Why is only my CPU overheating?

[Sayerp]

Hello all,

I have a 4 year old dell studio 17 laptop with very good specs:

i7, 1TB hard drive, 8GB ram, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 (i know this isnt the best video card).

However, my laptop is slowly becoming unusable and it randomly shuts down if I'm playing games, streaming shows, and even watching my uni lectures which are mp4s! I downloaded "Speccy," a program which tells you the temperatures of your laptop. The results are as follows when idle:

CPU (Intel Core i7 720 QM @ 1.60GHz): 90 degrees
Motherboard (Dell Inc. 0J509P U2E1) : 65 degrees
Hard Drives (two 466GB ones): 43 degrees and the other at 50 degrees

Why is my CPU temperature so high while the other ones are low? I have already thoroughly used compressed air to clear dust from the vents. I doubt it is a dust problem because only the CPU is running really hot.

If anyone can help me solve this problem, I will be forever grateful! I would really like to avoid buying a new laptop right now seeing as this one has good specs and I'm a broke university student.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Jaxem]

The thermal pad/grease connecting the CPU to the heatpipe may have dried up or withered away, i'd crack it open and see what the TIM is like and put new stuff on, should help.

 

[Sayerp]

The thermal pad/grease connecting the CPU to the heatpipe may have dried up or withered away, i'd crack it open and see what the TIM is like and put new stuff on, should help.

Interesting. I will look into this. I've never opened up a laptop before which is why I am hesitant to do this. Would you recommend someone like me to do this or would it be best to get a professional look at it? And what is TIM?

 

[thepinkanator95]

Check the thermal paste. If it is dried up put some more on. Make sure your fan is properly attached and facing the right way (I've seen heatsink fans pointing into the CPU before).

If all of that looks good it may be a motherboard read error. I got numbers like that before on my MSI and had to RMA it.

 

[Jaxem]

TIM is Thermal Interface Material, just shorthand for thermal pad or grease. As long as you go slowly, opening a laptop isn't too bad (though it varies a bit by brand...the one dell i took apart wasn't too fun). You shouldn't have to take it very far apart to check this, just the bottom shell needs to come off. Usually there's just lots of screws and a little bit of searching for hidden clasps holding the plastic bits in place...is it 90c at idle or under some load?

 

[cklaubur]

One thing I like about Dell computers is that the service manuals are available on their website. Just go to the support page and select your laptop's series and model number. Anybody can take a laptop apart, as long as you are careful.

Casey

 

[Jaxem]

Check the thermal paste. If it is dried up put some more on. Make sure your fan is properly attached and facing the right way (I've seen heatsink fans pointing into the CPU before).

If all of that looks good it may be a motherboard read error. I got numbers like that before on my MSI and had to RMA it.

I doubt he has any warranty left on a laptop with a first gen i7, unless he bought an uber long extended plan...

 

[Sayerp]

Unfortunately my warranty has long expired. My laptop is 90c right now and its pretty much idle,I only have a couple tabs open in chrome, and skype open. I am also using the U3 coolermaster pad on its highest fan speed setting.

I am currently looking for a youtube video which demonstrates applying the paste. As of right now I don't think I will be able to replace the paste as I'm on campus and have no idea where to find these pastes.

 

[Jaxem]

You may need to just order some online and wait a couple days for it to come...but a computer servicing center would have it or a boutique computer store (if there's anything like those around).

 

[mc962]

Amazon has a large number of all sorts of pastes:

http/www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=thermal%20compound&sprefix=thermal+co%2Caps&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Athermal%20compound