Question Older HP laptop intel cpu overheating i7-3740qm

[Airsoft11]

Hello I’m having trouble with my overheating cpu in my hp laptop. The laptop is 10 plus years old running windows 10. The cpu is a i7- 3740qm and the laptop has a gt650m gpu. The gpu temps are ok it’s just the cpu. It idles at 65-70 and hits 100 plus during light use or gaming like csgo or tf2. It used to run these games find years ago but after sitting for a long time it’s now overheating with the simplest tasks. I’ve already tried applying new thermal paste twice and cleaned out the whole thing of dust etc. I’ve updated drivers, disk cleanup, defragment, delete temp files, update windows, disable startup/background programs, totally wiping the drive and reinstall windows 10 twice, virus scans, ccleaner, windows 10 debloat, lowering max processor state. Non of these worked. I’m hoping someone might be able to suggest something new to try or at least confirm my suspicions that there’s nothing I can do to fix it at this point. I know hp is known for heat problems but this laptop never ran like this before. It was always not but never dangerously hot over 100 C like it does now. Thanks

edit: this is my first post here so please forgive me if I did something wrong.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Hey there,

Welcome to Tom's forum.

So, it appears you've done all the correct things so far in terms of dealing with this issue.

What thermal paste do you use? Are you sure the fans are running okay (optimaly)? Are the system drivers, chipset and bios up to date?

When putting in new thermal paste did you re-set the CPU cooler correctly? Good practice dictates to apply a pea sized dot in the middle of the CPU (for Intel monolithic chip design). When putting the heatsink/pipes back, try screwing them back in a criss cross fashion. From one corner to the opposit on the diagonal. By doing it this way you will ensure the paste will spread evenly under the heatsink, as the pressure will be applied better.

If you want to continue to use it, you might look online for replacement fans. Even if you existing ones work, or work okay, we cna rule out that. The fan replacements only costs a few bucks to replace.

 

[Airsoft11]

Hey there,

Welcome to Tom's forum.

So, it appears you've done all the correct things so far in terms of dealing with this issue.

What thermal paste do you use? Are you sure the fans are running okay (optimaly)? Are the system drivers, chipset and bios up to date?

When putting in new thermal paste did you re-set the CPU cooler correctly? Good practice dictates to apply a pea sized dot in the middle of the CPU (for Intel monolithic chip design). When putting the heatsink/pipes back, try screwing them back in a criss cross fashion. From one corner to the opposit on the diagonal. By doing it this way you will ensure the paste will spread evenly under the heatsink, as the pressure will be applied better.

If you want to continue to use it, you might look online for replacement fans. Even if you existing ones work, or work okay, we cna rule out that. The fan replacements only costs a few bucks to replace.

Thanks for your reply! Yes I’ve build a few pcs so I know proper paste application techniques. I followed the guides for screwing in the heat sync properly and I actually just replaced the cooling fan too thinking that would help. It runs fine so I don’t think that’s the issue. I’m using Corsair thermal paste I forget what it’s called but I use it on my desktop and it works fine. I’ve also updated all drivers and used several programs to make sure I did the right drivers. Though the chipset drivers were a little hard to find since it’s such an old cpu I think I got the right once’s but not totally sure. The driver program I used said they are up to date though.

 

[uWebb429]

apply a pea sized dot in the middle of the CPU (for Intel monolithic chip design)

The 3740QM is a mobile CPU. It does not use a heat spreader over top of the cores. You will probably get better results by spreading a thin layer across the die.

I use it on my desktop

Some thermal pastes that work well on desktop CPUs do not work very well when applied direct die to mobile CPUs. Make sure your heatsink is snug and sitting square to the CPU die. Some laptop heatsinks can be easily bent or one of the screws might be stripped.

Go to the Task Manager Details tab and have a look at how idle your CPU is. Your idle temps indicate that either your heatsink is not making proper contact or you have something significant running in the background.

Try running ThrottleStop and see what percentage of time your idle computer is in one of the low power C states. Individual cores should be spending close to 99% in the low power core C7 state when your computer is idle.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

That's what I actually meant! My bad, for not explaining it more clearly!

To Op, @uWebb429, has previously advised on thermal paste for laptops. It's my understanding that Noctua NT-H2 is good for laptops.

 

[Airsoft11]

The 3740QM is a mobile CPU. It does not use a heat spreader over top of the cores. You will probably get better results by spreading a thin layer across the die.


Some thermal pastes that work well on desktop CPUs do not work very well when applied direct die to mobile CPUs. Make sure your heatsink is snug and sitting square to the CPU die. Some laptop heatsinks can be easily bent or one of the screws might be stripped.

Go to the Task Manager Details tab and have a look at how idle your CPU is. Your idle temps indicate that either your heatsink is not making proper contact or you have something significant running in the background.

Try running ThrottleStop and see what percentage of time your idle computer is in one of the low power C states. Individual cores should be spending close to 99% in the low power core C7 state when your computer is idle.

Hello! Sorry for the late reply. Thanks for your help! I didn’t spread the paste like you say I just did the pea method when I get the time I’ll try it again and spread it out properly. Non of the screws are stripped or anything and nothings bent. I used Corsair tm30 paste. As for idle it’s 1-2 percent cpu usage and system idle process is at 99.

 

[Airsoft11]

The 3740QM is a mobile CPU. It does not use a heat spreader over top of the cores. You will probably get better results by spreading a thin layer across the die.


Some thermal pastes that work well on desktop CPUs do not work very well when applied direct die to mobile CPUs. Make sure your heatsink is snug and sitting square to the CPU die. Some laptop heatsinks can be easily bent or one of the screws might be stripped.

Go to the Task Manager Details tab and have a look at how idle your CPU is. Your idle temps indicate that either your heatsink is not making proper contact or you have something significant running in the background.

Try running ThrottleStop and see what percentage of time your idle computer is in one of the low power C states. Individual cores should be spending close to 99% in the low power core C7 state when your computer is idle.

So I ran throttle stop and I’m getting this. Under core C states C3 rarely goes up to 1-2 but mostly 0. C6 fluctuates from around 92-97 with an occasional dip to the 80s. C7 stays at 0 and doesn’t move. This is all at idle no programs open other than my iCloud password extension In the tray.

 

[Airsoft11]

The 3740QM is a mobile CPU. It does not use a heat spreader over top of the cores. You will probably get better results by spreading a thin layer across the die.


Some thermal pastes that work well on desktop CPUs do not work very well when applied direct die to mobile CPUs. Make sure your heatsink is snug and sitting square to the CPU die. Some laptop heatsinks can be easily bent or one of the screws might be stripped.

Go to the Task Manager Details tab and have a look at how idle your CPU is. Your idle temps indicate that either your heatsink is not making proper contact or you have something significant running in the background.

Try running ThrottleStop and see what percentage of time your idle computer is in one of the low power C states. Individual cores should be spending close to 99% in the low power core C7 state when your computer is idle.

Still no luck on my end gonna try to order wome better paste but honestly him sick of having to take this thing apparent. When I took it apart and applied thermal paste again it was spread out some of it had spilled over the edges of the die
All the way around. So I don’t see that being an issue