Laptop is overheating.

[QuestionZ2]

I have a 3 years old Lenovo Z580 laptop which has recently started overheating to critical levels. Here's a summary from Speccy:
Operating System
Windows 8 Single Language 64-bit
CPU
Intel Core i5 3230M @ 2.60GHz 84 °C
Ivy Bridge 22nm Technology
RAM
4.00GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 798MHz (11-11-11-28)
Motherboard
LENOVO Lenovo (CPU Socket - U3E1) 84 °C
Graphics
Generic PnP Monitor (1366x768@60Hz)
Intel HD Graphics 4000 (Lenovo)
1023MB NVIDIA GeForce GT 635M (Lenovo) 90 °C
ForceWare version: 361.75
SLI Disabled
Storage
465GB TOSHIBA MQ01ABD050 (SATA) 62 °C
Optical Drives
DTSOFT Virtual CdRom Device
DTSOFT Virtual CdRom Device
MATSHITA DVD-RAM UJ8D1
Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio

Only google chrome, speccy and steam were running when the laptop was at those temperatures. About 10% CPU was being used, 69% RAM and 5% disk so not much load at all.

The CPU and GPU go up to 105 °C whenever I play a game. I'll be building a PC soon to replace the laptop but want to try fixing the overheating issue. I thought it might be some fans not working well due to dust or something so I had it cleaned by the Lenovo service center guys but it's still overheating.
What could be causing this and how can I fix it?

 

[QuestionZ2]

Thanks for the replies! Never thought it could be the CPU itself that's messing up. I'll bring that up tomorrow at the repair dude's place when he attempts to fix it. It's an M series CPU, hopefully, it ain't soldered. I also heard the myth(?) that laptop CPUs, more often than not, are soldered to the board.
And it wasn't almost a blister, it totally was one and I had fun popping it the next day xD

 

[robert600]

there's no guaranty that it is the cpu but at least it's relatively inexpensive to try. When he is in the laptop, ask him to write down the motherboard number (or Sisoftware Sandra Lite would tell you if you felt like downloading that) ... i suspect it's a DALZ3AMB8E0 but who knows ... there's a few different ones for that model of laptop and none of them are crazy cheap at the moment.

One other thought .... does the bios allow you to turn off the NVIDIA GeForce GT 635M? ... or if not can you disable it in windows? ... maybe that discrete GPU is the culprit.

 

[QuestionZ2]

Turns out the 635M isn't the issue. Just turned it off from the BIOS and the laptop still reached 100 degrees (right now) after the restart.

I'll get the motherboard number when he opens it, gonna go there in a bit.

 

[QuestionZ2]

The laptop has been fixed now with temperatures not rising above 70 under heavy load. The guy said it was filled with dust and he cleaned it all out. Really didn't expect it to be simply dust. Thanks for all the help you guys!

 

[robert600]

oh ... that's great - i had assumed he had done that the first time you took it in and he had done the new thermal paste!

 

[1shado1]

oh ... that's great - i had assumed he had done that the first time you took it in and he had done the new thermal paste!

In the original post, he said the service center cleaned all the dust out the first time he took it in. The thermal paste being redone was the second trip. But yeah, you'd think they would have caught it that time if they lied about the first time!

 

[1shado1]

The laptop has been fixed now with temperatures not rising above 70 under heavy load. The guy said it was filled with dust and he cleaned it all out. Really didn't expect it to be simply dust. Thanks for all the help you guys!

What a waste of effing time. If everything you told us is accurate, I would demand a full refund for the first and last trip.

To fully get the dust out of the fan in that laptop requires that the fan itself be disassembled, which requires it first be removed from the motherboard along with the heat sinks as they are one assembly. This exposes the cpu and gpu, which means the thermal paste should be replaced.

So if they had done everything correctly, it would have been fixed in one trip.

 

[QuestionZ2]

I agree that he should have just cleaned the fan and dust everywhere else on the first trip itself. But the guy wasn't the 'best tech dude' at the place and admitted that himself and was somewhat reluctant in servicing the laptop. I had just told him about the overheating and presented thermal paste as a possible solution and he did just that, can't really blame him.
And I would like to demand a refund but the entire process was virtually free, cost me like $2 so I don't really feel right asking for a refund.
And yes, the entire cooling assembly along with the fan and heat pipes were opened both times as they told me, don't know why they didn't clean it the first time, could be general nervousness of simply stupidity perhaps.

At any rate, the help here has been immense and entertaining so thanks a lot for that!

 

[1shado1]

Just glad they got it straightened out, and the price was sure right!

 

[DJAspire]

CPU
Intel Core i5 3230M @ 2.60GHz 84 °C
Ivy Bridge 22nm Technology


Only google chrome, speccy and steam were running when the laptop was at those temperatures. About 10% CPU was being used, 69% RAM and 5% disk so not much load at all.

The CPU and GPU go up to 105 °C whenever I play a game. I'll be building a PC soon to replace the laptop but want to try fixing the overheating issue. I thought it might be some fans not working well due to dust or something so I had it cleaned by the Lenovo service center guys but it's still overheating.
What could be causing this and how can I fix it?

I would recommend you replace the thermal paste and blow it out yourself with some compressed air (a can of it or just a compressor).

I am having the same issue on my HP Pavilion G7. It has a Intel core i3 and a intel HD4000 graphics. The thing to note is that itel hd 4000 may have its own core that also has a thermal component. I was trying to avoid tampering with the stock graphics but it looks like it is important. GPU generates more heat then the CPU.Keep that in mind when you look over your motherboard. may see a smaller core tucked away with 2 screws, like it is with mine.

 

[abbasbinaii]

sounds like dust on the fan and heatsink, also the cpu thermal paste could be dried

is the fan spinning?

I have the same problem with Lenovo Z580 and after I reinstall windows it appears . How I can to solve it if you know?