Help with sudden overheating!

I was playing pool on my Acer 8200 laptop when suddenly I noticed the fan go from slow/off to full speed. I checked NHC and the CPU temp was 97C, not going down! I closed everything but still it was extremely hot. I restarted the computer, waited a little, same deal.


I turned it off and took off the panel and heatsink array inside. The hottest part was definitely a component that said ATI on it. Underneath the heatsink were some squishy thermal pads. I flipped them around so that they would compress when I reinstalled it....


Right now it's not hot anymore, but still about 12 degrees hotter than usual for idling. Has this ever happened to anyone?

 

Get yourself a canned compressed air and with short bursts get rid off the dust inside your laptop and heatsink. I would recommend you also to get yourself good thermal paste (with silver) like Zalman or Arctic Cooling Silver, take the heatsink apart, use some alcohol to wipe out old termal paste from fan compartment and both chips to get them fully clean. Take a tiny bit of thermal paste with f.e. wood match stick and get it on the chips, then screw back the cooling system, it will help your laptop for a long time.

 

Also you might try "Undervolting" your cpu,if for better solution.You can find a Undervolting guide by a simple search,but I suppose you already know undervolting. Also use a good cooler if you do not have one,such as Zalman NC-2000

 

Thanks Guys. Being a mechanical person, my first instinct was some sort of hardware failure.

Inside this computer, there is a copper heat 'tube' of sorts connecting several heatsink pads (GPU to CPU to ???) and then to a fin array where the fan blows out. It is completely free of dust. I did just apply some thermal paste that I had from another project, just to be sure.

The CPU speed on the 'dynamic switching' mode, so it goes down to 1000mHz when needed, and up to 2000mHz under load. The CPU load during the overheating was about 0-8%.

I let it cool down overnight and for the first few minutes, the temperature remained in the 50 range. As soon as I did anything like opening iTunes, it jumped to 67C and the fan sped up again. I believe using a cooler would be a band-aid to the underlying problem.

 

i think theres something wrong with your heatsink, in terms of not doing its job. see if there are any gaps and is your cpu or gpu heating up?

 

Do you live in a tropical zone? Ambient temp have a direct bearing on your laptop temperature.
Also AMD processors tend to heat much more than Intel's.

 

Blow compressed air and undervolt ur cpu... best option is to get notebook cooling pad..

 

All of you guys offering 'help' are ignoring the sudden onset of the heating problem. No one is offering insight as to what the cause might be and how it might be fixed.

The OP may want to tear down his machine, reapply NEW thermal pads to the CPU and the GPU, or go the copper shim/thermal goop route.

Never try to re-use a thick thermal pad. Once they are form-crushed to fit, that's it. One time use only. I'm not surprised that no one called this little point out.

A notebook heatsink/heatpipe can conceivably fail. A bad solder joint or an inadvertent nick in the copper can leak all of the coolant out. **If** that is what happened, the OP might be hard pressed to find a replacement heatsink/fan assembly.

 

Exactly. All are good solutions if I had an inherently hot laptop, but this is a sudden change. I believe the heatsink is working properly because it is very hot to the touch, an indication that it is taking heat from the components.

I took off the heatsink after letting it cool down, and started the computer. I felt the top of the GPU and the CPU with my fingers, and within 2 seconds, both were too hot to touch. Is that normal?

I have a feeling that there is some internal short somewhere.. although I would think that my computer would stop working if that was the case. Earlier, I was on the computer for about 30 minutes without much issue, then within about 2 minutes the temperature went to 95C. Keep the suggestions coming, hopefully I can avoid the $199 repair charge!

 

Here is a picture of the inside.

Interesting thing to note: The fan isn't actually blowing hot air - it's more like room temperature air. I have indicated the locations where it's hot and where it is cold on the image, and well as where the components are to the best of my knowledge. This makes me think the heat pipe is not functioning properly. What should I do?

 

try reapplying new thermal pads. Clean every off well before putting the new on.

If the heatsink is bad then your best bets would be ebay for a salvaged replacement or pay the depot repair charge.

Yes, without a heatsink/heat pipe your cpu and gpu will get very hot. Otherwise, not much of a point to a heatsink, no?

Have you checked the device driver levels for your video card/chip? Just a shot in the dark.

 

I will have to try to find those thermal pads. What do you mean by driver levels... as in the version? I believe everything is up to date, and I didn't change anything recently.

I did however look at my catalyst control center earlier to find the ATI clocks at half their normal values. They appear to be normal now - 473mHz core, 468mHz memory.

Currently using a laptop cooler (2x 80mm fans) and it's keeping temps in the 50 range.

