14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft claims that demand for the Surface with Windows 8 is still “amazing,” as the company is still struggling to cope with it and bring more units in stores as soon as possible.
In the meantime, however, owners experience more and more problems, not only affecting the software side of the device, but also plaguing hardware components.
According to a couple of new complaints, the Surface Pro is rapidly overheating when running specific apps, including games such as DOTA 2, CS: GO and Diablo II.
While idle temperatures are about 52 degrees Celsius, launching a game or a more complex app brings it to no less than 74 degrees Celsius, some users report. This makes it not only uncomfortable to hold, but also a lot slower, up to the point when it becomes unusable.
“Idle temperatures for me are typically around 52c. I can hit 60c just surfing the web with the display brightness on the second lowest setting in a room that is 58 - 62f. If I try to do anything above the basics or have two applications running the device averages 60 - 65c. Now I'm not talking anything crazy here, some streaming music off Slacker or Digitally Imported plus some web surfing will do it,” one of the users wrote on the support forums.
“I'm having the same problem with mine. Mine idles at around 53C-58C, and will shoot up to the mid 70's with just a little usage. Playing a game will cause it to throttle after about 3 min when it hits 80C,” another Surface Pro owner added.
While Microsoft is yet to release a public statement on the issue, Steven_B, a forum moderator and a member of the Surface team, explained that these users may actually own a defective unit, so exchanging it with a new one could be the only option.
The problem is that the Surface Pro is still sold out in most stores across the United States, so exchanging a defective unit with a new one could be quite an adventure these days.