The laptop gets very hot when playing games. The laptop gets very hot. What to do? How to check if the cooling system is working efficiently

Overheating is the most common problem faced by owners of portable devices such as a laptop or netbook. Let's try to figure out why a laptop can overheat and what to do to extend the life of your computer assistant.

Air vents are dirty

In the vast majority of cases, the cause of overheating is insufficient (ineffective) ventilation of the laptop. Every laptop has grille-style vents on the bottom and sides that suck in cool air and blow warm air out. This removes heat from the processor, video card and hard drive - the main sources of heat in a laptop. It is clear that if ventilation is insufficiently effective, for example, if there is heavy dust, heat dissipation will be unsatisfactory and the laptop will begin to overheat. To quickly check the operation of the laptop's ventilation system, place it on a flat, hard surface, such as a table, and turn on the device. Place your palm over the outlet vents (usually located on the side), and if a strong enough flow of warm air comes out through them, then the ventilation is fine. If you hardly feel any air movement, then the laptop is probably clogged with dust and the fan simply cannot blow out excess heat through the holes blocked by dust. In this case, you will need to clean your laptop.

It is quite difficult to effectively clean a laptop from dust without disassembling it, but, nevertheless, at home it is quite possible to remove some of the dust and improve the performance of the cooling system. To do this you will need a source of compressed air. You can buy a special can of compressed air in computer stores, but in extreme cases, a vacuum cleaner with an air blowing function is also suitable. Direct a stream of compressed air directly into the ventilation holes, both exhaust and inlet, where the cooler sucks air (usually located on the bottom cover of the laptop). This will blow out a significant amount of dust, so take appropriate precautions or perform this procedure outdoors. Naturally, you won’t be able to blow out all the dust, but you can probably remove the main part that interferes with normal ventilation.

Cooling fan failure

The laptop can become very hot for the simple reason that the cooler has completely failed and has stopped rotating. In this case, you will not feel the movement of the blown air at all, nor the characteristic sound of a rotating fan. And the presence of vibration and strong noise from the fan indicates its probable malfunction. Only a service center can replace the cooler; it is better not to do such work yourself without special knowledge and skills. If you decide to perform this procedure yourself, please read the appropriate instructions.

Replacing thermal paste

Often the laptop heats up and often turns off due to degradation of the thermal paste under the heatsink for cooling the processor and video card. Thermal paste is a special viscous heat-conducting mixture that serves to fill micro-gaps between the heating source (for example, the surface of the processor) and the metal radiator of the cooler, thereby allowing heat to be transferred more efficiently. If this layer has lost its viscous and heat-conducting properties and has simply dried out, then it no longer fills the gaps and, therefore, ineffectively transfers heat from the processor to the cooling radiator. As a result, your laptop gets very hot, slows down and may even turn off. In this case, the processor or video card chip is overheated, the temperature of which increases, but the air blown out is barely warm.

You can check the temperature of laptop chips using free utilities such as Fan-Speed, CPU-Z, GPU-Z, AIDA64 and others. And if they show a high temperature of the components (above 70 degrees), and the blown air is slightly warm, then the cause of overheating is thermal paste that has lost its qualities.

Correct operation and preventative maintenance

Another cause of overheating is mechanical blockage of the ventilation holes. This is a typical mistake when using a laptop incorrectly and is associated with its main advantage – mobility. Thanks to its mobility, you can work on a laptop not only at a desk, but also while lying on the sofa or sitting in a chair. In this case, very often the ventilation holes are blocked by a soft surface. As a result, the laptop does not cool well and quickly overheats. To eliminate this, you should use a flat stand under it. Even a wide hardcover book will do.

In some cases, the cause of laptop overheating lies in the software. You should pay attention to those applications that generate intense heating when launched. Open Task Manager and look at the CPU load of various processes. If one or more applications constantly load the processor above 20-30%, this leads to intense heating. Here you should start optimizing processes, disabling unused services, defragmenting the hard drive (if it is an HDD), checking your computer for viruses (viruses often overload the processor beyond normal), etc. Well, if you often use very resource-demanding applications, then you should purchase a special cooling pad for your laptop. There are two or more fans on it, which will cool the entire lower surface and promote more efficient heat removal. As a result, working on a laptop will become comfortable, especially in demanding applications and at high room temperatures, for example, in summer.

