T61p CPU averages 65 celcius

I've set my fan to blow at max speed, but it averages around 65 when I'm surfing the web, listening to music and checking emails. I just recently cleaned out the fans. Could this be a thermal compound/heatsink problem? A year ago it used to idle around 40-50

 

Not an issue, perfectly fine. If you want, take off your keyboard + palmrest and use compressed air through your fans. That will unclog them so that all the dust and debris get out.

I wouldn't worry about your temperatures though. They seem fine, but if they get high then do what I said above.

 

That's what I did. Couldn't find any dust or clutter.

 

Nothing to worry about then.. Should be fine, if it get's higher contact Lenovo if you have a warranty.. If not, you can try re-applying the thermal paste on the CPU + GPU.

 

By how much do you mean 'higher'? 70? 80?

 

Thermal compound deteriorates over time and may no longer provide the efficient cooling properties to your notebook. You can either purchase a brand new CPU/GPU cooler from Lenovo or clean out the existing compound using TIM cleaners or Isopropyl Alcohol and replace these with brand new thermal pads or paste such as Arctic Silver.

I put brand new thermal paste in the T61 I bought recently (3 years old and was used) and it idles around 45-46 degrees which is 5 degrees cooler than previous. My processor is the T7100 65nm Merom processor which is not known to be as heat efficient compared to the newer 45nm Penryn processor. Though when using thermal paste remember to spread thinly otherwise it will run hotter instead!

Also if you’re concern about the heat then toggle the ThinkPad Power Manager and create a custom profile by reducing the performance and system temperature slightly. This will enforce the processor to use lower clock speeds and thus make your system run cooler.