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    What temperature is too high for a 4-year old Compaq laptop?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Mateo1041, Jul 8, 2009.

  1. Mateo1041

    Mateo1041 Notebook Enthusiast

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    My current laptop's been spontaneously shutting off on me for a while now. The fans also seem to consistently be going on and off all the time, at times pretty loudly. I recently found CPUID Hardware Monitor, and after a night of use, here's what it shows for the MAX column:

    COMPAL HR61
    - CPU: 90C
    - VGA: 127C
    - CPU DTS: 53C
    - NorthBridge: 127C

    ACPI
    - THRM: 89C

    AMD Athlon 64 3200+
    - Core #0: 70C

    TOSHIBA MK8026GAX
    - HDD: 55C

    Anything here look out of the ordinary to anyone? I'm not quite sure how to read this info. A new laptop is on the way, but I'd like to hand this laptop down to someone else if it's still in working order.

    Thanks,
    - Matt
     
    Mateo1041, Jul 8, 2009
    #1
  2. xxbadboys93

    xxbadboys93 Notebook Deity

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    That laptop is way above hot. It shutting off becuase its overheating, Please clean out the dust on your fans and apply FRESH thermal paste and your laptop will be back to normal. The longer you wait the more damage your doing to your laptop. (High heat kills electronics quicker.) You want your temps for your cpu to idle around 50-60 C and GPu around 60.
     
    xxbadboys93, Jul 8, 2009
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  3. Mateo1041

    Mateo1041 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Will try that. Thanks! Is this normal with laptops over a period of time?
     
    Mateo1041, Jul 8, 2009
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  4. sirmetman

    sirmetman Notebook Virtuoso

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    You should be sticking under 85C at high loads. 127C is very very high, 90C is even a bit steamer than you'd like. Like badboys says, your machine is shutting down due to heat-induced lockups. Clean the fans. Then clean them again. :)

    Edit: All computers dust up over time. If you don't clean them out, they will die. They require standard maintenance, which dust cleaning is a part of.
     
    sirmetman, Jul 8, 2009
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  5. flipfire

    flipfire Moderately Boss

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    Fan and heatsink are clogged with a massive pile of dust if you have never cleaned it before. Its overheating, thats why its randomly shutting down.
     
    flipfire, Jul 8, 2009
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  6. xxbadboys93

    xxbadboys93 Notebook Deity

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    Yes make sure you take the whole fan assembly off and clean it with qtips and make sure you get the dust out of the grill thing. Can you please tell us the specs of this laptop, and if it help?
     
    xxbadboys93, Jul 8, 2009
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  7. Mateo1041

    Mateo1041 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I had some time tonight and thoroughly cleaned the fans and vents. There was a fair amount of dust trapped inside both fan cases. I did not do anything with thermal grease or the heatsink (aside from spray air around the area and briefly inside a small vent in the area).

    So far, the laptop's been pretty quiet with no loud fan noise like before. The temperatures are much lower, although the max VGA spec still shows as 127C right off the bat. Although it mostly idles in the 60-70C range. Sometimes it seems to be all over the board.

    But overall, things do seem a lot better. I'll use it for a while and then report back. As long as the price isn't very high, I may also bring it to a local computer shop for a quick touch up and analysis for anything I missed.

    Maybe I'll also get a cooling pad.
     
    Mateo1041, Aug 5, 2009
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  8. MrX8503

    MrX8503 Notebook Evangelist

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    90C/127C? Omg, that thing is on fire.

    You want to stick to 80C max, and the VGA not that much higher. It doesn't matter how old your laptop is, most CPU's can't handle 90C temps.

    It seems like your temps are better after you cleaned it, but for a proper cleaning you have to take it apart and go at it with qtips and alcohol.
     
    MrX8503, Aug 5, 2009
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  9. t30power

    t30power Notebook Deity

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    I think the 127C value is bogus. What is your load temperature now?
     
    t30power, Aug 5, 2009
    #9