Giving your laptop/desktop a good blowjob to speed it up.

blowingup2012 · Apr 20, 2012

My laptop has been running hot for about a year or so. I tried everything to include sticking the home vacuum nozzle on the vents with no luck. It was running between 130-140 degrees according to my program and sometimes would even flat out shut down because of the heat.

I was about to dissect my laptop and had 4 screws out when I thought what if I break the laptop.

I found a blower with different nozzles. It is so powerful that it will blow things off a desk from 10-15 feet away. I turned it on, put it up to the vent on the laptop and out shot a cloud of dust.

When I turned my laptop back on now its operating between 100-110 degrees on average and the laptop seems much faster. I guess the computer was slowing the processor down because of the heat.

ElectricSavant · Apr 21, 2012

I would be afraid to use too much pressure... There seems to be a lot of delicate little parts in there.

To make things easier I suggest the dishwasher. Open her up and place each half with the plates.

ES

Quote from blowingup2012:

My laptop has been running hot for about a year or so. I tried everything to include sticking the home vacuum nozzle on the vents with no luck. It was running between 130-140 degrees according to my program and sometimes would even flat out shut down because of the heat.

I was about to dissect my laptop and had 4 screws out when I thought what if I break the laptop.

I found a blower with different nozzles. It is so powerful that it will blow things off a desk from 10-15 feet away. I turned it on, put it up to the vent on the laptop and out shot a cloud of dust.

When I turned my laptop back on now its operating between 100-110 degrees on average and the laptop seems much faster. I guess the computer was slowing the processor down because of the heat.

rallydog · Apr 21, 2012

Quote from ElectricSavant:

I would be afraid to use too much pressure... There seems to be a lot of delicate little parts in there.

To make things easier I suggest the dishwasher. Open her up and place each half with the plates.

ES

I tried that and it worked great except for the water spots it left on my screen. Knew I should have used Cascade.

easymon1 · Apr 21, 2012

Detrimental heat levels stunt performance and limit lifespans of electronics. Laptop designs often hamper the removal of debris that lead to excess heat. That's good old built-in obsolescence, my friend. This stimulates demand by encouraging purchasers to buy sooner if they still want a functioning product. Some spoilsports insist on sidestepping their duty to be wasteful, debt-ridden, permanently discontented individuals by thinking of ways to create functional responses to bad design.

Perhaps the close inspection of a good shop manual and some precise dremel tool work could create access for debris removal while limiting adverse consequences to the computing unit.

blowingup2012 · Apr 21, 2012

No, it wont hurt the inside of the computer. This is a common technique used frequently by repair specialists. I now perform this regularly. I place the nozzle right in the vent on my HP laptop.

On HP laptops, it uses a heatsink which collects dust and will prevent the laptop from cooling properly. The only way to get rid of that dust is either to blow it out or disect the laptop (you might destroy something in the process and time consuming). Regular home vacuum cleaners will not have enough power to suck the dust out.

Not only the computer, but the other areas which frequently accumulate dust like the keyboard, the back of the monitor, etc.

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blowingup2012 · Apr 21, 2012

Quote from blowingup2012:

No, it wont hurt the inside of the computer. This is a common technique used frequently by repair specialists. I now perform this regularly. I place the nozzle right in the vent on my HP laptop.

On HP laptops, it uses a heatsink which collects dust and will prevent the laptop from cooling properly. The only way to get rid of that dust is either to blow it out or disect the laptop (you might destroy something in the process and time consuming). Regular home vacuum cleaners will not have enough power to suck the dust out.

Not only the computer, but the other areas which frequently accumulate dust like the keyboard, the back of the monitor, etc.

I would absolutely NOT use a dremel tool to drill holes into the thing. The reason why heat builds up is not a lack of ventillation, but dust blocking the heatsink and building up on the fan. It acts like a blanket or insulation not letting the heat escape.

<iframe width="1280" height="720" src="http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/JZ2OA8NT2HE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

hoodooman · Apr 21, 2012

I use a cold pack under my laptop. It sits on my lap and I have a piece of foam rubber under it with the cold pack in between the laptop and foam. Works great for a long time now.

blowingup2012 · Apr 21, 2012

For laptops, you just need to do two things to keep it cool.

#1) Get rid of the dust on the heatsink and fan. This is what causes the majority of heating problems. When they designed the laptop, Im certain they wouldnt have let the thing ship if it had obvious heat issues. Getting rid of the dust can either be accomplished by dissecting the laptop or blowing it out as demonstrated.

#2) Leave the battery out of the laptop while the system is plugged in. When you leave the battery in, then the system will charge/discharge it meaning more heat and strain on the system. Also with the battery out there is more room for the heat to escape. If you leave the battery in then it will eventually go bad from charging discharging all the time.

Thats all you need to do. Dont bother with cooling pads or fans. Just from blowing out the dust with the machine my laptop went from operating at 130-140 degrees on average to 100-110 degrees.