Laptop Overheating

Laptop overheating has become a more common problem in recent years as both the CPU chips and the video chips in laptop computers have become more densely packed with transistors, all of which generate heat. With both CPUs and graphic systems generating more heat, laptops can overheat if they are not properly designed or if ventilation and cooling is interfered with. The problem is compounded when manufacturers put desktop components in mobile systems, or when laptop design does not properly provide for laptop cooling under foreseeable normal use of the systems.

Laptop overheating most commonly signals itself by sudden, otherwise unexplained shutdown of an operating computer. If your laptop computer suddenly shuts down for no known reason, there is a high likelihood that the fail safe software in the computer is shutting it down when the computer temperature gets too high. Other signs of overheating notebook computers include constant or excessive fan operation, unexplained memory or operation errors, and inexplicable “blue screens of death.”

The problem often arises when you are using your computer intensively in ways that keep the CPU operating at high capacity and the hard drive and video systems busy as well. Gaming often leads to laptop overheating. Virus scans, compiling software and similar intensive tasks can also bring on the problem. The problem also, not surprisingly, sometimes occurs when the temperatures are high in the setting where the laptop is being used.

The consequences of overheating laptops can be quite serious. Your computer can be damaged, and may end up requiring expensive replacement of major system components, such as motherboards or graphic cards. In addition, medical researchers have reported health issues ranging from sterility to burned genitalia related to use of overheated laptops by fully clothed users.

If you have an overheating laptop and your computer is still under warranty, you should promptly report the problem to the manufacturer and seek their help. Because many manufacturers seem to engage in denial rather than cures with regard to this particular problem, you should also read the information on laptop overheating on this and related sites so you can better understand the causes, the consequences and the possible cures for notebook computer overheating.