Heat.
I have now measured the temperature of the Powerbook 15", Thinkpad A31 and Thinkpad T40p.
I expected that the A31 would be the coolest since I have no memory of ever thinking "ouch this thing's hot!",
the T40p felt hot on my lap and the Powerbook 15" also feels hot on my lap.
| Laptop |
On Cushion |
Open Air |
Hottest Location |
| Powerbook 15" 1.5GHz G4 |
51.5 C |
43.0 C |
Underside, left/rear, near power connector. |
| Thinkpad T40p 1.6GHz Pm |
52.1 C |
42.5 C |
Underside, middle/right, between RAM cover and side vent. |
| Thinkpad A31 1.6GHz P4m |
51.5 C |
41.3 C |
Underside, left/rear, near power connector. |
The Powerbook was running the intro screen for the UT2004 demo and the two
Thinkpads were playing Counterstrike with 7 bots.
The results are not too different for each machine. Yes, the T40p reached
the highest temperature, 0.6 C more than the others, but that's not really that
much hotter than the Powerbook and A31. If the difference was degrees, well,
then there would be a different story. The range for 'open air' is 1.7 C,
and the range for 'on cushion' is 0.6 C.
Thermometer specs.
This thermometer is normally used to measure CPU and GPU temperatures.
Accuracy:
(18C to 28C ambient)
+/- (0.3% rdg + 1C)
-50C to 1000C
+/- (0.5% rdg + 1C)
1000C to 1300C
The ambient temperature was 21.4 C, and the temperature sensor was left attached until
no fluctuations were seen for a period of at least 2 minutes, this took between 15
and 20 minutes to reach.
Coffee.
There is certainly enough heat given off by the gas heaters in the QVB.
I am sitting here like a little show-off tosser updating my blog and I am loving it!
The Powerbook is so much more comfortable at this task than the Thinkpad T40p.
First the screen is much better. When I am 'out' and on battery power I like
to put the screen on the lowest settings to conserve power.
When I did this with the Thinkpad it became very hard to read what's
on screen (squint-o-vision). I am now also well-and-truly used to the trackpad,
I am now much quicker with it than the trackpoint on the Thinkpad.
And third, the Powerbook has no issues switching wireless conenctions. The Thinkpad always
had connection issues, minor, but a pain to correct. Not sure what was at fault, Windows,
the IBM connection utilty, or my potential incompetence!
The only thing that was better about the Thinkpad was that my thumb would never
accidentally hit the trackpad like it does on the Powerbook.
Happiness is...
In case anyone has noticed, I am very very very happy with my switch to Apple. I have found joy in computing again.
Things work as they should, everything seems clear, and my evenings are mine again. With my Thinkpad I always took my job home, now I can do my real work (not job) at home instead!
