Laptops heat up because, well, it’s inevitable by design for all things electronic. However, there is a variable threshold that separates normal heating from abnormal heating. Unfortunately, laptops tend to cross that threshold far too often when put under intense workloads. Some models may even cross the next threshold and enter dangerous heating territory. Up next, we are going to discuss these overheating problems, the possible reasons for these, and practical solutions.
Get to Know the Two Measures of Laptop Overheating
The Lenovo Legion 5 and the Razer Blade 15 can both reach internal temperatures surpassing 100°F, but they are also two of the coolest (comparatively) laptops of 2022. This is because their respective designs allow them to dissipate that heat quickly, effectively and continuously. No matter how hot the laptops get, it will not be felt as scorching on the user’s skin. Therefore, the generated heat does not fall into the overheating category from the user’s physical perspective.
The second measure of overheating is more measurable and has a direct impact on performance. This is when a laptop gets so hot that it ends up thermal throttling its own performance under load. Thermal throttling is a bottleneck safety measure that keeps any computer from overheating into dangerous territories. Both can occur simultaneously of course, but it usually takes a lot more than 100°F for the thermal throttling to kick in. If thermal throttling is indeed causing a problem, that’s where the next point comes in.
Use a Gaming Laptop Cooler
A gaming laptop cooler is an external laptop cooler which can be applied to any laptop in general – not just gaming laptops. The manufacturers usually call the device a gaming laptop cooler because gaming laptops are usually the ones that handle the most graphical load. As a result, they are also the ones that heat up more than the average laptop.
Depending on the model, size, shape, design, and effectiveness will vary, but laptop coolers usually consist of at least two external cooling fans with very high RPM count. Irrespective of the model or make, all powerful laptops will eventually become very hot under severe workloads.
This propensity towards gradually increasing heat signatures will be aggravated even further if the workload remains heavy for a significant amount of time at a stretch. Since gaming laptops are not cheap, it is better to protect your investment with an external laptop cooler and make it last a lot longer.
Be Careful What You Buy
Before you buy a laptop, go through the official spec sheet, do a bit of research, and read a few reviews. If a particular model does indeed have an exceptional overheating issue, it will be mentioned. Avoid these altogether if you have not bought one already. For example, the MSI GE76 Raider (2022) is a good gaming laptop but it gets far too hot (120°F – 130°F) on skin contact points to be recommended for safe usage.
Also, MSI laptops have a history of overheating so if you have something that you need to cool, use an external gaming laptop cooler.