To prevent the laptop from overheating in the future, it must be used correctly. Do not work on soft surfaces, but preferably at a table and do not block the ventilation openings. Also, you should not place your laptop near heating appliances. It is not recommended to operate in demanding applications for extended periods of time or at high ambient temperatures without additional cooling. Still, the cooling system of mobile computers is not as effective as that of a desktop computer. Clean your laptop regularly, at least once a year. Also monitor the operating temperature of the laptop, checking the temperature of its main components every six months to assess the condition of the thermal paste.

If programs begin to slow down and freeze, the cooler begins to make noise, and the laptop itself constantly turns off, then most likely it has overheated. The most common cause of this problem is the presence of dust that covers the cooling and ventilation system, due to which it cannot function properly. Cold air ceases to flow in optimal quantities, which causes overheating of key parts. You can get rid of this problem by cleaning.

Should a laptop overheat? Does this pose a threat to the device?

Among the main components of a laptop that constantly overheat are the video card, CPU and chipset. Maximum heating becomes noticeable when serious and massive data is processed. This usually happens during the operation of graphic applications, launching new games, or editing high-resolution videos. In just a couple of minutes, the temperature of the gadget can increase by tens of degrees. After heating, the heat itself must pass into the radiator and cooler system, from where it is “thrown out” outside the device.

Over time, accumulated dust on the laptop components prevents heat from escaping outside the laptop, causing the laptop to start heating up and shutting down.

When a new device is purchased and there is no dust in the heatsink, the device will not heat up very much, since the system does an excellent job of dissipating heat from key components. However, after a certain period, dust begins to accumulate on cooler radiators and other elements, which makes it difficult to release heat outside the laptop. Often the heating of the gadget becomes critical and an urgent power outage occurs. This happens when the temperature is too high, as there is a high chance of permanent breakdown of the laptop.

Important! To prevent this from happening, it is recommended to clean the devices on a regular basis or at least purchase a passive or active cooling pad that helps reduce the temperature by several degrees.

The most important reasons that contribute to laptop overheating

To solve the problem described above, its root causes must be identified. This is about:

shortcomings of manufacturers involved in the design of the cooling system. This usually applies to cheap models; employees of new brands do not conduct test work in order to reduce the cost of the device;
contamination of components such as cooler, radiator. Often, dust penetrates the radiator grille and covers the main components, which is why cooled air can no longer pass through. Sometimes, after a layer has formed, the fan stops rotating quickly;
violation of the insulating layer. As a result of prolonged operation of the laptop, the thermoplastic dries out, as a result, thermal conductivity deteriorates, which provokes overheating;
failure to comply with basic operating requirements. In some situations, users themselves are to blame for overheating of the gadget. The design of the laptop case implies the presence of technological holes into which cold air enters. The user may not notice them and constantly block them.

Signs to tell if your laptop is overheating

The following signs will help you understand that your laptop is starting to get very hot:

actively running fan while gaming or watching media. The laptop may turn off spontaneously, especially when resource-intensive programs are launched, such as games and a video player. After cooling down, the laptop turns on again;
Frequent freezes occur. Of course, this is not always directly related to overheating. Freezes can occur due to software errors, driver failures and OS problems;
Games periodically lag. The user does not feel “smooth” while playing new games; after 30 minutes to an hour, the laptop turns off spontaneously. The thing is that the processor and graphics card cannot cope with too high a temperature and cannot fully process the image.

Let's look at ways to eliminate overheating and noise in a laptop.

If a user is faced with the problem of laptop overheating, he should take a number of actions to avoid this problem.

Removing unnecessary programs from startup

So, first you should get rid of unnecessary and unnecessary programs that are in startup (launched automatically after the laptop turns on) to reduce the system load.

You can manage automatically downloaded programs using the MSConfig utility - it allows you to see which utilities are launched along with the operating system, remove them, and so on. Moreover, MSConfig is used not only for this purpose, so you should be extremely careful when using it. To run MSConfig:

Additionally, it is recommended to purchase a cooling pad. Inside, it includes several fans that serve to cool the case. It is better to buy a model with several fans at once, since the main components such as the processor and video card are located on the edge of the device, next to the ventilation holes - if there is only one fan, then it will be located in the center of the stand, but if there are at least two of them, then one of them will be just as close as possible to the place where the heat is generated. A cooling pad will have a significant effect, but it is still worth remembering that at some point you will need to clean the laptop from dust, even if you use the stand. Many people lift the laptop and place it on books so that the ventilation holes are open. This also helps, but not very much.

