Laptop CPU is hot all the time.

[Shaqo_Wyn]

Hey guys, lemme get straight to the point.

 

I have an Asus K53E laptop that I use for school work and web browsing. It has an i3-2350M (Sandy Bridge) and 8GB's of Curcial SODIMM DDR3, switched out the stock 4GB's for a dual channel 4GBx2 kit this summer. 

 

Problem: the last week or so the CPU is always at 75-80 degrees Celcius, even at idle.

 

First I thought SpeedFan was giving me faulty readings but Real Temp, Core Temp and Hardware Monitor gave the same readings. The laptop's fan has been louder than normal for a few months now but it has always kept the CPU at an acceptable temp (65-75) when under heavy load and was still whisper quiet under low load or idle conditions.

 

Right now I have only one tab open (the LTT window I'm writing this post in) and both cores are at 78 degrees Celcius. This doesn't change when I let the laptop idle for an hour. As soon as I do anything else like open a Youtube video or Itunes the fan revs up to it's max (it's annoyingly loud) and the CPU temp goes to 80-82 degrees Celsius. I have yet to get a blue screen and my computer isn't freezing or running any slower. I don't have any system heavy background programs open. 

 

Question: I'm wondering if anyone has ideas on what the cause of this problem could be and what possible solutions would be?

 

Edit: ambient temps never always between 15-20 degrees Celcius. 

 

Thanks for reading!

 

Shaqo

[Jobbe03]

Replace the thermal paste and clean the internals of the laptop. 

[Peter Vaughan Truslow]

first off there's a collection of dust between your laptop's fan and heatsink. probably the largest factor. clean the dust out of the heatsink-fan assembly.

if that doesn't fix the problem or you feel adventerous, replace the thermal compound if you have the materials and the know-how.

[NotCthulhu]

Remove the cat from the intake fan.

[NeatSquidYT]

Replace the thermal paste, and de dust it.

[Shaqo_Wyn]

Replace the thermal paste and clean the internals of the laptop. 

 

 

first off there's a collection of dust between your laptop's fan and heatsink. probably the largest factor. clean the dust out of the heatsink-fan assembly.

if that doesn't fix the problem or you feel adventerous, replace the thermal compound if you have the materials and the know-how.

 

Damn, is that hard to do on a laptop? I have two gigantic left hands, so to speak and I have a feeling it requires disassembling the whole laptop. 

 

I do have some MX-4 lying around though.

[Shaqo_Wyn]

Remove the cat from the intake fan.

 

I dislike cats and don't have any other animals as it isn't allowed in my apartment building. 

[Jobbe03]

Damn, is that hard to do on a laptop? I have two gigantic left hands, so to speak and I have a feeling it requires disassembling the whole laptop. 

 

I do have some MX-4 lying around though.

It can be, there's a ton of tutorial vids on youtube. Just follow one

[Peter Vaughan Truslow]

Damn, is that hard to do on a laptop? I have two gigantic left hands, so to speak and I have a feeling it requires disassembling the whole laptop. 

 

I do have some MX-4 lying around though.

i mean it isn't impossible. create maps of where the screws go on your laptop. placing the screws in place on your map as you take it apart. make sure to wear a grounded strap or touch a metal, grounded object from where you are sitting.use magnetic screwdrivers so you don't drop screws(magnets are no risk to computers). and if anything requires an umcomfortable amount of force, set it down and look until you have found out why it won't move(unless it's a screw. then be careful not to strip it)

for your specific laptop you can find a guide or just follow a general guide but those tips are things I have learned after years of practice and a few mistakes.

 

MX-4 is IMHO one of the best to use on laptops because it is not conductive nor capacitive.

[theKumba]

Just get the dust out of the fan with a vacuum cleaner for example.

[NotCthulhu]

I dislike cats and don't have any other animals as it isn't allowed in my apartment building. 

I was making a joke that there is probably a significant amount of dust clogging the fan.

[Shaqo_Wyn]

It can be, there's a ton of tutorial vids on youtube. Just follow one

 

 

i mean it isn't impossible. create maps of where the screws go on your laptop. placing the screws in place on your map as you take it apart. make sure to wear a grounded strap or touch a metal, grounded object from where you are sitting.use magnetic screwdrivers so you don't drop screws(magnets are no risk to computers). and if anything requires an umcomfortable amount of force, set it down and look until you have found out why it won't move(unless it's a screw. then be careful not to strip it)

for your specific laptop you can find a guide or just follow a general guide but those tips are things I have learned after years of practice and a few mistakes.

 

MX-4 is IMHO one of the best to use on laptops because it is not conductive nor capacitive.

 

Alright, I'll look for some guides and see what I can do.

 

Another question, if I do de-dusting + fresh thermal paste and the problem isn't solved. What else could it be?

[Pugs501]

Remove the cat from the intake fan.

This (Dumb) Cat?

[Shaqo_Wyn]

I was making a joke that there is probably a significant amount of dust clogging the fan.

 

I know, just wanted to put out there that I don't like cats.

[Shaqo_Wyn]

Just get the dust out of the fan with a vacuum cleaner for example.

 

Won't a vacuum cleaner mess things up since they become static when on?

[Jobbe03]

Alright, I'll look for some guides and see what I can do.

 

Another question, if I do de-dusting + fresh thermal paste and the problem isn't solved. What else could it be?

I'd be suprised if it didn't work. 

 

It'd probably be a defective heat sensor 

[TristanK]

Just get the dust out of the fan with a vacuum cleaner for example.

