An overheating PC throttles its own speed, shuts down to protect itself, and slowly damages components. The good news: most causes are cheap to fix.
Why it happens
- Dust. The number one cause. Dust clogs fans and heatsinks until heat has nowhere to go.
- Dried thermal paste. The paste between the chip and its cooler dries out over a few years and stops transferring heat.
- Blocked airflow. A laptop on a blanket, or a desktop shoved against a wall, can't breathe.
- A failing fan. Fans wear out and slow down or stop.
The cheap fixes
- Clean it. A few dollars of compressed air, blowing out the vents and fans, fixes a surprising number of overheating machines.
- Give it air. Hard flat surface for laptops; a few inches of clearance for desktops.
- Repaste. Fresh thermal paste is a few dollars of material and makes a real difference on older machines.
When it's more serious
If it still overheats after cleaning, you may have a failing fan or a cooler that's come loose. Those are quick fixes for us but worth doing before the heat damages something expensive.
A tune-up includes a full internal cleaning and thermal check. If a fan or cooler needs replacing, we'll quote it before doing the work.
Still stuck? We can help.
We're in Dawsonville and we fix computers for people all over North Georgia — Cumming, Dahlonega, Gainesville, Canton, Jasper and beyond, plus remote support anywhere. Diagnostics are a flat $24.99, credited toward the repair if we fix it, and free if we can't. (706) 203-2563 or start a repair request.