Folding At Home on a Laptop

ArazelEternal · 25 Apr 2021

Windows 10 x64 21H1, build 19043.899

Hello all,

I have a question for all of you. I started running Folding At Home on my laptop. I know that this is said to not always be a good idea because of the heat generated, however, I am wondering if it is still a problem on my setup. This is system number 1 listed under my computer, the Precision 3520.

I have F@H set up to run on only one core/one thread. AIDA64 says that with it running, my CPU temp tends to sit around 75C. Ive read in a few places online that one typically should keep the CPU at least 10-15C under the Tjunction max temp, which on this CPU is 100C. I know on a desktop system this would be a non-issue. Im just wondering about it for a laptop. The system fan does spin up a bit, but is still barely audible under most conditions.

What do you all think?

Gurn Blanston · 25 Apr 2021

Personally, I don't know if I would run F@H on a laptop due to the performance hit incurred. Also, you need to think that if the core temperature is 75C while you are folding, what does the temperature rise to when you are folding and doing some CPU intensive tasks?

As you said, this would be trivial for a desktop as usually the desktop has better cooling and runs the CPU at a much lower temperature.

Paul Black · 25 Apr 2021

Hello @ArazelEternal,

I think you have really got to weight up the impact on your normal processes possibly be a bit slower to perform the tasks, and possibly the life cycle of the Laptop, against the advantage of using Folding At Home. The heat impact could possibly be reduced by using the Laptop in a WELL ventilated area, or possibly using something like an external USB Fan for example.

Just my thoughts!

ArazelEternal · 25 Apr 2021

@Gurn_Blanston

The performance hit Im not so concerned about. It seems minimal for the most part. The CPU still has 3 other cores/7 other threads to use. Temps are my main concern. Most of my tasks arent CPU intensive, and if I am doing something that is, I simply pause F@H until Im done. I choose the Precision models because I like the build quality and the flexibility of them. Gaming isnt what it would be on a true gaming laptop, but it does well enough for me.

@Paul Black

Like I said to Grun, the performance impact isnt that noticeable. Mainly internet, office, YouTube, dev hobby, and occasional gaming.

These are the temps while running F@H: