I think my laptop might have an overheating problem - how can I test out this theory?

[Mickey_blu_eyes]

i.e. how to take the laptop up to full speed to see if it shuts down at some point? And in a safe way so as not to burn anything inside?

I suspect it has an overheat problem as was liable to shut off randomly (particularly when I updated windows) and then not turn back on again for a while. However I have wiped the HDD and reinstalled windows, updating it slowly, and it SEEMS fine so far. But I don't want it to start turning off again right in the middle of my work - hence I need to know if it has a problem.

Thanks very much for your help!!!

Oli

 

[Neutr1n0]

you can use OCCT for stress testing. It's free and you can set limit for CPU temp. crossing the limit will stop the test.

AIDA64 is also nice. Good for monitoring and has integrated stress tests as well.

Max acceptable temp will depend on CPU model. Latest intel CPUs 4xxx have TjMax 105°, but recommended to keep below 85° during full load. Thermal throttling and issues like rebooting should be only as from 105° though.

 

[Karsten75]

OCCT is a dangerous tool/toy.

You didn't say whether your laptop is AMD or Intel-based laptop.

My first instinct is to tell you that reloading software will have no effect on heat-related issues. Cleaning out dust may be mere effective. Small amounts of dust in the cooling passages have a terrible insulating effect, slowing down heat transfer and thus increasing temperatures. On an old laptop of mine I achieved a 20C reduction in temps simply by using the manufacturer's service manual to open it up and using canned air to blow the duct out of the air ducts and from the heatsink fan.

You can use Prime95, as the workload that provides the most stable load for temperature monitoring. Be careful, based on your processor which version of Prime95 you run. Read the relevant article here:

Intel: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-1800828/intel-temperature-guide.html
AMD: http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2122665/understanding-temperature-amd-cpus-apus.html

 

[Mickey_blu_eyes]

Thanks very much both of you - I tried prime 95, and yea after a couple of minutes it made it shut down, so will have to give it a proper clean - even though I tried that already, but obviously will have to do a better job this time lol, cheers