Overheating laptop

[Mark Linder]

I am a prospective new buyer of Mastercam Router 8.1, and this is my first post. Charles Davis has given me the opportunity to try the software and I having a problem with heat, which may be slowing the entire system down.

 

The moment I open the software, my laptop's fan starts whirring and continues throughout my session. I can feel a substantial amount of heat coming from the vents. When I attempt to run a Verify/Simulation of what are very simple parts, the simulation is VERY slow, possibly caused by the heat being generated (?) The fan ceases to run a minute or two after I close the program. I currently use Surfcam with no problems like this. I really think Mastercam is a better product, but I don't want to cook my computer!

 

My laptop is a Compaq Presario 1.16 ghz mobile processor, 512MB RAM, Mobility Radeon video.

 

Can anyone lead me to a solution (hopefully one that does not include the purchase of a new laptop!)?

 

Thanks for any help/advise you can give me.

 

Mark Linder

[cadcam]

Mark at this time all you are seeing is the cpu usage on the excessive side and the fans on the laptop will turn on fans to compansate for this.

 

I and many others run MC on laptops and it has not cooked them yet. thank god.

 

Did charles setup the allocations for the amount of ram you have?

 

And what is the Video that is in the laptop?

 

thanks for your time.

[Mark Linder]

Jay,

 

Thanks for your response.

 

No, Charles did not setup any allocation of RAM. Do you know a good starting point?

 

I have a Mobility Radeon with 16MB RAM.

 

The main thing is how darn slow the verify simulation is. An example would be 3 profiles that have just a few cutouts in them - not complex at all - and it is taking Verify about 8 minutes at full speed to complete the draw! Is there a known issue with the Verify function? I don't know if this is related, but if I choose to Verify a toolpath, letting Mastercam create its own bounding box, the speed seems OK. But if I then proceed to modify the bounding box size, the simulation is very very slow, no matter where I put the speed slider. However, even letting Mastercan create the bounding box, I do get this very slow simulation a lot as well. Hmmm.

 

Thanks again for your reply.

 

Mark Linder

[gcode]

I've run MC on a Dell P3 750 a lot.

The fan starts up as soon as I open MC and continues till I shut it down. The noise can

be distracting, but I've noticed no performance

hit. The laptop is nearly 2 years old now and I've never had any trouble with it.

[beav700]

Same here. I can cook eggs on my Compaq Presario 1700 right after I start MC. The CPU usage jumps to %100 with MC being idle and no file open. I can run Proe, PowerMill all day and the fan will not even kick in.

[Jack Mitchell]

The last computer (desktop), that I built was an Athlon system overclocked at 1.1Ghz.

When testing the system & Cpu - I found that Mastercam really put the processor and the graphics card though its paces.

I cannot be sure, but I have found that it will run a system quite hot - perhaps all or most of the raw processor power is required for Mastercam.

 

Regards, Jack

[Charles Davis]

My fan does not run more on my Dell M50 laptop in Mastercam than any other application.

 

I had my previous Dell for 1.5 years, running Mastercam all the time. No problems with overheating at all. (was a 1.0Ghz with 256 MB). I ran first Win2000 then XP Pro on that computer.

 

I'm now running XP Pro, and have plenty of RAM.

 

I'm wondering if this is a Win XP Home issue, Compaq Presario issue, or low ram issue.

 

Anyone else out there with laptops overheating?

 

[ 08-26-2002, 08:13 PM: Message edited by: Charles Davis ]

[gcode]

My apologies for not making myself clear.

My laptop does not overheat running Mastercam

(OS is Win2K). The fan starts up the second I

launch Mastercam and runs as long as Mastercam is open.

I'm sure it has something to do with the Task Manager reporting 100% CPU useage while Mastercam is running.

The laptop itself does not get any hotter running MC than any other application, you just have to listen to the fan all the time.

[kccadcam]

Mcam simply polls the keyboard all of the time,

unless a dialog box is open. (kind of strange I do admit) Open task manager and watch when you open operations manager in MCam and watch the activity drop to nothing from 100% usage.

It's not really taxing the processor to death!

 

Sounds like video driver issues with the slow Verify (SHOCKER!!)

 

[ 08-26-2002, 11:07 PM: Message edited by: Kevin Clark, Central Valley Machine ]

[Mark Linder]

Well,

 

I just downloaded and installed the latest drivers for my system. The verify function seems to work fine now. Repeated verifies are now running at good speed. However, the fan still starts up right away and the unit gets HOT.

 

CPU usage is at 100%.

 

Even if i wanted to buy another laptop, what would I get, and how could I be sure the same heat problem wouldn't happen?

[Bullines]

100% CPU usage explained here:

 

http://www.emastercam.com/cgi-bin/ultimate...ic&f=1&t=001025

 

http://www.emastercam.com/cgi-bin/ultimate...ic&f=1&t=001031

 

Because it appears that Mastercam is using 100% of your CPU resources, doesn't mean that it actually is (read: it's not).

[Charles Davis]

I'm a real fan of Dell laptops. They are a little on the heavy side, which may be a problem if you travel all the time.

 

On the plus side:

1. The keyboards are great.

2. You can get the great 64MB Nvidia cards on them.

3. They are quality machines; very rugged and last.

4. The screens are big (15.1 viewable) and clear (1600x1300).

5. Dell service and support are the best.

6. The prices are very competitive.

 

I'd suggest the Inspiron series for CAD/CAM work (or the M50 workstation laptop if you need extreme performance).

 

FYI: I do not own Dell stock, so my opinion is based on owning 3 dell laptops over the years, and seeing my wife struggle with her gateway laptop.

[Randy Maynard]

Hi All,

 

I am a Mastercam dealer in Indiana. Like Charles, I use Dell laptops. (I currently have a 1.2GHz with 512MB RAM and 64MB NVidia card) I start Mastercam in the AM and maintain at least 1 open copy all day long.

 

I simutaneously use Microsoft Office and other software products.

 

OCCAISIONALLY, my fan will kick on for a few minutes, then shut off.

 

Hope this helps...

[Mark Linder]

Thank you all for your input.

 

"I get a new laptop, I get a new laptop"....

 

Maybe my wife can use my Compaq??

 

Now, all Ihave to do is wait for the great Dell deals - like the one I just missed last weekend!