Most people look at their laptops and focus on keeping them functional and secure. It’s very easy to look at a laptop and completely forget that cooling is important since it doesn’t have highly noticeable fans like desktops do. However, a lack of cooling can lead to overheating which can cause a variety of problems. With that in mind, let’s go over some of the reasons that having proper cooling is vital for your laptop computer.

Improved Performance

One of the most noticeable problems that come with laptop overheating is a decrease in performance. This can create a CPU bottleneck that drastically reduces the speed of your computer. As a result, you may experience increased load times both online and off. This is because your CPU is designed to throttle down if it’s too hot.

By having proper cooling, you’ll ensure that your laptop can function at its best. This is important when running programs that are a larger strain on your computer’s resources such as high-end videogames. It’s even more important if you’re overclocking your laptop.

Avoid Damage

Another major problem that comes from overheating your laptop is the damage it can cause. While most systems have a failsafe that will throttle your CPU and ultimately shut down the laptop completely if it gets too hot, it can still suffer damage in the process. This is especially true if your laptop is forced to shut down from overheating repeatedly.

You also have to consider the fact that having your laptop run hot can decrease the lifespan of the various components inside it. Your GPU, CPU, motherboard, and even your RAM can suffer heat damage and give out sooner than they normally would. Since replacing parts of a laptop is more difficult than doing so for a desktop, this may force you to purchase a new one if the damage is severe enough.

Noisy Fan

While the fan in a laptop is unnoticeable most of the time, if your machine is overheating, then it will spin faster to try and keep it cool. This can get annoying very quickly, especially if you’re used to having a near-silent laptop to work on. Also, this can cause your fan to wear out faster similar to how the other components of your laptop give out sooner if exposed to regular overheating. While replacing a laptop’s fan is probably one of the easier repairs to make, it can still be a major inconvenience.

One thing to consider is using a liquid cooling system so the fan doesn’t have to work as hard. Not only does this help keep your laptop quieter if you’re having heat issues, but it can also help protect the internal components of your laptop from heat damage. This makes it a smart investment since it will help to increase the lifespan of your laptop, especially if you’re running resource-intensive programs regularly.

Detecting Overheating in Your Laptop

Sometimes it can be hard to tell if your laptop is overheating. The change in performance may be minor and your fan may not make enough noise for you to notice. Even so, excessive heat could still be damaging your computer. The best way to check for overheating is to download a program specifically designed to check how hot your laptop is getting. Generally speaking, temperatures around 60 degrees Celcius are fine. However, anything at around 70 or above is problematic and can begin causing damage over time to your system.

What to Do if Your Laptop is Overheating

If you know that your laptop is overheating, or if you’re the proactive type and want to keep it from happening, you have several options. The first is to make sure that the cooling system that the machine came with is working correctly. In most cases, this means cleaning out the fan or even replacing it if something is wrong with it.

If your laptop’s built-in cooling system just isn’t getting the job done, then getting a liquid cooling system may be the answer you’re looking for. This is especially true if the decrease in performance from your laptop overheating is slowing down your workflow or causing problems when you are gaming. In any case, making sure that your laptop is properly cooled is something you need to take seriously.