 

make sure that the fan is clean and that the outside radiator thingies of the heatsink are clean as well. does the internal fan turn at all? can you feel that it is exhausting air from the case?

You never want to use compressed air to blow dirt into a machine. Sounds like 'duh' advice but that's what people are telling you to do when they advise on compressed air without opening up a machine first. Always blow the dirt out of a machine. I suspect that you know that but it's worth repeating.

 

Yes, the fan is clean, as are the heatsink fins. It spins smoothly, and there is a noticeable airflow from it, just like it always has done. The only thing I am noticing differently is that the exhaust temperature is not particularly hot like it used to be.

 

I found the P/N for the heatsink, granted the heat tube is not working as I suspect.

AVC3IZC1TATN02
Acer Travelmate 8210 Series Cooling Heatsink

I can't find it anywhere in stock... anyone know where I can get it?

 

If the heatsink isn't blowing out as hot of air as it usually is, and the notebook is still getting hot, then theres no contact between some component and the heatpipe. IMO, the little foam pads are an abomination and should never be used in the first place, on anything higher than maybe an intel x4500. Something ATI/nVidia needs proper contact to the heatpipe. I'd say the pad shifted or just has gone bad. Like newsposter says, try the copper shim method. Proper heatpipe contact can bring temps WAY down.

 

Or the heatpipe has failed in some way...

 

XGX2007, the heatsink directly above the components (GPU and CPU) is definitely getting hot - too hot to the touch, which indicates that it's transferring heat to the heatsink properly. There is a thermal pad between the GPU and heatsink, but a foil/thermal paste shim type thing between the CPU and heatsink.

Daytona, I do believe the heatpipe has failed. As seen in my picture, the heatpipe is intended to take the heat from the components over to the fin array where the fan blows air out the side of the laptop. I would think that the heatpipe would operate at a somewhat uniform temperature for the best performance, but by simply feeling it I can tell that it's not transferring the heat properly. This is just an assumption that I've gathered from some brief research into heat pipes.

If anyone has any knowledge about the heatpipes, or any more suggestions I'd love to hear it.

Right now the bottom panel is off, and my laptop cooler is keeping everything stable, but the minute I turn it off I start getting temperature warnings.

Thanks for the help so far

 

Heat pipe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

If it has failed, I'd assume something has failed between the internal cavity and the wick... though I know nothing about these, and am just speculating. Probably best not to use it until you can swap the pipe out?

 

Well then, at this point I'd say it's time for a new heatpipe assembly. I really don't know of many ways to fix a broken heatpipe.

 

Maybe the heatpipe is not making good contact to the plate that covers the gpu/cpu. The copper heatpipe is soldered on to the rest of the heatsink assembly. It's kind of like the same way that plumbers solder copper pipes together. You can use a torch or perhaps a high heat air gun to melt the solder and remove the heatpipe, then clean the surfaces, apply some flux and resolder it. I have no idea if this will help but just throwing it out there.

 

heatpipes are hollow (pipe) and usually contain a gas or working fluid.

 

Given the pipe is getting very hot from the GPU, but not taking the heat to the outside of the laptop, I don't think it's likely to be just a poor fitment. Never know, though...

 

Well since I can't find a replacement, I will have to send it back to Acer. I will update this thread with their solution.

 

Well, after contacting Acer, they won't repair it because of its age (4 years) and they won't sell me a replacement part. They were real helpful while I had a warranty, but now I just get foreign helpers that give me generic responses. What am I supposed to do now... throw it away? It only works if I have my laptop cooler on full blast...


Hmm. What would you guys do? Can you refer me somewhere? I would ideally like a replacement heatsink, but I'd be willing to pursue a custom solution if it comes down to it.

Appreciate the help

A quick synopsis for anyone just joining the thread:
-Acer 8200 suddenly began overheating one night, CPU reached 100C+
-Heat tube doesn't seem to be transferring any heat to the fin array, but there is good thermal contact between heatsink and components
-Acer won't fix or sell me replacement parts
-

 

Some quick googling shows a used one here ( Acer TravelMate 8200 Series Cooling Fan).

The only other one I can find quickly is this expensive refurbished one ( ACER TRAVELMATE 8200,ZC1, CPU FAN W/HEATSINK,AVC3IZC1TATN02 AVC3IZC1TATN02).

Edit:

Bing finds this one ( http://www.pchub.com/uph/laptop/88-29201-5507/Acer-TravelMate-8200-Series-Cooling-Fan-.html) for cheaper than the first.

 

Sweet, thanks. The first one looks like the best bet but the website worries me. The PCHub one is out of stock. I will keep on the lookout.