Thread: Laptop coolers
View Single Post
Old 07-25-2010, 08:00 PM   #9
Rathji
Franchise Player
 
Rathji's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Supporting Urban Sprawl
Exp:
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by sclitheroe View Post
In this case, the laptop is technically defective. Either the power management drivers, poor application of heat sink compound, a leaked heat pipe, or crud built up in the heat sinks. Or just bad design, depending on the manufacturer.

The heat pipe is an interesting culprit - I recently ran across a laptop that the fan ran at high speed on all the time, but the case and heat sinks at the exhaust ports were not hot to the touch. It turned out to be a heat pipe that had lost its cooling fluid, so the CPU was running hot, but the rest of the heat pathway was not conducting the heat away at all.
It is probably a combination of poor design, a worn fan and dust build up.

I recently took it apart and did a very thorough job of cleaning it out. I think it might be a lot better now but with it being summer I have not tested it much.
__________________
"Wake up, Luigi! The only time plumbers sleep on the job is when we're working by the hour."
Rathji is offline   Reply With Quote