Dell E6420 running hot

[mrosenberg]

Hi, My new to me Dell E6420 has been idling CPU at 50-70 and GPU at 48-70 so I decided to replace the thermal paste on it. Turns out the paste was cake by now. So first I tried the pea method but it just got worse. Especially for the Gpu which now goes up to 90 playing games. So afterwards I tried spreading the thermal paste and right afterwards it was amazing. Right after i boot it up or wake from sleep the temps of the CPU and GPU wouldn't exceed 50c but after a bit of browsing the Web I was back to that same old 50+ temps. Help would be much appreciated. Thanks

 

[volcanoscout]

There are a number of possibilities, but before getting too deep into left field:

I'm assuming that you've already ensured that the fan and cooling vanes are free of dust? And that when reinstalling the cooler, you tightened the heatsink screws in the recommended order?
Try propping the rear of your laptop up 1/4-1/2 inch and see if that makes a difference. Air intake efficiency of laptops is very limited when lying flat on a surface.

 

[mrosenberg]

There are a number of possibilities, but before getting too deep into left field:

I'm assuming that you've already ensured that the fan and cooling vanes are free of dust? And that when reinstalling the cooler, you tightened the heatsink screws in the recommended order?
Try propping the rear of your laptop up 1/4-1/2 inch and see if that makes a difference. Air intake efficiency of laptops is very limited when lying flat on a surface.

Thanks for replying. Yes i have done all of those things. Raising the laptop made no big difference. Maybe 1 degree. Thanks

 

[volcanoscout]

Next two things I would try/check:

Check to make sure your BIOS and drivers are all up to date and that you don't have any old drivers or bits of drivers hiding out.

Get your laptop hot with the back plate removed and use your finger to test the temps along the cooling pipes between the heatsink/s and the cooling vanes. You'll be looking for a noticable temp drop-off at any point along the line. (Careful not to burn yourself in the process.) If you find one, that would indicate a fault in the pipe. This could be caused by contact with another component that's redirecting the heat or by a crack or micro-fissures in the pipe that prevents the heat from being properly transmitted to the vanes. If it's a crack, you'll need to replace the cooler.

 

[mrosenberg]

Next two things I would try/check:

Check to make sure your BIOS and drivers are all up to date and that you don't have any old drivers or bits of drivers hiding out.

Get your laptop hot with the back plate removed and use your finger to test the temps along the cooling pipes between the heatsink/s and the cooling vanes. You'll be looking for a noticable temp drop-off at any point along the line. (Careful not to burn yourself in the process.) If you find one, that would indicate a fault in the pipe. This could be caused by contact with another component that's redirecting the heat or by a crack or micro-fissures in the pipe that prevents the heat from being properly transmitted to the vanes. If it's a crack, you'll need to replace the cooler.

I've updated the drivers and the BIOS. And the pipe is the same hot all along. It seems like the fan only goes on when the CPU gets over 50. Is this normal or is it supposed to be on all the time?

 

[volcanoscout]

I would look in your BIOS settings and see if it's set on a profile. If it is, and it gives you the option, pick a more aggressive profile for when you're gaming, so that it ramps up earlier and faster.