Laptop overheating

Im playing Sc2 on my laptop for about a year now.
Its a budget kind of laptop by packardbell (easynote LJ65), having "price-perfomance"sided good coreassets (dual-2,2gHz, 4gb-ram).
Its obviously no dedicated gaming laptop, but till last 2 weeks i was pretty satisfied.

But during last weeks its getting apparent, that it is i a whole not getting younger.
After some games, actually 3-4, there comes seconds where everything lags in unplayable manner. I, in my subjective, clueless stance, lead it back to the increasing temperature. It is overall getting hotter than in the past, so i openend it and cleared the cooler from dust. It was a bit better afterwards, yet not same as a year ago, whre i played Sc2 on maximum-graphics while having less performance issues.

Question: May it be helpful to try putting up new cooling-paste on the processor or do you consider a diffrent problem?

Sideinfos: Im trying to keep running processes low: ca. 56-58 regular, cpuload ca. 2-8%, laptop-age ca 18 month, performanceissues occuring ca 4-6 weeks getting worse..

P.S.: Request missing info plz.

Thx in advance

Nitmal blaue lichd das dan wird bodnkalaschnikof chance gegen Magrins! Einfach schißt die boden an bis tod und dan einschlagt die fenster von prodoss haus und schändn die probe! -- Ferrix

jaj22 United Kingdom. May 22 2012 10:15. Posts 1373

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What exactly did you clean? The important dust builds up on the heatsink, not the fan.

Also run HWMonitor and get some max CPU and GPU core temps while running SC2 for a while.

AdmrlAwesome Germany. May 22 2012 10:20. Posts 37

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I clean'd everything a bit, but yea, mainly the fan and grills surround :/
Ill do that monitoring-thing tomorrow.. thx.

Edit: Damn, im searching for ages for a tool that displays the coretemperature.. i thought my laptop might miss a sensor for that.. thanks alot :D

Last edit: 2012-05-22 10:24:16

Nitmal blaue lichd das dan wird bodnkalaschnikof chance gegen Magrins! Einfach schißt die boden an bis tod und dan einschlagt die fenster von prodoss haus und schändn die probe! -- Ferrix

TheToast United States. May 22 2012 13:51. Posts 4804

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Question: May it be helpful to try putting up new cooling-paste on the processor or do you consider a diffrent problem?

Do not open your laptop. Do not fuck with the heatsink. DO NOT open your laptop.

An insufficient cooling system is quite common with laptops. As summer roles around and ambient room temperatures get warmer, it can really strain the cooling capacity of a laptop. Besides cleaning the dust out of the heatink/fan, only options you really have is to try to prop the four corners of the laptop up so the underside is open to the air. A small desk fan blowing air across the PC can help too. Cooling pads don't help much and basically do the same thing that I just mentioned.

I like the way the walls go out. Gives you an open feeling. Firefly's a good design. People don't appreciate the substance of things. Objects in space. People miss out on what's solid.

seaofsaturn United States. May 22 2012 14:08. Posts 480

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On May 22 2012 13:51 TheToast wrote:

Show nested quote +

Opening your laptop and replacing the thermal paste is remarkably easy if you download the manual for your laptop. Draw a diagram and keep track of where your screws came from. Only risk is shocking something which can be easily avoided with a anti-static wrist strap or by touching metal stuff often while you're working on it.

Go to arctic silver's website and find the instructions for your type of processor so you apply the paste correctly.

I was having the exact same problem for a while, thermal paste did wonders. I couldn't play portal 2 for more than 20 minutes without my computer shutting itself off, but now it runs cooler in games than it ran just idling before i replaced the paste.

Last edit: 2012-05-22 14:10:37

Photoshop is over-powered.

RebirthOfLeGenD USA. May 22 2012 14:26. Posts 5344

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On May 22 2012 10:20 AdmrlAwesome wrote:
I clean'd everything a bit, but yea, mainly the fan and grills surround :/
Ill do that monitoring-thing tomorrow.. thx.

Edit: Damn, im searching for ages for a tool that displays the coretemperature.. i thought my laptop might miss a sensor for that.. thanks alot :D

http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/
I use this when I am worried about temperatures.

