Laptop Overheating Is It Time to Go to Desktop/Desktop Mini

bigballerbrand on 08/09/2025 - 13:11

Hi Ozbargainers its your boy Lavar!

I have an XPS laptop at the moment and i use it for work.

my work is basically excel spreadsheets, cloud based office and then streaming shows or movies on my second screen (i like to multitask).

my laptop overheats and its fucking slow even though its an i7 and has 32gb of ram.

is it time to move to a desktop for work purposes. will this solve my slowness issue, fan noise and extreme overheating?

i dont game at all, i do have the laptop hooked to two 4k screens and one of them is usually streaming 4k videos while i work.

my budget if i get a desktop (or desktop mini however i heard they have overheating issues too) is approx $3,000

what are your thoughts

Computing Computer Laptop

Comments

  • jv on 08/09/2025 - 13:12
    +9

    Laptop Overheating Is It Time to Go to Desktop/Desktop Mini

    Time to clean the air vents.

    • bigballerbrand on 08/09/2025 - 13:13

      i undid the back and cleaned everything out and still it overheats like a mofo

      • Sinnerator on 08/09/2025 - 16:44
        +6

        redo the thermal paste on the cpu?
        How old is the laptop?

    • skillet on 09/09/2025 - 09:15

      How do you know it's overheating? Every laptop has it's very own cooling system design some has extra fins that helps with passive cooling but for those extra thin laptops it will blow its tits off because they need to be as actively cooled to reduce thermal throttling.

      What you are doing is just basic office task it's barely a sweat. If you cleaned the vents it's still overheating, open the lid and do further cleaning, perhaps the fans need a clean too.

      Your computer might also be infected by mining-malware that runs on the background. Try running a live copy of LinuxMint off a USB. Are the fans still making lots of noise? It might be a problem with the Windows OS.

      • jv on 09/09/2025 - 09:16

        How do you know it's overheating?

        I read the title.

        • skillet on 09/09/2025 - 09:17

          Yes we all know from the title it's overheating but I'm asking how does the OP know that it is overheating. Is there a warning anywhere? Or is the keypad burning his palms?

          • jv on 09/09/2025 - 09:17

            @skillet:

            but I'm asking how does the OP know that it is overheating.

            Why don't you ask the OP ?

  • jv on 08/09/2025 - 13:15
    +8

    slow even though its an i7 and has 32gb of ram.

    Clean re-install of Windows…

  • Far Cough on 08/09/2025 - 13:22
    +3

    you have a virus

    • 30year old Camry on 08/09/2025 - 13:28
      +6

      Do I have to buy iTunes gift cards to fix it?

      • Far Cough on 08/09/2025 - 13:39
        +1

        sure, pm me the codes

  • GordonD on 08/09/2025 - 14:07
    +5

    An i7 shouldn't be overheating with that load.

    Check your CPU utilisation. If its high you may have malware or something. If its low you've got a cooling problem.

    • ForkSnorter on 08/09/2025 - 14:42
      +1

      An i7 shouldn't be overheating with that load.

      Depends what generation.

  • geekcohen on 08/09/2025 - 14:27
    +4

    Run something like Core Temp and report what your CPU temps are.

    I am running a Desktop i9 with a bunch of stuff running now and its like 30 Degrees and at times might run about 60 Degrees.

  • Hellfire on 08/09/2025 - 14:31
    +1

    How old is the laptop? Old i7s ran really hot but new ones are much better.

    • bigballerbrand on 08/09/2025 - 14:57

      XPS 17 from 2021

      10750H

      • Hellfire on 08/09/2025 - 15:11
        +1

        That should be ok. You probably need to do more diagnosis to determine if it's actually overheating or there is some other cause of the slowness. Fans running under load is pretty normal.

      • dcep on 09/09/2025 - 02:30

        XPS from 2021 should be running SSD storage right ? not spinning disk HDD ?

      • blwnhr on 09/09/2025 - 07:43
        +1

        I'm still using my XPS with third-gen i7 from 2013, spinning round large CAD models while on Teams calls, running 3 monitors.

        You have some kind of software problem, or cooling blockage, no need for new hardware.

        Are you using the laptop screen? A lot of laptops draw air through the keyboard, so if you have the lid closed it strangles the airflow.

  • ForkSnorter on 08/09/2025 - 14:43
    +5

    You could get a Mac Mini ( less than $1k) for your streaming and other multitasking, and use your current laptop only for your work stuff. That might solve it. Mac Mini is a handy little machine to have, and will probably still be useful in 5-10 years.

  • geek001 on 08/09/2025 - 15:14
    +1

    Maybe check there is air coming out of the fan vents while the laptop is running to make sure the fans are spinning. One or more of your laptop fans could have died. A cheaper option is maybe use a laptop fan cooler in the interim. :)

  • Davo1111 on 08/09/2025 - 15:23
    +2

    thermal paste?

    how much cleaning did you actually do. "undid the back" doesnt tell me much

    • bigballerbrand on 08/09/2025 - 16:27
      +1

      undid the back and used a little air compression to get rid of all the bunched up dust. thats about it to be honest. i dont know how to thermal paste

      • freefall101 on 08/09/2025 - 17:02

        Remove heatsink, clean off old paste, reapply a super thin layer of good thermal paste, reattach heatsink. If you're not comfortable doing it, there are probably PC stores that would do it for you.

        That said, the CPU you have is a 45W one, with awful GPU capabilities (which is why it's melting running 4K videos, it'll be utilising the CPU instead of handing it off the the GPU). It can get up to 90C under load as well, so if heat wasn't getting out due to the dust I have no doubt it was throttling the CPU heavily.

