Laptop might be overheating, what is critical cpu temp?

[jnelsoninjax]

OK, I know I have asked regarding this issue previously, but I have done some checking and cleaning and the issue still remains. The laptop is a HP pavillon g series, and whenever the wife/daughter play the Sims3, it seems to go to black then either the program stops responding or simply shuts down. The room temp is ~73F and the core temps are running between 52C to 70C, I have checked the underside for blockage and blown out the side vents but the issue still happens. What would the critical temp be on this CPU? I am wondering if the system reaches the critical temp and then shuts off the system.

[2xSilverKnight]

Critical temp is around 90 Celsius for the cpu, but thats for a desktop I think, since you have more space between components. On a laptop, it would heat up everything beside it, specially the motherboard.

Anyway have you checked the gpu temps as well?

Maybe it's the thermal paste.

[FiB3R]

Not sure about the critical temps, but I would strip it right down, and give it a proper clean out. Replace the thermal compound while you are at it.

[jnelsoninjax]

Not sure about the critical temps, but I would strip it right down, and give it a proper clean out. Replace the thermal compound while you are at it.

Never opened a laptop, is it as easy as a desktop?

[Detection]

Check the laptop specs, find out the exact CPU model, then you can find out its max temp

I have a Turion X2 in mine, and that max temp is about 100c, I've run it at 98c before I sorted the thermal paste and it was fine

[FiB3R]

Never opened a laptop, is it as easy as a desktop?

Nope, quite a bit more tricky.

Youtube can be a help, finding out which bits of plastic need to be popped off, in order to get to some hidden screws. That seems to be the hardest part, as it's not always obvious.

I always get a few sheets of paper, then make a rough, full size sketch of the screw locations, and any cables for things like wifi, speakers, webcam etc. 1 sheet per layer of laptop (usually about 3 or 4).

I then poke holes through the paper, and insert the screws one at a time, as I remove them from the laptop. Takes a bit longer to start with, but makes it soooo much easier when it comes putting it all back together, and you're not sitting their scratching your head, wondering why you still have 3 screws left over.

The amount of dust you can remove might surprise you, it can really build up in there. Because it's such a small space, it causes serious airflow blockage, and their is no way of getting to it from the outside.

Another thing to mention is that some chips use a thick thermal pad, rather than paste. Just make sure you keep that clean while you are working on the rest of the laptop, so that you can still use it without issue. Put a bit of cling-film over it or something.

[Hum]

I keep my netbook elevated, preferably on something aluminum.

Maybe get a cooler something like this:

http://www.buy.com/prod/cooler-master-notepal-u3-notebook-cooler-pass-through-usb/216830894.html

[medhunter]

Netbooks do not have supreme horse power, so I don't expect a great deal of heating

I use USB powered MS cooling pad.I hope it is enough for HP i7 Laptop

[FiB3R]

This one I repaired a while ago...

This was a particularly bad case, due to the owner being a smoker, so the dust was all gunked-up with tar. Usually, a vacuum cleaner would be enough, but in this case, I had to give it a proper clean out with isopropyl alcohol.

But even without being a smoker, you can often still get a thick layer of dust over the heatsink fins, as shown above. It actually peels off like a felt pad :/

[LUTZIFER]

Never opened a laptop, is it as easy as a desktop?

I was gonna say definitely "NO", but someone already did.

I had one laptop which the fan was getting pretty loud. I tempted to take it apart, probably got at least 50 screws out, and the odd part, and still couldn't get the laptop apart, so gave up. The fan ended up getting better on it's own later anyways. Weird.

[KevinN206]

I am curious if the laptop shutdowns on battery or AC or both?

Disassembling the laptop with proper documentation takes time. I would guess about a day. I have disassembled laptops before and most important part is proper documentation of the the screws. A lot of the screws look similar but they can be subtly different with length and threading.

1. I took a lot of pictures

2. I mark and make note of the location of each screw (tape and cardboard are pretty good to keep track of your screws)

Of course, even with these stuff, I still managed to have either one missing screw or one extra screw :D .

[jnelsoninjax]

^ Mostly the laptop is plugged in, so I would say shutdown on a/c

[Crisp]

I keep my netbook elevated, preferably on something aluminum.

Maybe get a cooler something like this:

http://www.buy.com/p.../216830894.html

I have that exact same stand, only I threw away the fans, or at least they're somewhere in storage. Great stand, and really good build quality.

[vcfan]

the computer auto shuts down when temps get to high, to prevent your cpu from frying.

you're gonna have to open the sucker up and clean the vents,and re thermal paste the cpu and southbridge or gpu.

be prepared for such a job. you're gonna need the service manual(most likely available for free online),and some free time. take your time because you can easily break wires or components. make sure you document where everything goes,and label the screws.

[jnelsoninjax]

Interesting update: my friend came over today and I mentioned this issue to him, he decided he would undertake the process of dissembling the laptop (he had prior experience doing so) so when he removed the bottom panel (hdd and ram) he discovered that one of the RAM chips was not installed completely! He was able to get it to seat and he checked the other chip which was fine. Since do this the laptop has not spiked any hotter than ~70C, I do not know if this was the whole issue, but it seems to be a contributing factor to it.

[FiB3R]

Not 100% sure, but off the top of my head, 70C is still pretty high.

[medhunter]

In this Laptop in the signature, I get 52C on idle/browsing,... on Ubuntu 12.10

I hope this is in the safe region.

[Michael Lacey]

This one I repaired a while ago...

This was a particularly bad case, due to the owner being a smoker, so the dust was all gunked-up with tar. Usually, a vacuum cleaner would be enough, but in this case, I had to give it a proper clean out with isopropyl alcohol.

But even without being a smoker, you can often still get a thick layer of dust over the heatsink fins, as shown above. It actually peels off like a felt pad :/

Ahhh dude that must have smelled awful! :/

[jnelsoninjax]

New day, same issues with heat. I am going to contact the wal-mart product care plan and get the POS repaired!