If your laptop sounds like a jet engine every time you boot up Cyberpunk 2077, or if it randomly powers off mid session, you’re likely dealing with one thing: overheating. And for CPU intensive tasks like gaming, rendering, or even just having too many Chrome tabs open CPU overheating is one of the most common issues affecting performance and stability.
This guide breaks down what causes overheating in laptops, how to identify it, and what real solutions you can apply especially if you’ve already tried the basics like cleaning vents. But If you need professional help, Volta PC Upgrade & Repair is always here for you.
Laptops aren’t great at handling sustained thermal loads. That’s just the nature of compact form factors. So when you start noticing:
…it’s probably overheating, not just “a little warm.”
If you want to confirm it, install tools like HWiNFO64, Core Temp, or MSI Afterburner. Monitor your CPU package temperature during load. If you’re hitting 95°C or higher consistently, you’ve got a serious overheating issue.
The no. 1 cause of overheating is airflow restriction. Dust collects in your cooling fins, fans, and exhaust vents over time, essentially insulating your CPU from its only method of heat escape.
Thermal paste degrades, dries out, or spreads unevenly. When that happens, heat from the CPU die doesn’t transfer efficiently to the heatsink. Even on newer laptops, stock paste can be low quality and may contribute to overheating under sustained loads.
Modern CPUs aggressively boost to higher frequencies and voltages. If cooling isn’t tuned accordingly (and it rarely is on factory settings), this behavior contributes heavily to overheating.
Faulty fan curve control, EC firmware bugs, or outdated BIOS versions can interfere with temperature regulation leading to inconsistent fan speeds and, you guessed it, overheating.
Using your laptop in a warm room, on a bed, or in direct sunlight compounds internal overheating. The higher the ambient temperature, the harder it is for the heatsink and fans to dissipate heat effectively.
If you’re comfortable opening up your system and using monitoring tools, here are proven, high impact fixes that can drop temperatures by 10-20°C.
Remove the heatsink, clean the old paste with isopropyl alcohol (90%+), and reapply a high quality paste like Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut, Arctic MX-6, or Noctua NT-H2. This is hands-down one of the best ways to fix chronic overheating.
Disassemble your laptop, use compressed air to blow out dust from fans and heatsinks. Be thorough, dust hidden deep inside the cooling fins causes major overheating that a surface clean won’t solve.
Manufacturers occasionally release firmware updates that tweak fan curves or thermal policies. Flash the BIOS and embedded controller (EC) firmware to the latest version, it could fix overheating without any hardware changes.
Use tools like Throttlestop (Intel) or Ryzen Controller (AMD) to set power limits or disable boost entirely. A minor sacrifice in performance can drastically reduce overheating and extend hardware longevity.
Lowering your CPU’s voltage by 50–100 mV can significantly reduce heat output with no performance loss. If you’re seeing consistent overheating, undervolting should be one of your first software-level interventions.
Once you’ve applied these solutions, run a battery of stress tests:
If your CPU maintains clock speed without throttling and temps stay below 85°C under full load, your overheating problem is likely solved.
Even after resolving it, overheating can return if you don’t manage your system proactively. Here’s how to prevent it:
If repasting, undervolting, or flashing firmware feels too risky or if your laptop is still overheating even after basic maintenance, it might be time for professional help.
At Volta PC Upgrade & Repair, our technicians specialize in:
We handle everything from casual gaming rigs to high performance mobile workstations.
Don’t let overheating throttle your hardware. Book a free diagnosis at Volta PC and we will get your thermals under control.
Overheating is not just uncomfortable, it shortens the lifespan of your components, throttles performance, and increases the chance of system failure. Whether you’re gaming, streaming, or editing, managing CPU temps should be a top priority.
Stay cool literally and keep your machine running at peak efficiency by staying on top of thermal maintenance. And if you ever hit a wall? Let the pros at Volta PC Upgrade & Repair take over.
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