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Laptop Running Hot? 
Top Tips to Lower Temperatures & Improve Performance

Modern computers are designed as much as possible to produce as little heat as possible to prevent components from overheating and damaging the system. But as computers get more and more efficient, it’s still inevitable that your system will produce some amount of heat.

 

If your system is running slow and producing more heat than you’d like, then it may be time to look into ways to make your computer run a bit cooler. We’ve compiled a few ways we find useful to make laptops run colder and last longer.
 
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1. Adjusting Power Settings ("Balanced" Mode Instead of "High Performance")

Limiting the amount of power your system uses is a key way of reducing heat, as drawing more power directly leads to more heat being produced. Lowering your power settings not only reduces the heat your system produces, but will also increase battery life.

 

From Windows’ search bar, type “power plan” and select the option “Choose a power plan” or similar, the exact wording can vary depending on the version of windows you are using. Alternatively, these settings can be found by searching, for the control panel, choosing System and Security and finally Power Options.

 

Depending on your system, you should see the options “Balanced”, “Power saver” and “High performance”. If your system is on High Performance or Balanced, consider moving to a lower power plan to lower your power consumption.

 

Note: On Windows 11 there may only be the one power plan “Balanced” available to select.
 

2. Disabling CPU Boost (For Intel CPUs)

While Intel and AMD CPUs have different names for it, the idea behind Boost speeds are the same: Run the CPU faster than its default speeds, which improves performance. This also increases the amount of power used, which in turn causes more heat to be produced.

 

From the previous step, select "Change Plan Settings" next to the power plan you previously selected or in the Windows’ search bar, search for “Edit Power Plan” and select the option with the green battery. In the window that appears, select “Change Advanced Power Settings”. Scroll down in this menu until you find “Processor power management”. Open it, and check for “Maximum processor state”.

 

Lowering these numbers from 100% will stop the CPU from running faster than default, effectively disabling any Boost functionality; even 99% will prevent it while keeping most of the CPUs performance available. Make sure to change the numbers for both “on battery” and “plugged in” if you’re using your laptop on the go.
 

3. Cleaning Out the Vents & Fans

As inescapable as the entropy it represents, any computer seeing any amount of use will eventually find itself filled with dust. While small amounts of dust are fine, if a system has been running for years it’s likely that the fans have been covered in dust it can seriously limit their ability to move heat, causing the system to heat up much more rapidly.

 

A full system disassembly is the most comprehensive way to clean a computer, but the simpler way is to blow air into the system. Canned air is available relatively cheaply, or electric pumps are available (do not use a hair dryer; the heat could damage the system).

 

Move the laptop into a well ventilated space (or outside) and spray directly into the vents of your system from around a half meter distance. Make sure to not to spray too close, as this may damage the fans by causing them to spin too quickly. Dust should blow out from the exhaust (point the exhaust away from your face during this). Once no more dust seems to be exiting, repeat the process on any other exhausts on your system.
 

4. Limiting Background Applications & Resource-Heavy Tasks

While modern computers are more capable of multitasking than ever, having multiple programs open at once will still use system resources. This leads to the system producing more heat, on top of reducing performance in high-power software such as CAD, video editing or games.

 

Try and keep the minimum programs open you need to do your work; if you’re using CAD software, do you need a web browser open? If you do, can you use another device, such as your phone?

 

For gaming, do you need to run at the highest graphics settings and framerates? If not, lowering graphics and limiting your framerate (down to 60 or to match your display’s refresh rate) will stop your system from running at maximum speeds, which in turn means you’ll produce less heat.
 

5. Repasting the CPU/GPU

Disclaimer: this step may void your device's warranty, do this entirely at your risk. If the machine is within the warranty period, contact the retailer / manufacturer's tech support first (to see if they can assist with any temperature issues). If the device is outside of the warranty, you may visit a repair shop instead as they may be able to assist. 

