Laptop constantly overheats, could heatsink be the issue?

xboxhaxorz · 22 Jun 2020

I am a retired repair technician, my memory is shot so i dont remember everything, i do remember how to properly clean and install new thermal paste, i have done it twice using MX4 and there is really no dust in it either

Sometimes it gets so heated i can feel it near the touchpad, temp monitor shows it regularly in the high 60s and it reaches mid 80s sometimes, its an i7 4712hq processor, it appears to be throttling as well because the FPS in a game i play has dropped from around 25 to 15, sometimes it hits 12 and im on minimal settings

I have a 2nd laptop of the same model that recently died due to charging circuit but it performed a lot better and didnt have cooling issues

Caledon Ken · 23 Jun 2020

Not sure what you mean, could heat sink be issue.

If laptop is overheating then yes it could be heat sink but some heat sinks are so basic they really don't fail.

Thermal paste can be issue, way to little or more often to much but I think you would see processor running hot in low loads.

Could be as simple as this is not a gaming laptop and while the engineers design for brief high workloads the sink/fan combination was never meant to really handle sustained loads.

Have you seen those devices that you place laptop on to cool. As an example

Marvo FN-38 Backlet 17 inch Laptop Cooling Stand_Red LED - Newegg.ca

Berton · 23 Jun 2020

Biggest problem I've seen is the fins get plugged that prevents good air flow. Usually compressed/canned air clears the fins by blowing into all openings on Notebooks/Laptops. Pets are a good source of fine hair that cause the plugging, sometimes requires disassembly to get at the fins. The fan and fins have the heat conducted from the CPU via a copper flattened tube-like device.

RJARRRPCGP · 23 Jun 2020

The copper heatpipe, is possibly broken! Once it has leaked, it's history!