Thinkpads Forum

I have a ~3 yr old T60p 2008 (ATI gfx) that has already been in 2 or 3 times over the last few years with problems overheating. I have no idea what work has been done (corporate owned not personal)

Things have been building up recently and again I'm at the point where running even a single core intensive process will cause the CPU to hit 100 deg.C (GPU lower at ~83). The fan is reporting it's running at ~3500 and eventually up to 3800. Ambient is around 21 deg.C (aircon)

This was whilst debugging (lots of trace statements) an install prog -- so regular work not an artificial glxgears/cpuburn test

I'm planning to vacuum things out this evening, but assuming that doesn't work, and before I send it off for repair, should I be checking/speccing anything?

Are there any system board/fan ECs?
SHould I be "demanding" they replace the heatsink & thermal paste & fan?
Is it fair to assume the system should be able to cope at running max cpu without getting anywhere near 100 deg.C. I'd assume it should top out at low 80s at most

See if you have dust bunnies in your CPU fan. Remove the keyboard, hold the fan itself with your finger so it cannot spin, and then blow the fan-area out with compressed air.
That place should be cleaned every 2-3 months if you regularly use that laptop.