 

Reapplying thermal paste is one of the most effective ways to reduce your system’s temperature. However since it involves opening the system and dealing with the motherboard directly, we wouldn’t recommend the less technical users to perform this themselves. Guides online do exist for some systems, but we would largely recommend taking this to a laptop repair shop, where it’s a fairly simple procedure.

 

For a short explanation on why thermal paste is so important: It's the part of the system that connects the CPU and/or GPU, the two biggest sources of heat in a system, to the heatsink. The heatsink is then cooled by the fans so it can continue to absorb heat. If the paste dries up (as it will in older systems) it becomes much less able to move heat to the heatsink, so cleaning and reapplying the thermal paste helps to ensure the cooling system in your laptop works. 
 

6. Using a Laptop Cooling Pad (Stationary Use Only)

Most heat is produced while the system is plugged in and performing performance heavy tasks, either at home or at work. While attaching an air conditioner to your system would be impractical, you can still improve the cooling of your system in a home environment; with cooling pads!

 

Their effectiveness will depend on how your system’s heat in-takes/out-takes are positioned as a laptop without any ventilation on the bottom will receive very little benefit. Make sure to check your laptop and the pad you’re buying to make sure the fans align.
 

7. Keep the Laptop on a Hard, Flat Surface

Alternatively, if you’re not interested in spending money on a new place to keep your laptop, just move it somewhere else. It’s easy to get comfortable with a system and use it on a sofa, in bed or or on top of any other soft furnishing. But while you’re comfortable, your laptop’s fans are choking themselves in their own heat, putting your system at risk of overheating.

 

With fanless computers such as tablets and smartphones being so commonplace, it’s understandable to assume your incredibly thin laptop can work anywhere as well. But laptops often have more powerful hardware inside that needs to be actively cooled, so be aware if that’s the case.
 

8. Updating BIOS & Drivers

Disclaimer: updating BIOS / or any firmware carries some risks of breaking the device, do this update entirely at your own risk.

 

Computers are always improving in terms of performance and efficiency, and oftentimes this includes systems that you already own. Software updates can fix problems that cause overheating issues, or make programs more efficient and use less battery. While huge improvements shouldn’t be expected, small performance gains across multiple pieces of software can add up, as well as glaring flaws being fixed being a huge benefit.

 

Windows Updates can be a great place to start for general updates, after which the next big update is the GPU (ideally downloaded from the manufacturer’s website). Next would the OEM’s updates, such as from Dell, HP or Lenovo. These companies often have software specifically for downloading their updates, but if your system doesn’t then their website will usually have up to date drivers on them.

 

The big update to do is your BIOS - while this is an update that affects the motherboard and is likely to have improvements to power management and temperatures, it’s also one to take seriously. Disrupting the system during a BIOS update can cause the system to become entirely inoperable. Making sure your laptop has a charged battery or your desktop computer is using a UPS where possible drastically reduces the risk of a power outage ruining your system.
 

9. Shutting Down or Using Sleep Mode When Idle

Constantly using a system is the same as constantly making heat. A modern computer is always doing things in the background: whether it’s checking for notifications or downloading files. Putting your system to sleep can reduce these processes and keep your system running cooler before you need it to do heavy work.

 

But even sleep mode can’t compete with shutting down the system entirely. The only thing a system that’s powered off is trying to do is keep the time, which requires a trivially small amount of power. Giving your system a full shutdown not only gives the components time to cool down to room temperature, but also gives time for updates that need a restart to work.
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Constantly using a system is the same as constantly making heat. A modern computer is always doing things in the background: whether it’s checking for notifications or downloading files. Putting your system to sleep can reduce these processes and keep your system running cooler before you need it to do heavy work.

 

But even sleep mode can’t compete with shutting down the system entirely. The only thing a system that’s powered off is trying to do is keep the time, which requires a trivially small amount of power. Giving your system a full shutdown not only gives the components time to cool down to room temperature, but also gives time for updates that need a restart to work.

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