It's getting hot in here..

Living in a country that has an average ground temperature of around 35C isn't easy for a guy that's fresh out of London. But this problem is further amplified by the fact that my AW kicks out some serious heat. I've had it for over a year now and I've gotten quite used to it to some degree but lately paranoia has started to get the better of me. I mean, this thing gets seriously hot! It's starting to worry me slightly. I'm actually nursing a nice rectangular blister on the palm of my hand (courtesy of that shiny metal tag-plate) after relocating it after a couple of hours solid gaming. It's been like this for as long as I can remember but now I'm based in a country where 90% of the population are computer illiterate and any clown who can pick up a screwdriver will tell you he's a professional computer technician (until he breaks or steals your rig, at which point he pulls a Houdini, never to be seen again). If I were to encounter a critical hardware failure it would result in a waking nightmare as I go about trying to rectify the matter. So basically, I've been wondering whether it's normal for the underside of the machine to get almost untouchably hot? To be specific, the heat builds up almost entirely on the back righthand side of the laptop (as you're using it) and directly underneath the touchpad. Any ideas? I think it's trying to tell me something, but I really don't know what...



Edit:



Ok, I just removed the card to take a look at it (I'm curious like that..) and took a couple of pictures. I've never actually done this before so I really don't know what I'm looking for but the thermal paste doesn't look too good in my completely uneducated opinion. Could this be the cause of the heat issues I'm experiencing? Or is this normal? Please take a look if you have the time, this is bothering the hell out of me! Thanks.

Reply 1 : It's getting hot in here..

Well, the paste dries out after a while... especially the standard Dell paste. As you lifted the heatsinks you MUST clean away the old paste and reapply new, fresh paste, otherwise the paste won't be of any use at all and you'll fry your system.



Also make sure the vents and the system generally are free from dust and for a good airflow I recommend lifting the system a bit with a book or similar, especially in a hot environment like yours.



Get new paste immediately, some stuff to clean the old paste away (e.g. isopropyl alcohol) and repaste (if you need help, check out inaps guide) and feel free to ask if anything is unclear.



Btw, did you ever measure the temps before removing the GPU?

Reply 2 : It's getting hot in here..

repasting is a must now, since you opened it up and broke the thermal paste seal. also maybe a good idea to invest in a notebook cooler.

Reply 3 : It's getting hot in here..

B a l l s !



Ok gonna shut down right now! Thanks for the help guys.

Reply 4 : It's getting hot in here..

you can prolly get away with running on stealth mode until you repaste it.