Ask anyone who owns a gaming laptop, and they’ll tell you that those machines can get hot. Regardless of whether you’re using a gaming laptop for simple tasks like writing, or whether you’re playing the latest AAA title, it’s going to heat up when you run high-end software and video games.
This is pretty much unavoidable, and there are a number of factors that contribute to this warm phenomenon. In this article, we’re going to explore what those factors are, and how you can mitigate them to keep your machine cool. Read on for more information.
High Room Temperatures
You cannot consider the temperature of your laptop alone – it’s also important to take the temperature of the room you’re in into account. If you are using your gaming laptop in a hot room, then your laptop is naturally going to heat up as well. What’s more, if the temperatures get too high, it could mean serious damage to your machine.
The easiest way to solve this issue is to install a proper ventilation system into your room, or just turn a fan on and open a window. Small vents are great for decreasing the overall temperature of your room, and are also great for regulating temperatures.
Multitasking
When it comes to computers, multitasking refers to the act of working in more than one program at a time. Having several programs running on your laptop at once will cause it to heat up, since it needs to use more of its processing power to maintain the programs.
If you have several programs, browser tabs, or video games running at the same time, and you notice that your gaming laptop is getting hotter, you’ll want to close a few of those windows. Once you do so, you’ll notice that your laptop immediately becomes cooler.
Not many people know that using several different browsers at once can also cause your machine to overheat. This is something to consider.
Software Viruses
We all know about computer viruses and how terrifying they can be, but their negative effects are not only seen in your software. Malicious viruses can also attack your hardware, and in the case of laptops, cause your hardware to heat up, which we don’t want – obviously.
There are, of course, various different antivirus softwares and defenders that you can install to improve your computer’s protection against malware, but they almost never have a 100% success rate. When a virus is present on your computer, it drastically decreases its performance, which can cause it to heat up.
Some viruses are even able to control the speed at which your laptop’s cooling fans spin, causing them to slow down and even stop, which could cause catastrophic heat damage to your machine.
Laptop Fans
Speaking of fans, one of the most important pieces of hardware in your machine is its fans. They play an essential role in keeping your machine’s other hardware components cool so that they do not overheat.
So, it goes without saying that if your laptop fans are faulty, they will not perform their function properly. This causes your laptop to heat up, and can result in a poor gaming experience. There are many external cooling fans available that can help keep your laptop cooler, thus enabling you to play for longer.
What’s more, you could invest in a cooling pad, which is placed under your machine to keep it cool. This works wonderfully in conjunction with your laptop’s integrated cooling fans.
Thermal Paste
Thermal paste is found in every laptop, whether it’s designed for gaming or otherwise. When this paste is faulty or missing, things start to turn bad for your machine. When the thermal paste in your laptop starts to wear down and become less effective, it begins to allow your laptop to heat up more and more until your games are practically unplayable.
To mitigate this problem, you can replace your old thermal paste to keep your laptop cool when you’re performing high-demand tasks. It’s easy to get a hold of, and is generally quite affordable.
Blocked Or Dusty Vents
You’ll notice that there are a number of air vents on the sides and the bottom of your gaming laptop. As you may have already guessed, these are designed to allow hot air to escape from the machine and cool air to be let in, regulating the temperature of your machine and preventing it from heating up.
When these vents become blocked or are filled with dust, they not only prevent cool air from entering your machine, but they prevent hot air from leaving it, which quickly causes the laptop to heat up. If those go unchecked for long enough – which is not very long at all – your laptop could cease to function entirely due to excessive heat damage.
Hardware
Hardware is the most important component of your laptop to focus on when trying to fix an overheating problem. Your computer sometimes is not equipped to run the games that you are trying to play, which causes it to stress when trying to run them, leading to overheating.
Every video game comes with specification requirements that you need to meet before you are able to play that game, and if you don’t meet them, you’ll have problems. Your machine will not only run these games very poorly, but it will also heat up drastically as it does so, which can cause inconvenient and costly damage.
Surface
The surface that you place your laptop on is important in preventing overheating. You need to make sure that you aren’t using your laptop on a soft, dense surface, like blankets, and on more solid surfaces that accommodate airflow, like desks.
This will ensure that your laptop’s air vents are able to expel and intake a sufficient level of air.
Final Thoughts
Now you know everything you need to know about laptops and how you can prevent or lower the risk of this valuable item overheating. We hope this advice will come in handy as you go forward.