This is a thread made to be attached to the sticky. Feel free to comment however.
Notebooks are tools of the trade, they are meant to be used. As mobile as they are, they also suffer from wear and tear, whether it be evident in such cases as keyboard and wrist rest wear, or tear from accidents. However, one of the most common cases of wear and tear is the cooling system in notebooks.
Due to the size constraints, notebook fans are usually small and come in small amounts, usually one or two depending on the size of the notebook. It may not sound like much, but the fan is a vital part of a notebook, and can make a difference whether or not the notebook will function well and at times, the lifespan of the notebook.
Often overlooked, there has been many questions and inquiries where the fan is the culprit:
1) Why is my notebook so hot?
2) My fans are too loud all of a sudden!
3) Overheating notebook?
Such cases is from these situations is because the fan is being clogged, as well as the air vents. The vents of a notebook let air ventilate the notebook, but where there is air, there is dust, particles, insects, and other various minuscule objects that may be sucked into the vents.
This results in the fan being clogged and can not move hot air in the notebook effectively. As mentioned above, some of the situations there are only some symptoms of what can happen if a notebook is not cleaned enough, or thoroughly.
My
ASUS V6va has been maintained quite well, I own a few cans of compressed air and bi-weekly I spray some air into the vents and I could see dust and particles blow out. I would of thought this would be effective enough to clean my notebook and have it purring. It has been almost 19 months since I have bought the notebook and used it heavily wherever I go, be it at school, a coffee shop, the library or a friends house.
This is a simple guide, a generic guide as most notebooks are not the same in where the insides are. If you find yourself unsure what to do, feel free to ask or contact your dealer so you do not harm your notebook.
Bottom of notebook, there are a handful of screws to open up the back plate. The screws marked 'K' are for the keyboard removal.
As of late, I found my notebook running excessively hot, and the fans would be on very often at max when I play games, or even when I'm watching movies. At idle, the CPU would be at 58-63, and under stress, it ht up to 80 degrees, with NHC warning me about the temperatures. At first, I did my regular routine, take off the back plate, the keyboard and clean the vents with a can of compressed air.
Opening up the back plate, the fan is attached by 3 screws. Make sure there are no 'WARRANTEE VOID' stickers. IN my case, there was none except for the one on the CPU heatsink.
However, being the curious person I am, I decided to take out the fan and see whats up. Well, I found what was the problem.
The fan itself was caked in dust, which was pretty bad considering the maintenance I did with the notebook. Think of what would be the case if a person did not do maintenance with the insides!
Looking further in, I saw the main source of the problem, and it wasn't pretty!
Caked with more dust, hair, and whatnot, the other side of the main vent was pretty clogged. Think of what would be the case if a person did not do maintenance with the fans! Yikes!
I used the can of compressed air to blow majority of the dust and particles away(outside of course), but there were still some that wouldn't come off. To further clean the insides and the fan, I used a handful of Q-Tips, some of them damp, to clean the insides. After a pretty nasty cleaning session, I put everything back together and let it dry for a bit.
What I found inside were a mix of dust, small hairs, coffee grinds(I worked at a coffee shop for a year as a Barista) and lots of unknown bits I don't think I would want to identify.
After a few hours, I booted up the notebook, let it run for a bit and now it's running much much better. The surfing temperatures fell down into the low 50's, gaming would peak at a bit over 70.
Maintenance may seem like a hassle, but to improve notebook temperatures and a healthy lifespan, it's well needed. Like a vehicle, regular changes are necessary, and this notebook is humming away happily.
ASUS Notebook maintenance - Cleaning the fan
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