Temperature reaching 95C on my Lenovo W520 on high CPU usage

I started a new contract 2 weeks ago and been running 5 VMWare images at a time on VMWare Workstation running Windows Server 2012 R2, SQL Server 2012SP1, Active Directory, SharePoint 2013 and Visual Studio 2013.

Temperate reaches 95C most of the time and the alarm sounds. This has caused BSOD on few occasions and I'm worried that the laptop may fry one day.

Is there anything I can do to cool the laptop while running my work? Or any advice will be helpful

Thanks

 

Check whether your fan is not "clogged up" with dust. Sorry for bad english

 

How do I check it? Do I need to open the underneath panels?

 

Yes, http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles_pdf/0a60078_01.pdf

If I'm correct, you'll just need to remove the keyboard and it will be on your left.

It is recommended to change the thermal paste around the processor once in a while too, for better cooling purposes. But this is an advanced thing, which I recommend to do in some service shop.

I had this same issue with my Asus notebook. I knew the fan was full of dust but didn't bother cleaning it myself that time. I just used the warranty. They cleaned everything and even changed the fan itself. So if the problem persists, you could try checking whether your warranty can do smth about it too.

 

Applying new thermal paste is not that difficult. This will give you an idea: Service Videos (under "FRU Removals/Replacements" see "Heat Sink")

 

Can try switching GPU off in BIOS, if you can manage w/o it. Q2000M is a major source of heat, even in mild use.

My W520 often runs 95C degrees in dock, for many hours daily. All it takes to get there is running at 50+% CPU with GPU on, at just 60-70W according to Power Manager. Hasn't fried in 2.5 years, no BSODs.

 

Thanks power7,

If I switch the GPU off, will it affect the performance of my VMs or anything else like brightness which I use at 100%? I don't\never play games.

 

VMs isn't GPU intensive, so switching off discrete GPU won't really have much impact.

 

I don't think W520 can connect to 2 external monitors via DisplayPort/DVI (while docked, obviously) with GPU off. Other than that it should be no different.