Surface Pro 128 GB heat issues while playing MineSweeper.

[JoeSchmoe007]

Just got it a couple days ago. I am not really a gamer but wanted to see what's available on MS app store and downloaded Minesweeper for Metro UI (published by Microsoft).

Minesweeper just doesn't seem to be an app that would tax a CPU (at least desktop version on my Windows 7 laptop doesn't) but on Surface after 5-10 minutes of playing it got much warmer and fan got so loud that I just had to stop the game and several minutes later fan got quiet again.

Is this considered "normal"? I never had any other tablet of that type (9-10" Ipad or Android) to compare it with. I am thinking maybe even though game doesn't look 3-D under the hood it does use graphics chip in 3D mode and refreshes the screen 60 times/second.

I don't really play computer games but this temperature increase seemed excessive considering the game complexity.

 

[Microsoftjunkie]

Try power saving mode.
One thing I've noticed from w7 to w8 is heat issues too. The very same applications run hotter in w8.

 

[Luke Kailburn]

Try power saving mode.
One thing I've noticed from w7 to w8 is heat issues too. The very same applications run hotter in w8.

I noticed no differences with heat on my Dell laptop after switching from W7 to W8

-Luke

 

[Paul May]

I have a 128gb surface pro and have played many more graphically intense games than minesweeper with no issues like that. Were there any background apps still running on your desktop or have you noticed excessive battery drain. Mine does get pretty warm in the back but uncomfortably so and I can't hear the fan unless I hold it to my ear. I will try downloading minesweeper and see if I can replicate the problem.

 

[pdch]

You may have a bad fan. My fans never get that loud even when playing civ V

 

[JoeSchmoe007]

Yesterday I went to BestBuy store where I got my S. Pro and played MineSweeper on the one they had on display. It didn't overheat and I could not hear a fan at all. So I guess something is wrong with the one I have.

 

[hitaka2006]

Mine has the same issue. In addition to the heat, the battery lasts only 2 hours when minesweeper runs. Really strange.

Yesterday I went to BestBuy store where I got my S. Pro and played MineSweeper on the one they had on display. It didn't overheat and I could not hear a fan at all. So I guess something is wrong with the one I have.

 

[annchez]

I've been playing a lot of the Microsoft classic games like Solitaire and Mahjong and after a few minutes my Surface always gets so hot and noisy. I use my old laptop's cooler to prop my Surface on my lap and now I've started to actually use the fan to cool down the Surface whenever I play those games. I lay it down on the cooler since I only use the touch to play anyway. Otherwise it would get so hot I was afraid it was gonna overheat and crash or blow up or something.

I haven't played any other games but maybe it's just the Microsoft games? That or we did get a bad fan I guess.

 

[Steve Ridges]

I think it's how the game is coded. Like others, I've notice the classic Solitaire and Mahjong cause the Surface to heat up and the fans to kick in. I've been meaning to install Process Explorer to see what those programs are doing exactly. There's probably some thread going crazy in the background trying to update XBox Live or something.

That said, they are pretty games though.

 

[JoeSchmoe007]

Forgot to mention: when I was checking S Pro in the store to compare with the one I had at home there was MS employee there. She told me what I was observing was not normal and I should return or exchange it.

Also just watched a HDX movie via Vudu. Pretty much the same story - tablet got too hot to hold on my laps and fan started making noticeable noise (especially because speakers are on the quiet side) after about 5-10 minutes.

Back to BB it goes. And I will not be getting another one. Lesson learned: if hardware needs fans maybe it is not ready to be made in tablet form factor.

 

[Polychrome]

Call me skeptical. Mine gets warm playing free cell. It doesn't melt down or anything when I do something more intense.

And I would easily say that working with a cell carrier has taught me that one person's "Ah, it's just warm. It does that." is another person's OMG IT'S GONNA DIE! People still get freaked out that routers get warm...and I don't think I've ever seen a router that doesn't. Most laptops can get pretty warm, so when in doubt, ask a computer store with the computer in question in-hand! They can only speculate if they're not looking right at it.

Two things are typically going to generate heat on a moble device. 1. Charging/using battery, especially at the same time. 2. Intense programs.

If you're playing on the device when charging it, it's gonna get hot, no matter what you're doing. Also keep in mind any number of background processes could be running. For example, Antivirus/Antispy software will add a lot of background work to any computer.

If you had yours with you when MS employee said that was weird, okay. But it's really best you think of this as a light laptop than an ipad.

 

[TwistedVIP]

Mahjong is the one game that is killer on heat and fan for me. Any other game has worked perfectly fine with little fan noise. I'm curious as to whether or not there is a memory leak with the game, or it's just due to the graphics of it.