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Caryc Germany. May 22 2012 14:32. Posts 325

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im no expert but buy a cooling pad - it helps so much!
id never use a laptop to play a game w/o one again.

edit : i use 2 laptops with cooling pads myself (one over 4 years old) and turning them
off they get way to hot in a few minutes of playing sc2.

Last edit: 2012-05-22 14:33:44

Amui Canada. May 22 2012 15:36. Posts 3174

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On May 22 2012 13:51 TheToast wrote:

Show nested quote +

Opening your laptop is fine so long as you know what you're doing. I fucked with the heatsink(s) on my last 2 laptops, and as a result they idled 2-4 degrees C cooler, and about the same under load. It can be remarkably worthwhile to open them up.

As a response to OP though, if you aren't too confident with taking components apart, you could just prop open the shell(keep track of where each screw goes. and use compressed air to blow out all the dust without fully disassembling it, and then just screw everything back. Blowing air into the heatsink from the outside won't necessarily get the dust out, because once the fan starts moving again it could potentially go right back into the heatsink.

Last edit: 2012-05-22 15:36:36

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Lavit2099 United States. May 22 2012 15:37. Posts 365

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On May 22 2012 14:32 Caryc wrote:
im no expert but buy a cooling pad - it helps so much!
id never use a laptop to play a game w/o one again.

edit : i use 2 laptops with cooling pads myself (one over 4 years old) and turning them
off they get way to hot in a few minutes of playing sc2.

This, pretty much.

I have two laptops, a general purpose one and one built for gaming when I'm not at home. Both use a cooling pad that gets power from a USB port. Think extra case fans for a desktop pc, but under your laptop. This helps to keep it quite cool. That not withstanding, play 3 games, shut it off and take a bit of a walk before you come back (give it at least 15 minutes) to play more.

NeverStar United Kingdom. May 22 2012 16:43. Posts 22

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If its easy to do, I would remove the hEatsinks (CPU/VGA) and give them and also th gfx chip and CPU a good clean. U can get TIM remover, but I just use some white spirits and a cloth. Go to a tech store and get some thermal compound, I would suggest arctic silver or another hi end silver paste. I normally use about 1.5 to 2 BB gun pellet sized balls. I'd search utube for a guide on applying thermal paste.

Thermal compound is a essential part of ur cooling. Once you remove a heat sink, you should always apply new thermal compound before putting the heats sink back.
If ur unsure, research this before u divE in or get a pro to do it. Don't bust ur laptop, but u need fresh thermal paste.

Glgl

ilikeredheads Canada. May 22 2012 19:35. Posts 527

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I am really against disassembling your laptop unless you are at expert on computer hardware and know what you are doing. Most laptops are designed so that in order to reach the heatsink, you pretty much have to take everything apart. Even if you manage to take it apart and clean the heatsink, putting it all back together is a challenge for most people. I had overheating issues with my old HP dv9060 and I gave up trying to take it apart because the process was too complicated. The risk was too high for me.

If you don't have a cooling pad, get one. Do not place your laptop on your bed or any soft surface as it will hamper airflow. Place it on a desk or a hard flat surface so nothing is blocking the exhaust.

http://www.twitch.tv/ilikeredheads

TheToast United States. May 22 2012 22:31. Posts 4804

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Cooling pads don't actually help that much. It's a little old, but cnet did some comparative benchmarks of popular cooling pads and found that most barely help at all with internal temps and the biggest change they saw was 6 degrees C. Might keep the outside of the laptop from getting hot though. Proping up the corners and using a desk fan will achieve similar results. Article is here: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-9700201-1.html

Honestly, if overheating is such a big issue I'd say looking at undervolting the CPU may be a better option.

On May 22 2012 15:36 Amui wrote:

Show nested quote +

I still say it's a terrible idea. If you don't know what your doing (and even if you do) it can be so easy to damage things. I know both Dell and HP use those small thin ribbon cables to connect internal components, if you unplug them they can be nearly impossible to plug back in, and they are so fragile often just the act of plugging them back in strips the leads or damages the cables meaning your components no longer work. It's also extremely easy to break something given that most modern laptops are made out of cheap plastic.

There's no dust to clean out inside since there is no air flow, and replacing the thermal compound on the heatsink isn't going to give you more than a few extra degrees. IMO there's just no reason at all to open a laptop given the risks of damage. Especially if you've never done so before, they're not designed to be opened easily.

