I read somewhere that someone was having problem with her laptop computer. Her laptop suddenly shuts down after using it for 10 to 20 minutes without warning. This kind of problem is usually caused by overheating problem. Like what we said on our previous post “Computer Problem: Computer Overheating”, laptops are more susceptible to this kind of problem than desktop computers.

For laptop owners out there here are some signs that your laptop might have overheating problem:

1.    Laptop keyboard and the laptop bottom feel very hot when you use your laptop.
2.    Loud noise coming from the CPU fans and working all the time at maximum rotation speed.
3.    All of the sudden your laptop shuts down without any warning. When this kind of problem is just starting, your laptop shuts down after 1-2 hours and for serious cases it shuts down after 5-10 minutes of operation.
4.    Even if the laptop works perfectly when you are not using it or in idle mode it shuts down as soon as you use any hard application that requires a lot of memory such as playing DVD player, image and video editing software and the like.

Solution:

1.    For mild problem you can use any shop vacuum to suck the dust out from your laptop. You don’t need to take your laptop apart immediately.
2.    Check if the CPU and heat sink of your laptop if clogged with dust and lint. If it is mildly clogged with dust you can try to use canned air to blow the dust away from the CPU and heat sink. This is a nice precaution measure when your CPU and heat sink are starting to get clogged by dust and lint but might not work for serious cases. When your laptop is already completely clogged with dust you can use a heavy duty shop vacuum to clean out the fan and heat sinks. Instead of a vacuum cleaner you can also try powerful air compressor instead.
3.    You can clean the CPU fan and heat sink when you open your laptop case. Pls. check your manual how to open your laptop case because different manufacturer varies how to do this task. Remember that there are companies that will void your warranty if you open your laptop.
4.    Carefully clean the heat sink and the fan. After cleaning it test the fan if it will make any grinding sound when you use it. If it does then maybe its time to have it changed.
5.    If your laptop is still under warranty, you can take it to service provider and let them fix the problem at no charge to you.

There are a lot of people who often neglected a good cooling system for their computers. Your computer generates a lot of heat when you use it. In order to protect the important components inside your computer, the heat must be released outside by using different cooling systems available in the market today. Heat generated from the CPU and other computer hardware components is the main cause of heat produced in the machine. Aside from that, the following may also aggravate the heat inside your computer:

· Dust can hinder airflow inside your computer thereby reducing the performance of heat sink and case fan.

· Poor airflow. This includes turbulence due to improper placement of fans which can reduce the amount of air flow inside the computer case and can even create hot air whirlpools in the case.

· Poor heat transfer is the result from the lack or poor application of thermal compounds.

We expect our computers to run in maximum performance every time we use it. But how can it possibly perform its best when your computer is not in its maximum condition to operate? Computer hardware has changed and advanced significantly over the past years and so does the cooling system technology.

The heat from your computer’s central processing unit (CPU) which includes motherboard, hard drives and graphic cards generate heat that must be removed from your computer in order to keep these parts running in good condition. Failing to provide sufficient ventilation to your computer can result to overheating that can damage the electronics and/or peripheral parts of your computer which can also lead to other problems such as system crash or even computer failure. Thermal management system is used to remove heat from a computer system. There are various methods available for cooling the semiconductor device of a computer system like thermal conduction or air-cooling, or the use of a heat pipe or liquid cooling to name a few.

Users who run computer components like the CPU at higher voltages and frequencies rather than what manufacturers recommend based on specification (also called overclocking) needs good or extra cooling system. It’s because the increase in the performance due to setting modification results in a greater amount of heat generated of these parts thus, increasing the risk of damage to those components and/or premature failure.

There are a lot of computer enthusiasts who overclock their computers simply buy more efficient, and often, more expensive fan and heat sink combinations. There are also other people who prefer a more exotic way of computer cooling, such as liquid cooling, Peltier effect heat pumps, heat pipe or phase change cooling to list a few.

Air cooling is the most commonly used method to move air around or into the computer cases. Computer fans are usually used to accomplish this kind of task. The term computer fan usually refers to any kind of fan inside your computer that draws cooler air within the case, expel warm air from inside, or move air across a heat sink to cool down a particular component. The most common fan sizes you can find in the market include 40, 60, 80, 90, 120, and 140 mm fans. Cooling fans are commonly used to blow air over the heat generating computer components and can also be used to blow the accumulated hot air away from the atmosphere surrounding the components thus, lowering the air temperature.

On the other hand, heat sinks are often attached to heat generating electronic components such as microprocessors and can be also combined with fans that forces cool air of the electronic components. The heat sink is used to cool down the central processing unit of a computer or a Laptop. It increases the heat-dissipating surface area of the computer component for more effective cooling. A higher surface means greater area to dissipate heat which allows more heat to be radiated out of the component and thereby achieving a cooling effect on the semiconductor device.