I see this a lot, but why is thermal paste the 1st suspect in these scenarios?
Thermal paste plays a minor role in cooling - if it hasn't dried out, which takes at least a couple of years...
How can this be real, they sell me i7 in a chassis i can use 35% of it after some point, why just don't limit that chassis to i3's ( the reason is money ofcourse).
But it's brain bending... what the brands are doing.... they are putting insane parts in horrible chassis... and it seems like they are getting away with it.
This is really the peoples' fault more than the manufacturers'.
"People want to have their cake and eat it too.", or they want to 'dine at a steakhouse at fast food prices' - things like that.
Well, like it or not, compromises/sacrifices need to be made.
The laptop's purpose is mobility - a home/office PC on the go. Lightweight, cool, power efficient, quiet, and affordable.
Then along came the 'genius' idea of gaming on them - they were terrible at first; hardware was too weak...
People demanded more, and they got more - of everything: Heavy, hot, high power consuming, loud, and expensive.
It wasn't enough, the ideal gaming laptop should be light, cool, power efficient, quiet, and affordable, while still being a power house. That combination is realistically not possible without some kind of compromise.
Without dragging on: there's only so much power that can be crammed under such a tiny hood and not have issues.
The cheaper gaming laptops are not worth it. The heavier, more expensive models with less of the plastic junk are the better ones.