I finally checked my CPU temps after a year of ignoring it

Pulled up HWMonitor last night because my laptop was getting so hot it hurt to touch near the keyboard. Turns out my i7 was hitting 98C under load while gaming. Checked the article on Tom's Hardware about thermal paste drying out and sure enough I haven't replaced mine since 2021. Anyone else ever let it go that long before noticing?

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richardfox2mo ago

Man, 98C is toasty. I let my old FX-8350 hit 90C for like six months once and it just kept chugging. But here's the thing nobody's talking about: maybe your laptop's fan is just caked with dust too. I pulled the bottom off mine after seeing similar temps and it looked like a lint trap from a dryer. Thermal paste and a quick dust out dropped me 15 degrees. Might be worth checking before you order new paste.

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henry_kelly542mo ago

My buddy had the same thing happen with his old gaming laptop, a Dell from like 2018. He thought the thermal paste was the issue but turns out the heat sink fins were so clogged with cat hair and dust that air couldn't even move through them. He literally pulled out a wad the size of a cotton ball from the little exhaust vents. Crazy how much stuff gets in there over a couple years even if you think you're keeping it clean.

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