Bladdaow!

One of the most common reasons for an overheating processor is an inadequate CPU fan. This is especially common for laptops, as they tend to sit on soft irregular surfaces like, well, laps. Not only that, but people tend to put them on beds, pillows, and all sorts of other items they shouldn’t. This tends to block the cooling ports and the CPU fan on your system. Heat can built up at an alarming rate when this happens, so it’s important that you keep your laptop on a smooth, hard surface such as a table when it’s in use.

Now, a lot of newer laptops will have that exhaust port on the side of the computer for this very reason; the manufacturers know that people do use their laptops in irregular places, so the port on the side is there to help keep the CPU cooler (along with the rest of the components) when the laptop is being used. This isn’t always 100% effective, though. The slight amount of air beneath a laptop while it’s being used on a table is essential for cooling. Don’t underestimate this or try to always use your notebook on a softer surface. It’s not good for it.

Replacing the CPU fan on a laptop is a little bit of a project, so unless you’re 100% comfortable (and capable) of doing such a thing, I highly recommend that you go ahead and hand it to a professional to do. The components in a laptop are quite a bit smaller and more delicate than what you’ll see in a larger desktop computer, so you really need to be careful with this. I can’t stress this enough. Don’t try this yourself unless you’ve gone to school for it as it is incredibly easy to damage the fan or other internal devices inside of the laptop.

Hopefully making this one change will help with your CPU cooling issues as it is incredibly damaging to let your computer overheat day in and day out. It drastically cuts the life span of your laptop so it’s much better to immediately assess and fix the situation before your computer is damaged.