readings seem unusual. How quickly do the fans spin during these idle periods? One approach is to force fans to 100% using a custom profile and observe the temps. With my machine (details below), I reach about 5°C above ambient at idle. I typically use a custom profile for my Asus Rog Strix G17 with an Intel Core i7 10750H. Setting fans to 0% for extended periods keeps it at 40°C initially, then stabilizes around 60°C. When fans activate above 70°C, they only turn on during heavy use. If your fans are active, inspect the heatsinks for dust. If clean, consider removing the cooler and checking the thermal paste. Could you share some screen captures of HWMonitor and Core Temp? Edited May 19, 2022 by DreamCat04
Idle times don't matter much unless it's from the 90s. Focus on load temperatures instead. For a laptop, you should be okay as long as it doesn't experience thermal throttling when under stress.
However, 65°C during idle seems unusually high for this laptop. I usually see around 40°C at idle with a comparable machine. Even with a U-class 10th gen i7, I reach about 35°C at idle when the room is between 22-24°C. The CPU reaching 100°C just by opening a window isn’t normal. If I open the program on my laptop, it hits 65°C and stays in the mid to high 70s right before everything loads, then drops back to 45-50°C. Edited May 19, 2022 by DreamCat04
It tends to run a bit hot, but it's not a major concern. Another comparable laptop could produce very different outcomes. One might feature a fan curve tuned for quiet operation leading to elevated temps, while the other could have a curve favoring cooler runs with more noise. The U chips are built for slimmer devices and consume less power, which helps keep heat down. A U chip doesn't match the performance of a H chip in terms of temperature. @MattyE it still reaches 100°C during Word startup? Full load tasks like Prime95? Perhaps it's time to clean the machine.
When processing at high temperatures in Word, it likely reaches critical levels in Prime95 unless the hardware is more robust. Inside Word, CPU usage stays moderate around 50-60 watts. During Prime95 execution, consumption rises significantly to nearly 100 watts, then drops back to 85°C thanks to effective cooling. I recommend @MattyE to maintain good airflow, clean the cooling fins, and reapply thermal paste if needed. However, some systems use less power—my 10710U operates at just 0.3-0.5 watts when idle, and the 10750H reached about 1.5 watts under similar conditions. Under heavy load, even the 10710U can spike to 51 watts and then cool to 18 watts after a few seconds. Overall, it can handle Adobe Creative Cloud with moderate performance, staying under 100°C thanks to efficient cooling.