As mentioned before, gaming can be fun for most people, but only if you are comfortable with your computer. If you find yourself getting too hot while gaming, it is time to put some limits into play.
You may have tried using the built-in cooling features of your laptop, but that usually does not work very well. That is because those settings actually reduce performance in games!
In this article, we will go over all of them about how to stop laptop from overheating while gaming.
It is better to just limit how much graphics power you use or turn off 3D acceleration altogether than lowering these settings. This way, your computer will start working more efficiently, and thus stay cooler.
There are several things you can do to prevent your laptop from overheating while gaming. By learning the causes of heat buildup, you will know what to look out for when trying to lower temperature.
Table of Contents
Make Sure Your Laptop Is Properly Ventilated
As mentioned earlier, one of the biggest causes of laptops overheating while gaming is that there are not adequate air vents.
Since most gamers keep their laptops closed for extended periods of time, they may be creating an overheated situation!
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If you notice your laptop getting warmer than it was before, check out our list above to see if these tips work for you. If they do, roll up your sleeves and dive in hard!
Hopefully, you will never experience a catastrophic failure due to overheating, but by knowing how to prevent heat buildup, you can at least limit the damage slightly.
Make Sure Your Laptop Is Not Overheating
As mentioned earlier, one of the biggest causes of laptops stopping working or even completely shutting down is when they get too hot.
If you are having difficulty controlling your computer due to it getting hotter than normal, it’s important to determine if this is an issue that can be fixed at home!
There are several things that could cause your laptop to heat up more quickly so we will go over some potential reasons here. By looking out for these warning signs, you will know what needs fixing and how to do so.
It is very important to remember that although most laptops have a cooling system already built in, it does nothing unless you activate it.
This means you will need to make sure your laptop is properly cooled first before trying any other fixes.
Check Your Heat Sink And Heat Pipes
One of the biggest causes of laptop overheating while gaming is when there are not enough cooling fins in place to conduct excess heat away from the GPU.
A standard feature found on most graphics cards these days is something called a heat sink. This is an aluminum plate that acts as an extra conductor for heat being emitted by the GPU.
Having more solid surfaces helps keep the card cool and functioning properly. However, not every manufacturer includes this tool in their product.
If you notice your laptop getting hot even after using the supplied tools to regulate temperature, then check if your CPU or GPU does not have adequate thermal coverage.
You can also buy additional components such as thermal paste or gels which help conduct heat away more effectively.
Check Your Cooling Fans
One of the biggest causes of laptops overheating is when one or more of the laptop’s cooling fan(s) stop working properly.
If you notice that your computer is getting warmer even after using it for a few minutes, then check out if its cooling system has stopped working.
You can easily check this by opening the laptop up and looking to see whether there are any vibrations while the machine is running.
If none are detected, then chances are very high that either the CPU or GPU (graphics processing unit) has shut down due to overheating.
If both of these components are still functioning correctly, then try changing the temperature settings in the software used for gaming.
This can be done in either Windows or Linux via their respective control panels. Lowering the temperatures will usually speed up the computer and vice versa!
Another way to prevent heat-related failures is to use an external cooler such as a gel pack or cooling pad. These can be purchased online or from certain retailers who sell tech gear.
Use A Laptop Cover
A computer case is very important, as it protects your machine from bumps and cracks. However, some cases are not designed well and do more harm than good by preventing your laptop from cooling down.
Computer cases come in many shapes and sizes, but most have one thing in common flaps or covers that extend over the front of the computer.
These covers typically contain ventilation holes and are used to protect the computer’s face surface, which can get dirty or scratched.
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However, these covers also negatively affect how effectively your laptop cools off. The reason has to do with airflow.
When you use your laptop without a cover, you expose the plastic lid to air, allowing for better heat dissipation.
When you put the cover back onto the laptop, however, you block some of this flow, leading to hotter temperatures.
This is particularly true if the cover is made out of solid material, instead of mesh-like cloth.
If you need to use a laptop cover, make sure it does not interfere with the shape or position of the laptop screen. Also, watch out for hard edges or corners that could hurt your device.
Use A Cooling Gel or Cool Patch
A cooling gel can be stuck onto your laptop’s surface area, or you can use a thin piece of cloth as a thermal pad.
Both of this help dissipate heat by absorbing it and then slowly releasing it into the air, helping ensure your computer does not overheat.
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You can also try using an external fan to increase airflow across the device. This may be helpful if you noticed your laptop is getting hot even with the mentioned temperature-limiting gels or patches applied!
And lastly, make sure that your battery is fully charged when it is completely drained, it will start heating up more rapidly due to having less energy to work with. Make sure that it is at least half full for the best results.
Run A Software Update
One of the biggest causes of laptops overheating while gaming is not changing your laptop’s settings or features, but instead poor cooling.
As mentioned earlier, ensuring that your computer’s heat sink and thermal paste are in good working order can help prevent this, but sometimes it takes more than just some tinkering!
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If you’re experiencing consistent issues with your laptop overloading due to temperature when playing games, then one of the first things we recommend doing is running an updated operating system.
Updating your Windows 10, 8, or 7 machines may be able to fix any compatibility problems that could be causing your laptop to get warm.
By updating your OS automatically via Settings > Update & Security, your computer will have time to thoroughly check for updates before getting worked under pressure.
Limit Your GPU’s Power
One of the biggest culprits of laptop overheating while gaming is your graphics card. More powerful GPUs have higher performance, but also consume more electricity.
If you need maximum performance when gaming, then having a high-end GPU is totally fine!
But if you are just using the computer for general use or streaming videos, spending extra money on less powerful cards can save your computer from malfunctioning due to heat.
There are two ways to limit the power of your GPU: using low-quality settings and limiting the temperature.
Conclusion
If you’re wondering how to stop laptop from overheating while gaming, first you need to understand what’s happening.
The problem is that the vents on your laptop aren’t designed to handle all the heat your computer is generating. That’s why your laptop ends up overheating and shutting down.
If you want to prevent this from happening, you can read our blog to find out what you can do to solve this problem.
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