Buying a cooling pad will be an additional source of cooling for your laptop.

Additionally, you should consider reducing the processor power by several tens of percent. This will also affect the heating of the graphics component, since their operation is interconnected with each other.

Cleaning the laptop cooling system from clogging is the most effective way to deal with the problem of heating the device. To do this you will need to perform a number of actions, namely:

You need to determine how well the cooler rotates. If the laptop was noisy during operation, then this component should be disassembled, cleaned, and lubricated.

Important! Before assembling the laptop, it is highly recommended to apply a thermoplastic layer to the chips. It is better not to use the KPT-8 model, which is in demand today, which has far from the most effective properties. Its thermal conductivity is not effective, and it tends to dry out after a certain period of time.

How to prevent the system from overheating?

To no longer encounter the problem of system overheating, just follow certain recommendations:

It is better not to run on a regular basis those applications that require a lot of resources - these are graphics utilities and modern games. Because of them, the CPU and video card operate at maximum power and heat up excessively;
the computer should not be exposed to direct sunlight, since in this case the case will heat up too much;
As a preventative measure, it is better not to place the laptop on soft surfaces when it is actively working;
if the laptop has been actively used for more than a year, you should disassemble the device, replace the thermoplastic and clean the fan along with the cooling system using a compressed air cylinder;
additionally purchase external cooling, such as special stands.

Now we should move on to the issue related to the permissible temperature of the laptop. Approximate optimal indicators will be given, which vary depending on the laptop model and area of use.

Permissible temperature for laptop operation

normal CPU temperature is 30-50 degrees, maximum – 70 degrees;
normal GPU temperature is 40-65 degrees, maximum – 85 degrees;
Normal hard drive operation is 30-40 degrees, maximum – 45 degrees.

Thus, the most common reason for a laptop to overheat is a clogged cooling system and cooler. Due to the dust layer, the main components stop functioning normally and do not allow the device to fully cope with its tasks. To solve the problem, you will need to disassemble the laptop and clean it, and additionally apply a new layer of thermoplastic. As a result, the gadget will stop overheating and will again delight the owner with its excellent performance.

If the laptop has lost performance, becomes noisy, and feels hot to touch, the machine most likely needs to be treated urgently. This article describes why a laptop can become very hot, what to do if this happens, and how to prevent overheating.

Should a laptop get hot? Is there a threat to the device?

How harmful is overheating for a laptop?

An increase in temperature to levels that are not normal for the comfortable operation of components can cause their failure. At best, performance is lost, at worst, components may simply burn out.

Ways to check the temperature of the processor and video card

To check whether the video adapter is overheating, you can go into the BIOS. This menu is for changing the necessary parameters without the help of third-party software.

Directly in the BIOS you need to find a section, which in different versions can be designated as “H/W Monitor”, “Health”, “CPU Temperature” or “CPU Information”.

Advice: If the user is not confident in his abilities, it is better not to enter the BIOS on his own, but to turn to a professional.

This is a fairly simple method, but it has a significant disadvantage. While the user is in the BIOS, the system is idle, and therefore the temperature may be lower than during normal use of the laptop. This will have to be taken into account when checking. To use the laptop, you need to return to working with Windows as usual, but then you won’t be able to check the performance.
How can you check whether your laptop is overheating during operation? There is special software for this. It is presented in the table below.

Programs that help check your laptop for overheating
OCCT Perestroika	Easy-to-use Russified software for determining temperature in idle and test mode with maximum load level. Using "Rebuild" you can test the video card and processor for stability.
Open Hardware Monitor	Simple free software that does not require installation. The software is analogous to “H/W Monitor”. Allows you to monitor the temperature of components. In addition to the video card and CPU, you can also check SSD, HDD,
Aida64	A popular utility that allows you to check the condition of all components. This is a whole set of tools in one software. The program is paid, but there is a trial period of 30 days.

What temperature is normal for a laptop?

It is normal for a CPU to warm up to a maximum of 60 degrees: 30-40 when idle and 45-55 when loaded. As for video cards, it is worth taking into account the individual characteristics of a particular model: TDP for cards may differ. Manufacturers indicate this indicator in the characteristics on the box or in the instructions.