Do not do that! The fan will spin while the vacum cleaner is pulling dust. It is bad for the fan. Open the compartment with cpu cooler and remove the cooler and than clean the dust. If you use compressed air hold the fan down so it doesn't spin freely. Than dust off any other compartments and replace the thermal paste and reassemble everything. And you should be set. In my case when I replaced the thermal paste on my laptop the temps went down for 10°C. And I replaced the paste only after a year and a half since I bought the laptop. Probaby there would be even bigger difference if I replaced it after say 3 years

[EpicAdom]

Just get the dust out of the fan with a vacuum cleaner for example.

yeah or used a can of compressed air to get the dust out

[theKumba]

Won't a vacuum cleaner mess things up since they become static when on?

It didnt damage anything on my Asus rog notebook. I had the same problem and it worked properly after cleaing the Air intake holes with a vacuum cleaner. If you dont feel confident about doing it like me, you could block the fan from spinning with a needle or anything similar.

[AnnoyedShelf]

Replace thermal interface material. Then see what happens.

[ComradeHX]

Harvest all that "fur" on the intake.

[DOOM4343]

I would brake down the laptop as far as you feel comfortable doing and clean as much dust as you can from it.. Most likely it's a problem with the thermal paste though.

[Shaqo_Wyn]

It can be, there's a ton of tutorial vids on youtube. Just follow one

 

 

i mean it isn't impossible. create maps of where the screws go on your laptop. placing the screws in place on your map as you take it apart. make sure to wear a grounded strap or touch a metal, grounded object from where you are sitting.use magnetic screwdrivers so you don't drop screws(magnets are no risk to computers). and if anything requires an umcomfortable amount of force, set it down and look until you have found out why it won't move(unless it's a screw. then be careful not to strip it)

for your specific laptop you can find a guide or just follow a general guide but those tips are things I have learned after years of practice and a few mistakes.

 

MX-4 is IMHO one of the best to use on laptops because it is not conductive nor capacitive.

 

 

Just get the dust out of the fan with a vacuum cleaner for example.

 

 

yeah or used a can of compressed air to get the dust out

 

 

It didnt damage anything on my Asus rog notebook. I had the same problem and it worked properly after cleaing the Air intake holes with a vacuum cleaner. If you dont feel confident about doing it like me, you could block the fan from spinning with a needle or anything similar.

 

 

Replace thermal interface material. Then see what happens.

 

 

I would brake down the laptop as far as you feel comfortable doing and clean as much dust as you can from it.. Most likely it's a problem with the thermal paste though.

 

Okay so I did something that was pretty dumb in hindsight. I took the wee bit of compressed air I still had left and blew it sideways into the fans exhaust port. A bunch of dust came out and now things are quieter and the CPU is idling at 60-65 degrees. Looks like I really should open it up and remove the rest of the dust and change the thermal paste. 

 

Thanks for the answers. I'll see if I can figure how to clean everything without killing my laptop.

[mark201200]

1- Replace the thermal paste
2- remove the dust between the end of the heatsink and the fan (this blocks the air so if you remove it you'll get a better airflow)
it's not hard to open a laptop, you just need to keep the screws very organised.

and don't use compressed air unless you block the fans: when fans spin, they create electricity that can damage your laptop.

[Shaqo_Wyn]

Replace the thermal paste and clean the internals of the laptop. 

 

 

first off there's a collection of dust between your laptop's fan and heatsink. probably the largest factor. clean the dust out of the heatsink-fan assembly.

if that doesn't fix the problem or you feel adventerous, replace the thermal compound if you have the materials and the know-how.

 

 

 

Replace the thermal paste, and de dust it.

 

Just get the dust out of the fan with a vacuum cleaner for example.

 

 

I was making a joke that there is probably a significant amount of dust clogging the fan.

 

 

This (Dumb) Cat?

 

 

Do not do that! The fan will spin while the vacum cleaner is pulling dust. It is bad for the fan. Open the compartment with cpu cooler and remove the cooler and than clean the dust. If you use compressed air hold the fan down so it doesn't spin freely. Than dust off any other compartments and replace the thermal paste and reassemble everything. And you should be set. In my case when I replaced the thermal paste on my laptop the temps went down for 10°C. And I replaced the paste only after a year and a half since I bought the laptop. Probaby there would be even bigger difference if I replaced it after say 3 years

 

 

yeah or used a can of compressed air to get the dust out

 

 

Replace thermal interface material. Then see what happens.

 

 

Harvest all that "fur" on the intake.

 

 

I would brake down the laptop as far as you feel comfortable doing and clean as much dust as you can from it.. Most likely it's a problem with the thermal paste though.

 

 

1- Replace the thermal paste

2- remove the dust between the end of the heatsink and the fan (this blocks the air so if you remove it you'll get a better airflow)

it's not hard to open a laptop, you just need to keep the screws very organised.

and don't use compressed air unless you block the fans: when fans spin, they create electricity that can damage your laptop.

 

 

I did it guys! Was busy with uni and stuff, that's why it took so long (and some procrastination ). Opened up the laptop, cleaned the fan, put some fresh MX-4 on the CPU heatsink and now the laptop is back to idling at a quiet 40 degree, it's also quiet during browsing and when watching vids. Still need to try some gaming on it. Glad the laptop is still alive, after the tedious process. Unfortunately my F7 key broke off because I got too rough removing the keyboard.

 

Question: Is it hard to find replacement keys? Any fix for this? Double sided tape maybe?

 

Thanks again for all the input.