I like the way the walls go out. Gives you an open feeling. Firefly's a good design. People don't appreciate the substance of things. Objects in space. People miss out on what's solid.

AdmrlAwesome Germany. May 22 2012 22:47. Posts 37

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I actually had it completly disassembled as i tried cleaning it out. There are some nice pictury tutorials for help and i think im micromechanically fond enough to do it again, eventhough i agree that opening a laptop should be the last option and be done by professionals, if possible.

Also i just monitored the temperature with HWMonitor while playing 3 games in a row. I could post the log, but i dont think it would help much. As i thought, most temperatures stay in ok condition to me (~70-80°) only the processors go up to 90°+.
I think ill give the cooling-paste a try.

Anyone knows some good tutorials?

Nitmal blaue lichd das dan wird bodnkalaschnikof chance gegen Magrins! Einfach schißt die boden an bis tod und dan einschlagt die fenster von prodoss haus und schändn die probe! -- Ferrix

TheToast United States. May 22 2012 22:49. Posts 4804

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On May 22 2012 22:47 AdmrlAwesome wrote:
I actually had it completly disassembled as i tried cleaning it out. There are some nice pictury tutorials for help and i think im micromechanically fond enough to do it again, eventhough i agree that opening a laptop should be the last option and be done by professionals, if possible.

Also i just monitored the temperature with HWMonitor while playing 3 games in a row. I could post the log, but i dont think it would help much. As i thought, most temperatures stay in ok condition to me (~70-80°) only the processors go up to 90°+.
I think ill give the cooling-paste a try.

Anyone knows some good tutorials?

Yeah that is not a good temperature for a CPU. Cleaning it out is unlikely to have an effect as there is not air flow anywhere else besides the heatsink/fan. But it's your laptop, if you feel comfortable opening it I guess that's your decision.

Are you asking for good tutorials on applying thermal compound?

I like the way the walls go out. Gives you an open feeling. Firefly's a good design. People don't appreciate the substance of things. Objects in space. People miss out on what's solid.

AdmrlAwesome Germany. May 22 2012 22:56. Posts 37

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On May 22 2012 22:49 TheToast wrote:
Are you asking for good tutorials on applying thermal compound?

Yes, please

Nitmal blaue lichd das dan wird bodnkalaschnikof chance gegen Magrins! Einfach schißt die boden an bis tod und dan einschlagt die fenster von prodoss haus und schändn die probe! -- Ferrix

TheToast United States. May 22 2012 23:06. Posts 4804

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On May 22 2012 22:56 AdmrlAwesome wrote:

Show nested quote +

Yes, please

Well, there's not much to tell, it's pretty easy. Make sure you clean off all the old stuff, using a cloth with a small amount of rubbing alcohol to clean the surfaces is usually the best recommendation. Just make sure that both the surface of the heatsink and CPU are completely clean and dry before you apply the new stuff.

The only thing you really need to be aware of is what application pattern is best for your CPU. Each CPU distributes heat differently and in different locations on it's surface, so the best way to apply thermal compound depends on the CPU. Artic Silver has a great guide with recommended application patterns based on each CPU type, I'm assuming you have an intel CPU: http://www.arcticsilver.com/intel_application_method.html#

So, clean off the old stuff and apply the new stuff in a manner according to that guide and you should be good to go.

I like the way the walls go out. Gives you an open feeling. Firefly's a good design. People don't appreciate the substance of things. Objects in space. People miss out on what's solid.

Cleric United States. May 22 2012 23:41. Posts 34

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My laptop cooling experience:

I was using a Dell Latitude D830 when Starcraft 2 came out. That means the thing would chug and choke at the lowest settings while overheating to boot. When the heat got to a certian level, the framerate would drop and the game would become unplayable. I decided to do the best I could to keep the temperature down.

I got a "high velocity" desk fan that was small enough to fit behind my desk. I nailed hooks to the wall, hung the fan on them, and pointed it at the heat sink on the machine. It actually kept it cool enough to play SC2 without framerates dropping.

With those temps, I'm not sure my simple solution would be enough to keep it cool but it couldn't hurt either.

A process cannot be understood by stopping it. Understanding must move with the flow of the process, must join it and flow with it.

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