Much also depends on the power of the video card. For some modern devices, a temperature of 60-75 degrees is quite comfortable, while for video cards from the past, similar indicators are an alarm.

Why does my laptop overheat?

“Popular” reasons for excessive heating are the use of programs that are particularly greedy for system resources or viruses picked up by the user while surfing the Internet, downloading games, movies, and software.

The user may not load the system, but the virus is quite capable of “eating” resources and causing harm to both individual components and the hardware as a whole. There are other, no less common, reasons.

Why does the laptop get very hot: the main reasons for overheating

How to protect your laptop from overheating? Methods for cooling a laptop

To prevent the problem of laptop overheating from even arising, you can take proactive measures.

Timely dust removal

Depending on how often you use your laptop, you should clean it from dust every 6-12 months. If the user is sure that disassembling and, most importantly, assembling the laptop will not be difficult, then you can do without the services of a specialist. True, such intervention will void the warranty, so if you still have doubts, it is better to contact a service center. In not particularly critical cases, you can clean the device yourself without disassembling it: blow out the ventilation grilles or vacuum them.

Service replacement of thermal paste

Do not block the ventilation openings on the bottom and side of the laptop

In pursuit of your own comfort and the desire to distinguish your own laptop from others, you can also create conditions that are uncomfortable for cooling components. Covering the ventilation holes with stickers, working on a soft surface (placing a laptop on your lap, a blanket, etc.) is not the best solution: only a flat surface, only room for fans.

Cooling pad/mat

For those who spend a lot of time on a laptop and use resource-intensive utilities, rugs or tables with built-in fans will be a useful purchase. They are powered by USB and can cool the laptop additionally.

Today we’ll talk about overheating of a laptop, namely, we’ll analyze all the reasons leading to overheating, then we’ll give advice on how to reduce the temperature of a laptop and, finally, conclusions about what needs to be done to prevent the laptop from overheating in the future.

In modern realities, a laptop should be powerful and should not get too hot. Manufacturers are forced to find a compromise between the power and heat dissipation of a laptop, so we can say that mobile computers are not designed for prolonged work with demanding programs or games, otherwise mobile computers will fail faster.

Causes of laptop overheating

Let's start with the software reasons leading to laptop overheating:

1. The laptop is overloaded with various programs that run along with Windows.

2. Nowadays there are a lot of virus miners who overload the system while extracting cryocurrency.

Hardware reasons why the laptop gets hot and noisy:

1. The radiator grille of the cooling system is clogged with dust.

2. Malfunction of heat-conducting tubes. They do not remove heat as they are depressurized

3. The fan is malfunctioning; it starts spinning slower, stops spinning altogether, or spins either quickly or slowly for no reason.

4. The thermal paste of the processor and video card has dried out

5. Poor cooling system design

6. Malfunction of the cooler bearing, which can cause the laptop to become noisy

7. A broken cooler blade or broken bushing makes the cooler more noisy and vibrates the laptop.

What to do when the laptop gets hot and makes noise

Software solution for overheating:

1. The laptop may make a lot of noise when operating if its processor is overloaded. Even if you are sure that you did not run multiple tasks, it is important to verify with your own eyes that this is the case. To do this, first launch the “Task Manager”. It’s easier to do this by holding down three keys at the same time: Alt, Ctrl and Delete. The percentage of processor load will be indicated at the bottom of the window that opens. If the indicator reaches 100%, then it is most likely that you have a miner virus in your system. In this case, you will have to find that ill-fated program or process that is maximizing the CPU resource of your laptop. Having discovered such a process, hover your mouse cursor over it and right-click to open an additional menu. In it, select the line “Open file storage location”. After these actions, a window will open showing the storage location of the executable files of the process, which is heavily draining the CPU resource. Then try to remove it if you can’t install the antivirus Dr.Web CureItWeb CureIt(it's free)and scan your laptop.

2. Remove unnecessary and unnecessary programs, especially those that are in startup (that is, they load automatically when you turn on the computer) in order to reduce the load on the system. For this, download the uninstalled program, go to the autostart section and uncheck unnecessary programs .

