I bought a new laptop and...

[Edwardo Piet]

I bought a new laptop and the laptop is great. And in fact, despite being much faster and newer than any other laptop I've had. It's a lot cooler. It never gets very hot so the fan seems to be working very well.

However, the adapter/charger gets super hot very quickly. So, I'm worried about that... but I hear that some of the newer AC laptop chargers/adapters do tend to get very hot. I just don't know how hot is too hot or whether it's normal. As I'm used to my computer getting hot, but not my charger... now it's the other way around. How hot is too hot?

One thing will note is it seems to cool down as quickly as it heats up. It gets really hot really quickly (in like 30 minutes or something).... and it cools down in about the same space of time.

So... what is normal?

It's a Fujistu Celsius H730

---

I did a bit of research and read that having the maximum processor state set to 100% when the charger is plugged in can cause it to get a lot hotter. Apparently decreasing it as little as 5% to 95% can cool it by 10-20C. And if it's still hot you can go as low as 80%. I mean... my new laptop at 80% runs a hell of a lot faster than my old one at 100% anyways... so to save energy and keep things cooler that's definitely worth it.

By the way, just to be clear, I haven't smelt any funny smells and it's not hot enough to burn me or anything like that. I already read that it's only then that you really have to start worrying about a fire hazard or anything like that. I'm just being extra careful (I didn't take a health and safety course recently for nothing! ) as that's sensible. It's simply a lot warmer than I'm used to... but then my computer is a lot faster than I'm used to (this computer was made in 2015 and is high performance... the fastest computer I've had before was a low performance made in 2012). Although the computer itself is a lot COOLER than I'm used to (and not just in temperature!).

And another good thing is that it cools down really quickly too.

So I'm going to try turning my laptop maximum processor power to 80% (it's still plenty fast) and see if that solves the problem of the charger getting hotter than I'm used to. If it solves it completely then I guess I can turn the power up a little. Just not back to 100%.

Of course... it may not be a problem at all. I should take it to the shop to ask if this kind of heat in a charger is normal for a high performance computer that's only 2 years old. This *is* the first time I've EVER had a high performance computer in ANY year. Maybe the faster processors naturally generate a lot more heat, but because they have a much better cooling system the heat is only really noticed in the adapter/charger? I dunno. Anyways, nothing to worry about yet and I'm being extra careful. I'll see if this solves the problem. If it doesn't I'll take it to the shop for them to have a look at the adapter. In the mean time... any advice would be appreciated (again if it was super hot to touch or smelt funny I would NOT use it. It's just hotter than I'm used to).

[ignoramus]

Don't panic about the silly charger. They can always be replaced.
What is really happening is that the charger is actually designed to be more efficient. All chargers give off heat. Those that aren't hot are not very good at dissipating heat.
This is bad. It means the internal components run hotter. The other explanation is cost cutting. They don't supply a charger that can run at 30% load, instead they supply a smaller one which runs at 90% load, hence hotter. Either way, make sure your fire and theft property insurance is up to date.

[Little lunch]

I learnt the hard way not to leave chocolate beside the laptop.

[ignoramus]

Did you know they sell hotplates now that can run Windows and do emails and stuff?

[bennyboy]

I bought a new laptop and the laptop is great. And in fact, despite being much faster and newer than any other laptop I've had. It's a lot cooler. It never gets very hot so the fan seems to be working very well.

However, the adapter/charger gets super hot very quickly. So, I'm worried about that... but I hear that some of the newer AC laptop chargers/adapters do tend to get very hot. I just don't know how hot is too hot or whether it's normal. As I'm used to my computer getting hot, but not my charger... now it's the other way around. How hot is too hot?

One thing will note is it seems to cool down as quickly as it heats up. It gets really hot really quickly (in like 30 minutes or something).... and it cools down in about the same space of time.

So... what is normal?

It's a Fujistu Celsius H730

---

I did a bit of research and read that having the maximum processor state set to 100% when the charger is plugged in can cause it to get a lot hotter. Apparently decreasing it as little as 5% to 95% can cool it by 10-20C. And if it's still hot you can go as low as 80%. I mean... my new laptop at 80% runs a hell of a lot faster than my old one at 100% anyways... so to save energy and keep things cooler that's definitely worth it.

By the way, just to be clear, I haven't smelt any funny smells and it's not hot enough to burn me or anything like that. I already read that it's only then that you really have to start worrying about a fire hazard or anything like that. I'm just being extra careful (I didn't take a health and safety course recently for nothing! ) as that's sensible. It's simply a lot warmer than I'm used to... but then my computer is a lot faster than I'm used to (this computer was made in 2015 and is high performance... the fastest computer I've had before was a low performance made in 2012). Although the computer itself is a lot COOLER than I'm used to (and not just in temperature!).

And another good thing is that it cools down really quickly too.

So I'm going to try turning my laptop maximum processor power to 80% (it's still plenty fast) and see if that solves the problem of the charger getting hotter than I'm used to. If it solves it completely then I guess I can turn the power up a little. Just not back to 100%.

Of course... it may not be a problem at all. I should take it to the shop to ask if this kind of heat in a charger is normal for a high performance computer that's only 2 years old. This *is* the first time I've EVER had a high performance computer in ANY year. Maybe the faster processors naturally generate a lot more heat, but because they have a much better cooling system the heat is only really noticed in the adapter/charger? I dunno. Anyways, nothing to worry about yet and I'm being extra careful. I'll see if this solves the problem. If it doesn't I'll take it to the shop for them to have a look at the adapter. In the mean time... any advice would be appreciated (again if it was super hot to touch or smelt funny I would NOT use it. It's just hotter than I'm used to).

External voltage converters have always been like that.  My early Atari computer use to burn out an adapter about once a month.

I wouldn't worry about it too much, but if you are worried about it being a fire hazard, just be a little careful with it. It seems to me, though, that it is probably designed to meltdown and stop functioning before it explodes in a ball of flame.

[J a c k]

I know in my heart that you posted this because you're waiting for (specifically) my techy smart advice. All my techy wisdom is what you really want. I'd love to share some with you, buddy, but like... I'm busy and stuff. K... gonna go build super mega powerful computers now, because that's what I do.

[Edwardo Piet]

So... I got it checked and the shop and tested and it passed all tests. It's completely safe and yes the idea is to keep all the heat out of the laptop and send it to the adapter instead. I only have to worry if I can smell it burning in the room or if I can burn myself on it when I touch it.

It was sensible of me to get it tested just in case though.

[Minimalist]

that it is probably designed to meltdown and stop functioning before it explodes in a ball of flame.

Didn't Samsung say that about the Note 7?

[zebo-the-fat]

Keep it cool in a bucket of water

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Slightly related: Amazon's USB charging cables may melt and catch fire. Caveat emptor.