My laptop recently started overheating and i'm sure the fans need to be cleaned. Where can I get that done, inexpensively? Thanks

Originally Posted by ninjamachete

My laptop recently started overheating and i'm sure the fans need to be cleaned. Where can I get that done, inexpensively? Thanks

You can probably do it yourself, or one of your friends could do it for you if they've done it before. Depending on your laptop it could be as easy as removing a couple screws and a panel and having direct access to the fan/heatsink. Otherwise you just have to remove a few more screws. Your laptop manual should also have instructions on how to disassemble your laptop.

Mine came with a manual online, although it was a massive pain (30 mins to dissasemble plus spray with compressed air) but it did make a huge difference. Amazing how much dust can fit in a small vent

Originally Posted by Snowman

Mine came with a manual online, although it was a massive pain (30 mins to dissasemble plus spray with compressed air) but it did make a huge difference. Amazing how much dust can fit in a small vent

Yeah, I was disappointed when buying my laptop. I couldn't find any good laptops with panels on the bottom like my old Dell which had a different panel for several components. Made it really easy having only to unscrew 2-4 screws.

To OP: Just be careful and don't lose the tiny screws (use a small container or something to put the screws in) and don't mix up screws either, they'll usually have different sized screws at different areas of the laptop.

Try to find a friend. You can bring compressed air and a screwdriver and maybe ask an engineer in the lounge. Else to pay for services try Canada/tristar computers

Originally Posted by Leeoku

Try to find a friend. You can bring compressed air and a screwdriver and maybe ask an engineer in the lounge. Else to pay for services try Canada/tristar computers

I don't know too many people who would spend 1/2 hour cleaning out a random person's laptop... so maybe give them a gift card for food or a gift if you get someone to do it

it's been happening a lot recently with my mac too-I should get a solid 7/8 hours on it of typing or internet surfing but I've been getting 2, maybe 3. It's really annoying and yet, since it's a mac...
sigh. 2000$ facebook machine

If you don't want to do what other people are suggesting above I'd say buy one of those portable fans you can put underneath your laptop. I have a shitty HP and it overheated all the damn time, I got a portable fan and it hasn't overheated since then. Besides, laptop's are supposed to be propped up and should have the fan blocked underneath.

I made the mistake of buying a laptop a few years ago with an AMD processor, and my computer overheated all the time when I was gaming. Apparently AMD's are notorious for heating up more than Intel processors.

I will never buy a computer with an AMD processor again.

Originally Posted by drpatel

it's been happening a lot recently with my mac too-I should get a solid 7/8 hours on it of typing or internet surfing but I've been getting 2, maybe 3. It's really annoying and yet, since it's a mac...
sigh. 2000$ facebook machine

Do you know what temperature it's actually running at? You can use a program like smcfancontrol to find out. Also, use CoconutBattery to check on the health of your battery as well. It could just be that your battery is dying over time - how old is your MacBook? Just post the results from CB and the temperature your CPU is at most of the time.

Originally Posted by drpatel

it's been happening a lot recently with my mac too-I should get a solid 7/8 hours on it of typing or internet surfing but I've been getting 2, maybe 3. It's really annoying and yet, since it's a mac...
sigh. 2000$ facebook machine

What kind of MacBook do you have? I have seen ones that don't have vents, but since it is a Mac it may void your warranty to take it apart so you may want to look that up before you try

I made the mistake of buying a laptop a few years ago with an AMD processor, and my computer overheated all the time when I was gaming. Apparently AMD's are notorious for heating up more than Intel processors.

I did that too, and I am not buying one again. For the same specs, they are a lot cheaper (my i5 cost more than an AMD 8 core with same specs) but they do overheat a lot more, so for the little bit more it costs it is worth it

my laptop easily goes up to 90 degrees Celsius when i'm gaming. not sure whether my fan is dirty, or I've ruined something else....Any suggestions of how i can find out?

Originally Posted by Iconik

my laptop easily goes up to 90 degrees Celsius when i'm gaming. not sure whether my fan is dirty, or I've ruined something else....Any suggestions of how i can find out?

Sounds like my computer. Google 'undervolting'.
It's not that complicated, I do this with my laptop, and the max temperature decreases about 10 degrees C.

Originally Posted by Allan

Sounds like my computer. Google 'undervolting'.
It's not that complicated, I do this with my laptop, and the max temperature decreases about 10 degrees C.

Well it also depends what is causing it. Some higher end games use less processor power but if there is intergrated graphics, it causes the motherboard to be scorching. My laptop regularly went to 80 deg when I played games so I stuck with low powered games so it didn't cause problems

cheapest fix, pour water over it