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Hello Poal,

My laptop (Lenovo thinkpad x220) has been going strong for the last year or so, but recently it has been getting much hotter than usual. Even just browsing the internet or watching a DVD.

Do laptops need proper regular maintenance like cars? And should I pay to go get the thermal paste reapplied, etc? I can live with the increased heat, but I'm worried that the higher temperatures will decrease the lifespan of the internals. I don't really want to do it, but if I get a bunch of people screaming in unison at me to go get it done, them I'll capitulate.

I "can" do it myself, but I'd rather pay someone to do it properly and assume the risk if they brick it in the process.

Hello Poal, My laptop (Lenovo thinkpad x220) has been going strong for the last year or so, but recently it has been getting much hotter than usual. Even just browsing the internet or watching a DVD. Do laptops need proper regular maintenance like cars? And should I pay to go get the thermal paste reapplied, etc? I can live with the increased heat, but I'm worried that the higher temperatures will decrease the lifespan of the internals. I don't really want to do it, but if I get a bunch of people screaming in unison at me to go get it done, them I'll capitulate. I "can" do it myself, but I'd rather pay someone to do it properly and assume the risk if they brick it in the process.

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[–] • 0 pt

Eh, my old laptop (ASUS) died on me after about 5 years, so I had to get something. This one had the best keyboard, and battery-life. It has integrated graphics - which I purposely chose so as to limit my ability to "game" - but I'm kinda regretting that now.

My fan is running, but now I'm looking into options (linux) to be able to manually "force" the fan to 100% when I feel it's getting too hot.

[–] • 0 pt

Intergrated graphics is a negative but its a laptop .. you have to spend more for one with a graphics card. So that's the balance I guess.

One of my Thinkpads had a desktop CPU ... with a large heatsink to compensate.....so it weighed more than most laptops.

That's the choice the man. has...larger heatsink=more wt...a negative for a laptop.

So it sounds like your computer is fine...bottoms of laptops get hot. Just the reality of some of them. The components should be fine.

Want cooler? They make cooling pads if you wish. That's about all you can do.

[–] • 0 pt

Nah, I purposely went for one without a graphics card because I wanted to make it strictly work and other useful stuff, not gaming... didn't last long.

When I get another (hopefully after another four years), I'll be getting something with a proper graphics card because I've run into trouble playing 720p vids on a TV.

I don't really car how hot it gets, as long as it doesn't damage or decrease the life of the machine. I know apple stuff runs super hot, but is all covered up so that the user won't notice most of the time.

[–] • 0 pt

You can build one.

I help my kid build a gaming desktop.

Got it all together and it would not run. Bad mother board.

The man. replaced it easy enough but the kid thought he did something wrong LOL.

I looked at it and said "sounds like bad motherboard" .. time ti disassemble. Kid not happy.

I told him "life's not fair, suck it up, its just a bad part."