Solved! Laptop suddenly hotter than normal after I dropped it (help pls!)

[Richard Li]

I have a laptop and a few days ago, I dropped it from a height of about 2-3 feet. The laptop was on at that time and I opened it up. It was still working and I experienced a blue screen shortly after. It said it was checking for problems and after 5 minutes or so, it was still at 0% so I shut it down by holding the power button. I turned it on and it was slower than normal, but did turn on. There weren't any major defects or anything but it just felt slightly slower. When I played games on it, it quickly heat up and I experienced massive frame drops and lag stutters. I opened it up and nothing seemed to be off from what I saw online. A few problems I noticed or considered to be the problem where either the heat sink (heat pipe) was not connected properly to the processor because the vent under the processor was extremely hot while the part under the fan was cooler than usual. Also, there may be a minor hard drive problem because I do hear some sounds when turning on the computer I didn't hear before. This first problem is more likely.

The laptop is relatively new and there isn't any accumulated dust. There isn't any noticeable damage besides minor scratches.

These are just some things that I noticed of. There may be more or other problems
Here are my laptop specs:
Acer Aspire A515-51-50RR
Intel Core i5-7200U
Intel HD graphics 620 (ik, but usable)

Any help and suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Also, just in case this is anything important, my ram (8 gb DDR4) is located near the processor and sometimes, they even feel hotter than the cpu.

Again, thanks for any help.

 

[webworkings]

If you are getting that kind of heat, then there is damage. Even if you don't see it. A laptop really isn't made to withstand any kind of fall. I know, seems odd that a movable device is not made sturdier, but they aren't that sturdy.

If it is under warranty (I am assuming not since you both dropped it and opened it up, but one never knows) then I would contact the manufacturer. If it isn't under warranty, then you need to run some software to test the actual temps to see what is the cause of the overheating. Is it one thing or many?

Also, you stated the heatsink isn't in the correct position? Then it need to be looked at. It could have just been knocked loose, or it could actually be cracked and need replacing.

I would start there.

 

[Richard Li]

What may the problem be then? I will bring it to repair but would like to know a bit more.
Anyone else viewing this can also leave a comment. Thank you for the help.

 

[webworkings]

There is no way to tell for certain without it being opened up, looked at and tested.

However, even a small drop, can damage a drive, knock components loose, crack things. This is why, stating exactly what it is online is not really possible. Have it looked at and if you want to know more about the issue, what occurred and what will be done, if you are taking it to a local tech, just ask them to show you. Many are willing to allow you to see, just be polite.

 

[Richard Li]

Ok, thank you!