My laptop overheats when watching/recording TV

[ryufan27]

I have a T5200 intel core 2 duo laptop which is 1.6Ghz, but I thought because it's dual core it would be faster. Anyway, my Happauge WinTV HVR-850 NTSC/ATSC HD USB TV receiver heats my computer up to the point where it shuts off automatically. Is there a way to either prevent my computer from automatically turning off or changing settings so less CPU is used or what?

Thanks

[MitchSchaft]

If it's overheating there's nothing you can really do since it's a laptop.

[ryufan27]

Originally Posted by MitchSchaft

If it's overheating there's nothing you can really do since it's a laptop.

I was thinking about maybe just taking it back to RadioShack and buying one that maybe takes less sys requirements. Are there any you can think of that wouldn't require more than 1.6 Ghz and would allow me to pick up cable?

[paulbeers]

Originally Posted by ryufan27

I was thinking about maybe just taking it back to RadioShack and buying one that maybe takes less sys requirements. Are there any you can think of that wouldn't require more than 1.6 Ghz and would allow me to pick up cable?

Are you trying to capture just analog cable? In that case, get a card with a MPEG2 hardware encoder. If I am not mistaken, the 850 is a software encoder which means your CPU has to convert the raw capture to MPEG2. A Hardware encoder does all the encoding on a chip in the capture device which then requires almost no CPU usage. I'm not sure what hardware encoders are still available for USB for analog. Most are included on PCI boards with ATSC/QAM tuners (but obviously PCI is of no use to you).