        I'd also just take a look at what your PC is doing. Bring up task manager and look at RAM and CPU utilisation. See if you're gone overboard on vlookups or something, or if video is taking a much bigger toll than expected.

      • horseshoe on 08/09/2025 - 17:07
        +3

        Well, in order of troubleshooting you'd check first that the CPU usage is normal, then that the fans are clean. The last and worst case explanation is the thermal paste. Fwiw i've never changed the thermal paste, but I have opened up an old machine that was junked and seen how dried up the paste had gotten. Kind of convenient that thermal paste degrades for obsolescence tbh.

        • freefall101 on 08/09/2025 - 17:23

          The problem is chemistry, you need something that is a paste, be an excellent transferrer of heat, not melt under temperatures up to 100C, not dry out in any way but also not go liquid enough to leak out (particularly because thermal conductivity often goes hand in hand with electrical conductivity. The best thermal compounds you can't let get on any components).

          Particularly as it gets clogged with dust and runs hotter and hotter, that will dry out the paste faster.

          There's also that laptop makers prefer a cheap sticky pad rather than applying a super thin layer of good thermal material.

          • FireRunner on 08/09/2025 - 17:59
            +1

            @freefall101: Manufacturers should use Honeywell PTM7950 in every laptop in my opinion. It’s got better heat transfer properties than thermal paste without ever drying out and isn’t electrically conductivity unlike Liquid Metal.

            • GordonD on 08/09/2025 - 19:04

              @FireRunner: And then there's graphene pads - like thermal grizzly Kryosheet - that are claimed to have terrific thermal conductivity, can't "dry out" or degrade, and are even re-usable. Anyone tried them? I've put it in one motherboard with a CPU that runs hot, and it seems to be working well, but haven't had a chance to try it under load to see how well it works. They just warn you to get the right size, and make sure it stays centred when you put the CPU cooler on, because its also very electrically conductive. Its as easy as that. You just clean the CPU top and CPU cooler base, take the graphene pad out of its packaging, position it on the CPU lid, and put the CPU cooler on and screw it down.

            • freefall101 on 09/09/2025 - 13:04
              +1

              @FireRunner: Thanks, never heard of those! Time to stop using whatever random cheap thermal material I can find every time I redo something.

      • FireRunner on 08/09/2025 - 18:12

        You’ll have to remove the fans (which also means the heat sink in many laptops) to properly see the dust gunning up the exhaust vents. I’ve opened up laptops which have a carpet of dust sitting across the exhaust vent blocking the airflow,

        As for thermal paste, you’ll need to replace it when you remove the heat sink. It might be a little nerve racking doing it the first time but risk is very and not difficult to do.
        Watch a couple of video guides.
        You don’t need to spread the paste across the CPU. Just put a small blob in the centre and the mounting pressure will spread it out. You can err on the side of caution and put a bit extra if you’re unsure. Putting too much on will cause it to be pressed out the sides making a bit of a mess but won’t effect performance.
        I use Arctic XM4 when I don’t use Honeywell PTM7950 phase change pads (which is better but more expensive and have to order them from overseas)

        • Scroopter on 08/09/2025 - 19:29
          +2

          My old laptop's air vent was completely blocked with dust—it was like a 'carpet.' The fan was struggling big time. Cleaning it out made a huge difference to the temperature

  • JIMB0 on 08/09/2025 - 16:22

    Have you tried turning the fan to performance mode?

    • bigballerbrand on 08/09/2025 - 16:27

      i can hear the fans going crazy so theyre obviously working in full mode?

      • JIMB0 on 08/09/2025 - 16:55

        You'll need to open it up and carefully clean the heatsink and fan.

  • payless69 on 08/09/2025 - 20:05
    -2

    Good luck!
    I had a few HP's with i7 chips that ran hot.
    Even after refurbishing cooling, vent and fan clean as well as system clean they kept the fan howling up once running more than 10 minutes. Opened wheelie bin and clonk!

    • SpainKing on 09/09/2025 - 14:17

      Why put something with a battery into your wheelie bin rather than disposing of it at a designated drop-off point that can recycle them and the rest of the laptop's parts?

      • payless69 on 09/09/2025 - 15:20
        +1

        Actually I ripped the battery pack apart and saved all cells. Whenever Coles has them black torches at something like $3 each I buy them and use them with these cells. Even the harddrive and the ram chip found a new life. Then the council dump truck driver put a note on top of the bin saying prohibitive stuff so I pile them up on one of Gerry's no warranty on IT item stores. Let them deal with it!

  • dcep on 09/09/2025 - 02:33

    My laptop fan died completely. Now putting it on top of deepcool laptop cooler 200mm fan.

    Still running over 80c and throttling but usable.

    The oem fan is a blower integrated within CPU heatsink shroud and only found whole module for sale.
    Couldn't think of DIY mods to swap out just the fan alone.

  • lew380 on 09/09/2025 - 08:47

    Yes.

  • hughes on 09/09/2025 - 09:21

    i take the back cover off and use a cooling pad. laptop fan only spins up under heavy load
    https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/keji-lapto…

  • overthinking on 09/09/2025 - 10:18

    sounds like you're pushing the laptop pretty hard tbh but with the right docking station, it should be able to handle two screens @ 4k.

    What docking station do you have?

    buy yourself a set of tools (Essential Electronics Toolkit from iFixit for example)
    open up your laptop, give it a good clean, update all dell drivers + windows updates + bios etc.

    to second others - I would invest in a cooling pad, can't hurt.

  • Dejaar on 09/09/2025 - 15:24

    Have you opened it and vacuumed any dut stuck in ventband around fan.

  • niknah on 09/09/2025 - 19:22

    Press shift-ctrl-esc. Click on the CPU column to sort. There shouldn't be anything above 1% except task manager when you're doing nothing.

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