Laptop temperature problems

lx07 · 17 Feb 2017

My laptop temps are in the low 70's on the desktop doing nothing.

If I play scrabble sometimes the screen tears when I win and the fireworks start. If I use Skype or watch YouTube it gets too hot almost immediately and shuts itself down.

I opened it up and gently brushed off the most obvious lumps of dust from the last decade but it made no difference. I also replaced the HDD with a SSD in the hope of reducing the temperature. This was an improvement for performance but the CPU temps didn't drop.

It is a laptop so I can't see what I can do really. Can you replace the CPU paste on a laptop? Should I (as this suggests) stick the motherboard in the oven to remelt the solder? Is it wise and what bits on a motherboard are temperature sensative and should be removed before hand? It seems a bit drastic to me.

It is a 2006 Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro with an ATI X1600 GPU which I realise is a bit out of date. Software wise it works fine with a clean install of Windows 10 though - my question is only about if there is something you can do with old laptops to reduce idle temps.

Caledon Ken · 17 Feb 2017

Hi lx07

Not so sure that reducing idle temperatures is the answer. Sooner or later you are going to start something and the temps are going to rip.

You are kind of lucky as your older MacBook can be opened with screw / torx drivers.

You thermal paste is likely dried or one of the fans is dead.

Here is a video, likely for the wrong device, on replacing thermal paste. There is likely a correct video for your specific device.

Not everybody is inclined to take a device apart, there are lots of parts not to mention costs for specialty drivers and a static strap. Great chance to make some mods and done with some organization it is very doable.

The oven trick is usually to fuse a broken piece of solder. I don't think this is your issue. Anyway my vote would be to never bake a computer.

How to: Replace thermal paste on a Macbook Pro - YouTube

Ken

RolandJS · 17 Feb 2017

Both of my laptops run a usb-powered external cooling fan assembly -- they may run very warm, however, there is no more hot running and sudden shutdowns. Because heat is an enemy of electronics, recommend using such devices.

Gurn Blanston · 17 Feb 2017

Macbooks can be rough to take apart and put back together again, but I would agree with Caledon Ken that the paste has probably dried up.

If you don't feel comfortable replacing it yourself, take the computer to a reliable repair shop.

lx07 · 18 Feb 2017

Thanks. I did take it halfway apart to fit the SSD. The fans are OK (at least HWMonitor reports they are both spinning) so I guess I'll have a stab at replacing the paste.