Processor Running Hot

I purchased 2 new laptops, one for me and one to give to a friend. They are exactly the same. I have been testing them side-by-side following this guide :

I am about 4 minutes into the video. I noticed a louder whining sound coming from my laptop, usually when it isn't doing anything. My friend's makes the same noise, but quieter.
I ran the Cinebench fan and CPU tests. The sound similar. My friend's CPU ranks a 7 on the Cinebench test, and mine an 8, when Cinebench says ours normally ranks a 9.
When I do the hwinfo.com to test the processor temperature while running Cinebench, my friend's stays pretty cool, around 81-87 degrees. Mine stays around 88 at first, then climbs to between 91 and 95 and stays there for the remainder of the Cinebench test. This video guide I am following says it should not remain over 90 for any sustained time.

So, my questions are:
What does this mean? Is my processor bad?
Josh (in the video) seems to give advice on what to do if your processor is running hot. I am concerned that following his instructions would hide the fact that I have a bad processor, or would void the computer's warranty. I don't know what I am doing, and don't understand what he is saying at this point.
Do you think there is a slight setting I can change to fix this issue?
Or is this not even an issue?

Thanks

 

Those are not "pretty cool" temps - even for laptops, especially when idle. Note the world, even in the US, use Celsius when reporting computer temps. So are those temps in Celsius (°C) or Fahrenheit (°F)? If Fahrenheit, convert to Celsius but yeah, those temps are great. But if Celsius, those in the 95°C area would be considered very warm, or even on the hot side.

Sadly, you told us absolutely nothing about these laptops. So we don't even know what CPU is in them, or the cooling capability of the laptop. Not all CPUs have the same capability or heat tolerances. So the video saying it should not do this or do that really means nothing, unless it is with the exact same laptop as you.

Is your processor bad? No. Processors, like most digital devices, either work or they don't work.

Well, I am not a fan of benchmarking programs because they are synthetic. Despite their claims, they do NOT represent real world use.

So use the notebook as you normally would. Does it work? If yes, then I would say it is not an issue.

Now, for the whining noise. That could be an issue - depending on what is making the noise. No doubt, when users describe the noise as a "whine", some will immediately declare it as "coil whine". Yet in reality, they are just guessing. It could be coil whine but it could easily just be the cooling fan spinning up. Without actually being there and hearing it first hand, we cannot tell. Motor bearings can and often do "whine" too.

If you can reach the fan without taking the laptop apart (you don't want to risk voiding the warranty), you could momentarily and gently touch the center hub of the fan. This will cause the rotation speed to momentarily slow down. If it is the fan making the noise, the pitch of the sound will change with the speed. If the whining noise remains constant, then it is another device making the noise.

 

Thanks, Digerati.
I am scared to try to touch the fan! Is there something else I can do to tell if the noise I am hearing is bad?

 

Why? It will not hurt the fan or chop off your finger. And by touching it gently and momentarily, there's no way it could cause the CPU to overheat in that short period of time. And even if it did heat up quickly, the thermal protection circuits in the laptop and CPU itself would kick in and throttle back the speed, preventing any thermal damage any way.

That said, if you are that hesitant (and there's no shame in that), I would suggest you either live with it, or return the notebooks for different ones. Again, you don't want to void any warranties.

 

I am hesitant because I am not familiar with computers, this cost more money than I usually spend on one item. I am afraid that it will break if I flip it over, for one thing (yes, laugh - go ahead, I am), but after carefully looking at the underside the vents are too narrow for me to put my finger in. I can't see fan blades as far as I can tell. If I were to gently touch the fan, and the noise did or did not stop, what would it indicate anyway?
Thanks

 

If you can't see the fan, then it is probably nestled inside a bit. Some times, they are just inside the vent and you can slip a wooden Popsicle/glue stick in there. You just have to be careful to press on the center hub and not hit the spinning blades and possibly snap a blade off.

If the fan was the problem, touching the center hub to slow (no need to stop) the rotation speed a bit would change the pitch of the noise. If the noise changed, you know the fan is making the sound. If the sound remains unchanged, it just means something else is making the noise. Either way, since it is under warranty, if the noise indicates something is faulty, it would have to go in for warranty repair any way. I have to say, since both laptops are making the same sound, it seems unlikely it is a fault.

No, it does not hurt to turn a laptop upside down - as long as you are not banging it about. Hard drives don't really like the action of being turned over while spinning - but if turned over slowly, no problem. And once turned over, no problem.

Having said all this - I don't know yet if the noise is normal or not. Hard drive motors make noise too. It might be a good idea to take it to a shop, talk nice to them and ask them to listen for 10 seconds to get their opinion on if the sound is normal, or not.

Beyond that, I have to go by the philosophy of, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" And at this point, I don't know if it is broke.

 

Thank you again. When I ran the cinebench it ran the fans FASTER, not slower, and the noise goes away, then comes back once the test is done and the laptop is idle again.
Does this make the problem seem better or worse, or still can't tell?

 

Ummm, okay. That is what I would expect.

The benchmark program taxes the system. A a system works harder it produces more heat which must be extracted. So the fans spin up to exhaust that heat out - exactly what it is supposed to do.

 

I'm sorry, I was multitasking and did not make myself clear.
I know that is what the benchmark program is supposed to do.

My point:
You said I could slow the fan and listen to see if the noise I hear which is louder than the other identical laptop changes. We have established that I am too much of a chicken to do this. However, the benchmark program also changes the speed of the fan, just in the opposite direction. This faster speed does change the whining sound that I hear when the computer is idle; it makes the noise completely go away. I am quite sure that this is not because the fan is now louder than the whine, as I put my ear up to the computer and cannot hear the noise at all if the fans are running fast.

So I am wondering, even though this is speeding the fan rather than slowing it, since this does change the noise I hear, does that tell you the same thing that slowing the fan would tell you (regarding the noise that is louder when idle)?

Thanks

 

I said changing the fan's rotation speed makes the "pitch" of the sound change. The sound going away (or turning off and on) is not the same thing. The pitch (as in the audible frequency, low or bass up to high or treble) will change with the rotation speed if the noise is coming from a device with moving parts - that is, a motor.

Again, since I do not know what device is causing the sound, I cannot even speculate. And since you are hesitant to dig in deeper, my advice is to return the computers, find a professional locally who can listen and give a decision based on what they can directly and "in person" see and hear.

 

Thank you.