1. System Temperatures And Noise Levels While Gaming

Editor's Note: In the first part of this article we took an in-depth look at four very different gaming notebook candidates. We also presented a gaming-oriented analysis of each notebook's graphics subsystem and display. In this part we show you the results of a large number of gaming and other tests and interpret these results. We also present detailed concluding assessments of the four notebooks and discuss which one might be best for you.

Among the most important comfort factors for any notebook are case temperatures and the level of noise generated while the computer is in use.

Case Temperatures And Hot Spots During Intensive Play

To gain some insight into how much heat is produced during intensive game play, we ran four game demos from 3DMark2005 in an endless loop. After half an hour of this regime, we used an IR thermometer in fixed position to take readings from the left and right side of the palm rest area, as well as the touchpad to determine which spot was the hottest. Because many gamers will want to play with notebooks in their laps, we also measured the hottest point on the underside of each unit.

Our explanation of the results follows our temperature diagrams.

Analysis Of Temperature Tests

Despite having the slowest graphics processor in our test group, the Acer Aspire 5672WLMi gets amazingly warm, which is surely a consequence of its relatively slender and compact design. The maximum temperatures we measured on the top side of the keyboard deck verge on the unacceptable (108° F / 42° C). The hottest spot on the underside of the unit occurs around the RAM modules. The Asus A7J and the HP Compaq nx9420 barely warm up at all around the palm rest and the touchpad, even under the most extreme gaming loads they can handle.

It's possible to balance a 17" unit on your legs, however uncomfortable that might be in practice. But in that case, you should be careful, at least where the HP unit is concerned. We measured temperatures of up to 115° F (46° C) in the area around the memory sockets. This might not be enough to actually burn a user, but for those wearing shorts it's enough to cause some serious reddening of the skin. The Aurora M7700 heats up primarily because it's built around a desktop dual core CPU and a high-end graphics processor, yet remains surprisingly cool. Extended gaming does raise the temperature of the palm rest noticeably, despite sweaty palms. This suggests it's a good idea to use an external keyboard. But the hotspot underneath the Aurora isn't where you'd expect it to be: it occurs neither in the area of the RAID array (88° F / 32° C) nor near the memory slots (88° F / 32° C) but rather on the outside near the front where the exhaust vent for the graphics processor is located (115° F / 46 ° C). The area to the right rear where the CPU resides seldom warms beyond body heat, even when running under heavy load. But you'll want to stay well away from Alienware's power supply. During intensive play, we measured the upper surface temperature at a blistering 129° F (54° C).

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