3. There is a special program for increasing the speed of the laptop fan; if you do not care about noise, then you can install it. Download FAN SPEED BY DOTSHOOT

4. Limit the processor power to 60 - 80%; this method is a compromise option until the main problem is solved. In this case, the laptop may and will work slower in demanding programs, but it will not heat up too much; in office programs the difference in operating speed will not be noticeable, because they are not very demanding on resources.

How to limit CPU power in Win7: - Start menu (bottom left) -> Control Panel -> System and Security -> Power Options -> Set the power plan (opposite the current power plan) -> Change advanced settings -> Power management CPU -> Maximum state ->

Hardware solution to the problem:

1. Gently clean the entire laptop from dust using a hair dryer or a soft brush.

2. Replace heat-conducting tubes or repair the fan; if this cannot be done, replace the entire cooling system;

3. Replace the thermal paste of the processor and video card.

4. Buy a cooling pad. The cooling pad has fans that keep the case cool. It is advisable to purchase one with several fans, because... It often happens that the epicenter of heat release, i.e. The processor and video card are located on the edge, not far from the place where the ventilation holes are located, therefore, if there is 1 fan, then it is usually located in the center of the stand, i.e. at a distance from the more efficient position, if there are 2 fans, then one of the fans will be exactly where it is needed, i.e. closest to the point of heat generation. A cooling pad can have a noticeable effect, but do not forget that sooner or later you may need to clean your laptop from dust, even when using a cooling pad.

5. Raise the laptop computer, for example, place it on books, so that the ventilation holes remain open. It won't help much, but it's better than nothing.

A small digression: is it possible to clean the laptop yourself? The first thing you need to understand is access to the cooling system, is it simple or complex, i.e. to get to the cooling system you just need to unscrew the back cover or you need to almost completely disassemble the laptop; this can be found out by looking at the laptop model on the Internet. In the first case, everything is simple; in the second, you need to have some experience.

How to prevent your laptop from overheating in the future

1. Do not work with the laptop on soft surfaces (carpets, sofas, beds), as they interfere with normal cooling and lint from the surface will clog the radiator very quickly

2. Try not to work in a very dusty room (repairs, active cleaning, etc.) or wait until the “dusty” work is completed

3. Most household dust lives at a height of up to 20 cm from the floor, so it is undesirable to work with a laptop on the floor (especially on carpets), and it’s usually more convenient to work on a table

4. If you are worried that your laptop will fail due to overheating, then you can periodically (for example, once a year) do preventive cleaning of the cooling system yourself or take it to a service center for preventative maintenance.

Eliminate maximum CPU load

A laptop may make a lot of noise when operating if its processor is overloaded. Even if you are sure that you did not run multiple tasks, it is important to verify with your own eyes that this is the case.

To do this, first launch the “Task Manager”. It’s easier to do this by holding down three keys at the same time: Alt, Ctrl and Delete. The percentage of processor load will be indicated at the bottom of the window that opens.

Windows Task Manager

You should suspect something is wrong if the download percentage reaches 100% in a situation where you have not run any programs in large quantities on the laptop.

In this case, you will have to find that ill-fated program or process that is maximizing the CPU resource of your laptop.

Having discovered such a process, hover your mouse cursor over it and right-click to open an additional menu. In it, select the line “Open file storage location”. After these actions, a window will open showing the storage location of the executable files of the process, which is heavily draining the CPU resource.

Or install Antiriru Doctor Web Light

Remove unnecessary and unnecessary programs, especially those that are in startup (i.e., loaded automatically when you turn on the computer) in order to reduce the load on the system. How to do this can be found on the Internet by typing “Windows startup” or the like.

Buy a cooling pad. The cooling pad has fans that keep the case cool. It is advisable to purchase one with several fans, because... It often happens that the epicenter of heat release, i.e. The processor and video card are located on the edge, not far from the place where the ventilation holes are located, therefore, if there is 1 fan, then it is usually located in the center of the stand, i.e. at a distance from the more efficient position, if there are 2 fans, then one of the fans will be exactly where it is needed, i.e. closest to the point of heat generation. A cooling pad can have a noticeable effect, but do not forget that sooner or later you may need to clean your laptop from dust, even when using a cooling pad.

Raise the laptop, for example, on books, so that the ventilation holes remain open. It won't help much, but it's better than nothing.

