My MSI Katana 15 B13V usually reaches the high 70s or low 80s Celsius when playing demanding games such as Sea of Thieves and Forza Horizon 6. Recently, it has been consistently reaching 87–88°C, even while playing a relatively lightweight cozy game called Dressmaker. I cleaned the fans with the back panel removed and also tried an Ewent cooling tray, although it has not noticeably lowered the temperatures. I am mainly using it now to raise the laptop and improve airflow. The game only takes about 1 GB of storage, so I expected it to run cooler. My laptop has an Intel i7 processor, 16 GB of RAM, and an RTX 4070, while the game only lists fairly low minimum requirements. Is 88°C dangerous or abnormal, and is there anything else I should check?
3 Answers
Make sure the laptop has plenty of airflow underneath it. Raising the rear with a stand or a couple of books can help more than many cooling trays, as long as the intake vents are not blocked. Room temperature also makes a noticeable difference. I would not assume the laptop is faulty based on 87–88°C alone.
The amount of storage a game uses does not tell you how much heat it will generate. A small game can still use a lot of CPU or GPU power, especially if its frame rate is uncapped. Check the CPU and GPU usage while playing, and try setting an FPS limit or enabling V-Sync. Around 88°C can be normal for a gaming laptop under load, but keep an eye out for throttling, crashes, unusually loud fans, or temperatures continuing to rise.
If the temperatures are higher than they used to be at the same settings, you could eventually consider replacing the thermal interface material, but I would not make that the first step on a relatively modern laptop. Thermal paste or pads can be installed incorrectly, and liquid metal is especially risky. First check for background processes, confirm the fans are actually ramping up, clean the vents, and use a frame cap or lower power mode.
The game only lists minimum requirements, so those do not really indicate how efficiently it should run. Your RTX 4070 may simply be rendering far more frames than the game needs unless you cap the frame rate.