Hi there,

here I am with another "bullshit question" about the dangers of hot temperatures and the likes. I'm referring, again, to my latest computer setup, an ASUS ROG gaming laptop used as a desktop replacement with external monitor and peripherals (forum post here, original post here, photo on Reddit to ease the bandwidth on my host). In a previous thread I talked about the possible dangers of using a 144Hz G-Sync monitor with my GPU/hardware, now there's another doubt that bugs me and it's about the temperatures (again) of the cable that connects the laptop with the external PSU.

As you can (not) see from the photo, the laptop rests on a cooling pad and there are ~5 cm of depth on the back (between the PC and the wall) where the cable runs from the PC (on the left of the laptop's body) to the PSU and then to the socket. Now, the internal cooling system pushes hot air behind the laptop, and I found that the inclined lid is the best way to let *all* the air flow outside without partially coming on top and through the keyboard. Of course, when I play 3D games, the temperatures tend to go way up, and even though there is nothing out of the ordinary I fear that, in the long run, all that hot air could damage the PSU cable in some way.

Just to be clear, because some of you seem to misunderstand a proper gaming laptop for some shitty piece of useless garbage useful only to fry some eggs: the PC DOES NOT overheat, the temperatures are perfectly fine for this kind of system and I have no single issue to report on that front :-P

BUT, here is the fact: when I play the temps go up, sensibly, and if I check behind the laptop the PSU cable is warmed up because of the hot air coming out. Not "hot", mind you, and certainly not melting plastic on my desktop. The cable is just warmer compared to my non-gaming sessions, and my doubt is that in the end I should move the cable on the front to avoid degradation and potential issues in the future.

Am I going too far with my concerns (as usual) or is there a legit issue I could experience if I don't move the PSU cable on the front?

Thanks for your time and your answers.

My laptop power block gets hot but I can rest my hand on it without an issue. Never heard of the cord getting hot though.

Google'ing pulls up lots of thread where it's the brick getting hot or where folks are getting confused with the brick and the cord as to what gets hot.

I found one thread saying it;s a concern:

https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/2099935/laptop-charging-cable-burning-hot-why

I usually replace mine every 6 months or so anyway. Unplugging and repluggin it 3 or 4 if not more times a day and it gets worn very quickly.

Nope, that's not my issue: per se, the cable is perfectly fine. The PSU is barely warm, even when I game, and the plug is cold all the time.

As I said, I have no problems with overheating. Just a (mild) concern for temperature effects in the long run. Maybe I'm just needlessly anxious because my previous system died a horrible death because of heat and failed CPU upgrade?

Unless it gets warm enough you question being able to hold it, it probably is fine. Although this assumes it's properly shielded and not laying near/on highly flammable materials.

Depending on how much power it's actually drawing you might change things up. I find 90% of the time turning the CPU's to half power doesn't affect my ability to use the internet, program or do any major things (only games, and that's half the time). Also since USB ports spec'd to output 5v for anything you plug in (though some laptops only use them for data, making you have to supply power from another source, usually seen with external harddrives...) mixed with other peripherals, you might be using a lot more power than you need to.

The heat transferred is most likely from the transformer block that comes with the laptop, moreso than anything else. You could try and get a universal converter/PSU and see if that helps, just get the voltage and plug right and it will probably work. Although with radio shack gone...

Sorry, I must have misread that.

Yeah, maybe my explanation wasn't clear enough. I meant the cable is warmer because of the heat pushed out by the PC fans' not because of overheating...

If it's warm because it has been externally warmed, that's fine. Operating temperatures for electrical lines are usually in the neighborhood of 100C for little stuff like your laptop line, 200-250C for heavier-duty lines. But the warmer the cable, the shorter the lifespan - look up the Arrhenius relationship if you care - the rule of thumb being every 10C increase in temp halves the lifespan of the cable.

I would keep the cable cool, but unless you have a cable that has been wired poorly and will be prone to shorting out after a very minor bit of melt, you'll be fine leaving it where it is.

EDIT: typo

If you are worried, there are often replacement power bricks and such you could look into.

Thanks, that's an interesting point. The cable is warm because of the hot air coming from inside the laptop, and if I take it in my hand it's barely noticeable away from the aforementioned hot air. I'll probably leave it the way it is now, also considering that I usually don't game on a daily basis (my schedule is full with work'n stuff too, so I've got me three nights per week to play 3, 4 titles at best for the time being plus emulators on Sunday afternoons).

It'll be interesting to see how much warmer the cable will get during Summer, even though right now the weather here in Southern Italy is a bit odd and doesn't feel like Summer (or even Spring) at all...

You should be fine. I say should be because without splitting open the cable to see the wire insulation ratings it's hard to tell, but most wire insulation ratings are given at 75 degrees C for amperage rating of the wires. This means that you'll be fine unless you literally throw your power cord into an oven.

To be honest, I would not worry at all, but if it's that much of a concern to you why don't you run the cable either below the cooling pad or in the front of it - the other way around basically?

I also keep the screen down while gaming, since I have similar setup to yours, and I've never noticed more than 45C on the external casing of the laptop (near the exhaust side of the keyboard), though CPU temperatures briefly peak at a scorching 89C and the exhaust air temperature probably gets in the range of 60C near the copper radiator fins.

If it breaks I'll buy a newer, better rig, but I expect it to remain functional until it becomes obsolete :P.

Just saw this melted plug on Reddit, and I chuckled. Hopefully it won't come to this, in my case :-P

Sometimes there is less copper than there should be in a cable and that leads to it overheating and maybe even melting.

A former work colleague used to rest his coffee cup on his laptops power block to keep it warm. Not good for it in the long run, but I don't think he cared as the kit wasn't coming out of his pocket.

A laptop should shut itself down way before emitting anything close to the heat required to do such damage on its own. Now if that particular laptop was also very close to its power threshold and the charger + cable were doing overtime, maxing out the amperage on a poorly designed conductor, it's not entirely impossible to get in such a perfect storm scenario.