After a very confusing time on their website, I did manage to download the program and get it working. Now the question becomes, when does warm become hot? The temp reading is about 45 - 48 degrees c. I haven't had any problems with the computer doing bad things since the weather broke last week and the room temp is down from the 80's into the 60's.
If the computer temp is too hot, a friend said he would move the computer and dust it out with canned air, that maybe it's dusty and the fan can't do its job well enough.
Thanks,
Bernadine
Hi Bernadine
If you know the model of your Dell, it would help to add the info in your signature
so any suggestions can be a bit more accurate. It looks as if you have a 3rd generation i5-3xxx, which if true is a bit old and wasn't quite efficient when it came to cooling anyway,
lowering temps was helped by an after market cooler and thermal paste versus the pad supplied by Intel on the stock cooler - I'm going by the pic you posted though details are hidden. The HWInfo window can be widened so more detail can be seen.
Yes indeed, the HWInfo app is hard to get at, the LAN Sweeper app is right there in your face to distract.
30Cs to 50Cs under mild to modest load is normal definately in summer, if you begin to hit the 60Cs and above under the same conditions you need to have a look, which is what you're doing now. Under a heavy load... gaming or watching 60fps movies at 720P or 1080p would be normal - in the 50Cs to 60Cs, just
be mindful of how long you see this and
watch for temps to climb above the 70s and 80s. If you notice you're hitting the max, upwards of the
90s and on into the 100C range - you need to fix something. Do note that
Intel has some protective measures built into the CPU that will either slow the thing down or shut down your system altogether - your pic shows no throttling, slowing down the system, making your system sluggish.
It is a good idea to have your friend clean out the dust bunnys, a thorough cleaning can never hurt. Check all the fans - do they spin... cpu, case, power supply. If you have a dust filter on the bottom or front of the case, clean it too. The location of the case matters, in a corner or cubbie hole where there's no air circulation is bad - traps heat... next to a window where heat from the sun beats on the case. The hot air inside the case needs to exhaust out and away so plenty of space around the case and on the bottom matters to help draw cooler air in. Too much smoke, or cat, dog hair, are not good either.
A simple test - before and after the cleaning - would be to open HWInfo, widen the window a bit so the details aren't cut off -
i5-3... is an example of info being cut off, and have a look below the CPU, at the SMART info for your HDD too. With both of the categories visible I would play a short video at Youtube in your browser, a 720P 60fps and 1080P 60fps test - how fast do temps rise, move your browser to the back after you begin playing the video (behind HWI), and monitor (watch) the CPU, GPU, and HDD temps. If they rise too high too fast, stop the video - you know you have heat issues.
This is only a suggestion to see how your system responds, specifically the CPU, by applying a moderate load - HWInfo updates every second so you should see real time change. If you hit the 70Cs too quickly, you have things to consider. Keep in mind (I'm guessing), your system is getting old, how much effort do you want to invest to keep it running versus replacing the PC for a newer model?
It all starts with identifying the source of any problems, and what needs to be done to fix them. If your friend could at least apply new thermal paste to the cpu, this could a help... thermal pads and thermal paste need to be replaced every few years anyway, but it isn't for the inexperienced and a shop might overcharge for an otherwise modest repair.
Here's a short clip of Spider-Man, I would open the link in a new tab for the test, rather than play it embedded here.
The gear icon to the right of CC will allow you to change the quality of the video, I would put a light load on your system by viewing the clip in 720p60, as well 1080p60 - hows the temps?