Limit CPU power to 60 - 80%. In this case, the laptop may and will work slower in demanding programs, but it will not heat up too much; in office programs the difference in operating speed will not be noticeable, because they are not very demanding on resources. Limiting power can also affect the heating of the video card, because... their work is interconnected.

Hi all. Today we’ll talk about laptop overheating. If you start to notice that your laptop is hot from below (and sometimes even from above) and is noisy, then you need to do something about it! You cannot leave it in this state, because in the future this can lead to it slowing down a lot and even turning off. In addition, using a laptop that makes a lot of noise, buzzes, slows down and burns your fingers when working with the keyboard is terribly uncomfortable.

I once bought myself a used Toshiba laptop. At first glance, everything was fine. But when I used it, the laptop was so hot that you really couldn't put your hands on it. And this is on top, on the keyboard. I can imagine what was going on inside him. Thank God I got my money back for it. By the way, in the future I will definitely write an article about that. After all, there are a lot of pitfalls and a lot of things to check in a very short period of time. It would also be a good idea to find out. Such knowledge will always come in handy. 😉

Why is the laptop hot? Main causes of overheating

First you need to understand that all electrical appliances emit heat to a greater or lesser extent. Inside a laptop, the most power-hungry components are the central processor and video card. They give off the most heat.

It is also worth noting that they often do not have the most powerful processor and do not have a discrete video card. In terms of heat dissipation, this is a big plus. Budget laptops rarely overheat. At the same time, they have very powerful processors and video cards, so they often overheat when the cooling system can’t cope with the job, and your hot laptop is direct proof of this.

Let's look at the main reasons why your laptop is hot:

Why does my laptop turn off due to overheating?

After purchasing a laptop, while it is still new and not very dusty inside, its cooling system quickly copes with overheating. And overheating occurs even in new laptops under high load, but it is usually short-lived and you don’t even notice it.

Over time, dust settles on chips and radiators, preventing heat removal. The hot air exhaust system is also clogged with dust mixed with lint. All this leads to the laptop becoming unbearably hot.

When the temperature of the laptop becomes critical, an emergency system shutdown is triggered.

This is done specifically to prevent expensive chips and microprocessors from deteriorating due to temperature. In simple terms, so as not to burn. So, saving your life, the laptop is forced to turn off or reboot.

When is a hot laptop normal?

As we have already said, only weak laptops do not heat up. If you have an expensive gaming laptop, then it will definitely get warm. The only question is how hot it will be. If your laptop is not very hot, then it is likely that this is its normal operating temperature.

Always warm!

The hottest part is usually the CPU. Especially if it is an AMD processor (Intels heat up much less). You need to panic if the processor temperature reaches 100-105 degrees Celsius. The optimal processor temperature is 60-80 C.

How to find out the temperature of a laptop?

There are several ways to find out the temperature of laptop components. You can see the processor temperature, motherboard temperature and hard drive (SSD) temperature. Maybe you have sensors on some other components, then you will see their temperature too. Methods:

View temperature via BIOS;
Check the temperature using programs.

Sometimes programs that display temperature come bundled with. If not, then they need to be installed. I recommend using the program Speccy or AIDA 64(former EVEREST, if anyone remembers). Download them only from official sites!

This is what the Speccy program looks like

To view the temperature through the BIOS, you must first. To do this, when turning on (before the operating system starts loading), you need to press the key F2 or Del, depending on the model and manufacturer. You can only navigate inside the BIOS using the ↓→← buttons. The mouse doesn't work there, please note. Look for a menu tab there that contains the words “ monitor" or " power" The tab may have different names.

You must understand that in the BIOS you will see the degrees of the laptop in a quiet state. And using special programs, you can track how the laptop heats up under load.

This is how you can see the temperature in the BIOS

Look how hot your laptop is, maybe it’s not hot at all, but just lukewarm.

What to do first if the laptop is hot?

Let's summarize a little what was described in the article. Let's summarize what you can do right away. Perhaps these actions will be enough and the laptop will stop being so hot.

Conclusion:

You've probably heard about special laptop stands. They have built-in fans that drive cool air from below to the bottom of the laptop. These stands can reduce the temperature by no more than 5-8 degrees Celsius, which will significantly affect the performance of the laptop under heavy loads. But if the laptop is hot due to dust inside, then these stands will do the trick. You still have to clean the dust, otherwise your laptop won’t last long.