I've been dealing with thermal throttling on my Acer Nitro 5, which has an i5 9300h and a GTX 1650. Despite using ThrottleStop to alleviate the issue, I'm still hitting crazy temperatures up to 97°C when gaming. The situation has become unbearable. I've tried undervolting, but it hasn't made a difference, and the idle temp is hovering around 75°C. Are there any effective solutions that don't involve tossing the laptop out?
4 Answers
It sounds like you should consider repasting the heatsink. Over time, thermal paste can dry out, leading to poor heat transfer. Reapplying a good quality thermal paste can help lower your temps significantly.
ThrottleStop is primarily for adjusting power, voltage, and frequency limits so you don't hit thermal throttling. However, if you're just slowing down the CPU to manage temps, you’re essentially doing what thermal throttling does. Maintenance of your cooling system is key! Consider repasting both the CPU and GPU if it's been a while since that was last done.
Have you thought about propping up the back of your laptop for better airflow? Also, check if your fans are running loudly—if not, they might need cleaning. And when was the last time you cleaned out the dust from the inside? That can really make a difference.
Cleaning the internals is crucial! It's amazing how much dust can accumulate and affect performance. Make sure you tackle that before anything else.
If you have 75°C at idle, it's definitely time to clean the laptop and apply new thermal paste. I recommend using Honeywell PTM 7950; it's one of the better options for mobile CPUs. Don't settle for those popular brands that can underperform!
Exactly! With my setup, I found that managing the voltages effectively with ThrottleStop helped maintain performance without severe drops. It's definitely better to keep consistent performance than to experience those wild fluctuations!