Overheating Issues

Hi guys,

I've had my FZ for 1 year now, and recently, I started to see my temperatures go pretty high. The only game I play normally is Quake 3 (excessiveplus mod) so it really isn't strenuous at all.

About 4 - 6 months ago my temp (GPU Core) were max @ 80C, sometimes 85C when the it was quite humid. If ever it went to 90C, the fan would automatically turn to max.
Now, one year after new, my temp (GPU Core) is rising to 95C and I'm pretty sure it goes hit higher since the fan doesn't activate to max untill around 96 - 100C now. .
Thats just my GPU, my CPU temperatures have also risen my the same proportion (i.e 80C --- > ~ 92C).

I considering cleaning it out however am unsure about a few aspects since I've never taken a laptop apart before. Can I just simply use my household hoover and use it externally around the vent? Or would it be better to take the laptop apart and clean? I personally would prefer the first method since I don't really want to have the risk in breaking anything. Offcourse, If I was to attempt to take the laptop apart, I'll need to be free of static electricity etc?

And btw, my gpu memory and core are stock clocked - I've haven't overclocked at all.

Cheers, jam.

 

It is obvious you need to replace the paste and clean the cooler.

 

Is there any specfic thread where I can find information on how to do this, or would anyone happily explain here?

 

Maybe one of the Sony users who did this can walk you through it. I am reluctant to open my laptop for a complex op like this. A desktop? anytime...a laptop...

 

Using the vacuum cleaner without opening up the notebook is almost useless. Try to take at least few of the panels out and use a can of compressed air. Even though it is ok to use a vacuum cleaner for the exterior, don’t use it to clean the inside, because it can create static electricity that could damage some of the sensitive electronic components inside the notebook.

Here are some guides : Cleaning Your Notebook Guide Part 1, 2, 3, 4

 

Yeh I've found a thread about unscrewing the FZ in the forums.

Those links seem pretty impressive.
Think I'll have an "attempt" at opening my laptop then. I don't think I'm gonna unscrew anything inside i.e. heat sink but just use some compressed air/toothbrush and gently remove the dust in and around the GPU. As for applying paste, as I've said, untill I get more confidence I'm not gonna unscrew the heaksink therefore ruling out applying thermal paste to my CPU.

Just one last question. On the above note, is thermal paste just intended for the CPU or can it be used for the heatsink around the GPU too? (Yes, I am a noob in this department ).

 

Before you go out on your adventure buy Arctic Silver 5 or Arctic Ceramique. These are the best and will work on both. I advise using on both .

 

I would just do a good cleaning and go from there.

Take out the fan(s), you may only have one, and clean the blades.

Blow out or vacuum out the dirt between the heat sink fins and all vents.

Do a search and try to find a service manual for the FZ series or a procedural.

I just did and found this:

http://www.insidemylaptop.com/take-apart-sony-vaio-vgn-fz220-repair-power-jack/

Seems that access is from the bottom.

 

you should also try undervolting your processor, it took like 5-10c off my temps

 

If the guy is afraid to open his notebook, maybe it is not smart to advice him to change the thermla paste on the processor. The cleaning of the cooling system can be sufficient. The risks of damaging the notebook while trying to change the installation of the cooling system of the processor are much higher. Let him just clean the fan first.

Imho, Coollaporatory LiquidPro is the best thermal paste. The ones you mention are very good too, but not that good.

A b s o l u t e l y!

 

It sounds like you definitely need to open the FZ and give it a good clean and replace the crappy paste that came standard!

The fins on the copper heat sink will likely to be totally clogged up with dust making the air not being blown out. I've open my FZ up 3 times since I bought it last year purely to keep the inside in top condition avoiding any overheating issues.

 

You might be more up to date than I am. I used AS5 since it came you and I was very pleased with the results. My Prescott stays at 37 degrees in idle with XP120 Thermalright. 60 is the limit AFTER 8 HOURS OF Prime.

At the end of the day it is his choice. It is very dangerous to have a laptop behaving like that.

 

One some Sony models the fan and cpu heat sink must be removed as a unit.

If this is the case, he'd have to re-apply thermal compound.

 

Thanks for that link.

Hmm yeh. I'm gonna see what use cleaning the inside does first. Probably then underclock the CPU, which I was gonna do some months ago but now is really a must with the temperatures I'm getting. Once I've had a few goings into my laptop, I think I'll probably "attempt" to re-apply the thermal paste.

I was considering taking it to a shop to get cleaned etc. But then I thought, no point in spending ridiculous amounts of money on a small procudure every few months and might as well have a go.

----------------
Here is a picture of the inside which I've just found. The fan is obvious but what are the other labels?

 

man, look at the amount of dust on your fan....

when you take the cpu heat sink out, don't forget to clean the copper fins that the fan blows onto, there's probably a carpet of dust waiting..

'CPU?' is your CPU and '?' is probably your '8600 GS DDR3 256MB'. I wonder what happened to the northbridge and southbridge..

 

No, that isn't the inside of MY laptop, some other persons I found in the Sony forums . But yes, I can hardly feel the air from the fan and therefore I probably have possibly as much dust as that.

Thanks for clarifying the labels I put on. Is it neccessary to touch the GPU unit?

 

It's hard/impossible to tell from the pictures if the heat pipes are stuck together on the heat fins.

Well, if it's all one unit then you're gonna have to take both off or risk bending the CPU heat pipe.

But seriously, where is the north and south bridge? maybe one of them is underneath the 'GPU' heatsink.



edit: I'm going to turn in. It's 3:05 AM where I am.

 

The heat pipe and the silver heat sink are both detachable. The silver heat sink basically covers the north/south bridges and the RAM from the graphics while the copper heat sink covers the CPU and the CPU.

 

Thankyou again.

 

No problem, keep us up to date with your progress

 

Quick question before I start. There may be thermal paste in around the cpu core as well as directly on top of the cpu. E.G this pic - CLICKY. The paste around the CPU, shall I just clean with a cloth/cotton bud or apply cleaner?

 

Well if you have some thermal paste cleaner then I suggest using it but be careful not to spill it all of the CPU. Just gentley wipe off the old stuff with a cloth or whatever you have. After that apply a thin layer of the new thermal paste.

 

Ok thanks. The arctic cleaner comes bundled with the purifier as well and searching through tutorial threads, seems you use this after in small amounts.

 

Yeah only small amount.

 

I just cleaned it today. Had a bit of trouble getting the media button panal off but that was it tbh. I took the fan out and cleaned it with compressed air. I also throughly cleaned the heat pipe and reapplied new thermal paste using the arctic cleaning kit and silver 5.

Switched on, been on it for around 30 mins and my temps have shot down to around 50C on idle for both CPU and GPU. The fan is running slightly quieter and noticably 'smoother'. And finally, it was so easy to do!

Thanks for your help guys.

EDIT: GPU whilst gaming is around 60 - 65C which is more than fine. CPU goes up to 75C - is it worth undervolting?