Overheating Laptop Repair Service
Noisy fans are an indication of an overheating computer
Introduction To Laptop Cooling
One of the problems for Laptop Manufactures is compact design, with good thermal heat dissipation. The brain of your laptop known as the Central Processing Unit or CPU for short, is the component which carries out all of the complex calculations and runs your tasks such as word processing, playing games and surfing the web. When you perform tasks on your laptop it causes the CPU to generate heat, you may notice when running multiple applications your laptop seems to get louder.
The majority of laptops are cooled by a fan / heat sink combination. In more modern designs however the CPU and GPU are both mated to a copper heatpipe with a fan on one end. The heatpipe draws the heat away from the components towards the cooler area where the fan is located. The heatpipe contains a liquid which when heated evaporates and then cools, the process then repeats. This is how the heat is drawn from the vital components and out through the vents as hot or warm air.
The trick for manufactures is making this cooling system as efficient as possible, as lightweight as possible and use as little electricity as possible.
The Problem With Laptop Cooling
Overtime the very closely spaced fins of the heatsink become clogged with dust particles. The buildup of unwanted dust can vary depending on the model of laptop, how frequently it is used and the environments it is used in. Once the fins become blocked with dust, airflow is reduced and subsequently less heat can escape from the laptop.
Another cause is due to inefficient or expired thermal compound. The thermal compound is the gel or paste which is very thinly placed between the CPU and heatsink mating surfaces. This helps increase the surface area of contact between the two surfaces and allow for maximum heat transfer. However the factory thermal compound tends to be of poor quality and require replacing before the end of the laptops serviceable life.
An overheating laptop will manifest it’s self in different ways.
- Becomes very hot to touch or hold
- More noise from the cooling fan
- System freezes
- Random unwanted shutdowns
The Solution
To solve overheating laptop problems requires skills to safely dismantle the laptop. The cooling assembly needs to be removed and the mating surfaces of the heatpipe and CPU cleaned before applying new thermal compound. Usually the cooling assembly is located deep within the laptop and requires removal of the outer casing, keyboard, optical drives, motherboard and sometimes other components. This is not a job which should be taken on without the correct tools or experience. To avoid permanent damage anti-static precautions should also be taken including using an anti-static work surface, anti-static wrist band and electrostatic safe screwdrivers. You must also ensure the correct quantity of thermal compound is used, too little and there is poor heat transfer, too much and you can end up insulating the heat to the CPU potentially causing damage.
Contact Us To Repair Your Noisy Overheating Laptop
We at Milton Keynes Computers are able to repair your noisy overheating laptop in our workshop. We use only the best tools and apply only the highest quality non metallic thermal compound.
Most laptops can have their cooling assemblies cleaned, new thermal compound applied and heat sinks cleared of dust and debris for £55, in total the procedure from start to finish takes approximately 1.5 hours. We can usually have your laptop back to you within 24 hours. However if we do require your laptop for longer we are able to lend you one of our courtesy laptops. All overheating laptop repairs also come with 6 months warranty.