People often complain that their PC or Laptop is heating up abnormally and affecting their productivity. It is one of the most prominent and common issues with a faulty or ageing PC. Even the most sophisticated PC is going to age and fall into the trap some day.

But the thing is, sometimes it is normal for your pc to get hotter as it ages. Confused? Let me elaborate.

Components of your PC tend to degrade as they aren’t built to last forever. Dust starts to build-up on your fans and internals and if you’re careless muck can also begin to build upon the ridges and ports — restricting natural airflow. Even the thermal paste on your processor tend to degrade and lose their capacity to transfer heat onto the heatsink.

Usually, at idle a PC operating temperature is between 35-65 degree C (95- 149 degree F) and under load, it can reach up to 80 degrees C (176 degrees F) anything above that is considered overheating.

All of the PC components such as CPU, GPU, and your hard drive produce heat, and without proper ventilation, due to the accumulation of dust and muck on your PC, you can easily increase temperatures by 15% to 25%. Where you store and operate your laptop also has a significant impact on its operating temperature.

Do you want to check your PC’s temperature? You can use software like Open Hardware Monitor, Core Temp or any others available all over the internet that would help you in monitoring your CPU, GPU and hard disk’s core temperatures.

Also read: 7 reasons why your smartphone is heating up and how to tackle it

Tips to prevent overheating your PC

• Storing: Store and operate your PC in a cool and dry place. It is always helpful if there is proper airflow around your PC.
• Cleaning: Cleaning your PC would be a good idea, as previously mentioned, due to continuous usage there will be dust and muck buildup in your PC, which traps heat and suffocates it.
• PC Fan: Check your exhaust fan speed and its operational frequency. Older fans tend to become faulty which causes heat build-up. Try software like SpeedFan or others to monitor your fan speed.
• Background applications: Keeping a check on background applications would be a good idea. These apps sync, update, and run processes in the background and might stress your PC, causing it to heat up.
• Third-party solutions: Consider investing in a good cooling system. The third-party market has many solutions to cooling down overheating PCs.
• Faulty component: Keep an eye on individual component temperatures if your system is heating abnormally. You might be able to weed out the issue by checking individual components as it might even just be a faulty component that needs to be replaced.
• Positioning: Keep your exhaust vents clear of any obstruction and avoid using it near or on bedsheets and other squishy surfaces.
• Thermal pasting: If your PC is considerably older, you can try reapplying thermal paste on your CPU and GPU but be warned though because this might void your warranty and its best if you let professionals do it for you.

As devices become complex and powerful, they tend to overheat as they age and it’s something that happens to almost all PCs and other modern devices such as phones and tablets too. But it can be solved if you put in a bit of time and effort. Hopefully, with this article, we’ve helped you identify and understand your PC’s temperatures and helped you solve its overheating issue.

Also read: Is disabling Windows services a good idea to speed up your computer?