CPU Downclock when overheating

[DreamWave]

Hello,
I dont know if this question is in the right place but I'm having a problem with the temperature on my laptop.
I used to have an old acer laptop that throttled the CPU whenever it was overheading so it kept going on. Now I have a new one (for an year now so not that new). Here it is:
Acer Aspire 5738G
Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 2.2 Ghz 800 Mhz FSB
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 512MB VRAM
4GB RAM
so on..

This one overheats and shuts down on a regular basis. I'm running Windows 7 on it.
And my question is:

Is there an app, utility, or BIOS setting that can Downclock my processor each time it starts to overheat?
Its very annoying to wait for it to cool off and boot again..
Downclocking it manually fixed the problem - it didnt overheat.. But doing it manually every time is a pain in the a**.
Any ideas how to make the processor behave properly ?

 

[RetiredChief]

To the best of my knowlege - No.
But how about solving the root cause:
A) Have you cleaned all the dust and fur balls out of the laptop.
B) A little harder, How about openning it up and redo the HSF (requires new thermo paste). Can google your make/model and how to disassemble. May even want to replace the HSF if it is not spining at the proper RPMs.

 

[DreamWave]

To the best of my knowlege - No.
But how about solving the root cause:
A) Have you cleaned all the dust and fur balls out of the laptop.
B) A little harder, How about openning it up and redo the HSF (requires new thermo paste). Can google your make/model and how to disassemble. May even want to replace the HSF if it is not spining at the proper RPMs.

Yes - I have opened and cleaned it multiple times.
I dont think its the HSF causing it - you can actually hear it spin off when it gets hotter and is blowing out hot air from behind. I even put some extra holes in the plastic where the HSF is so it sucks more air in but that didn't do the trick either.

Shouldn't intel SpeedStep downclock when necessary ?

 

[RetiredChief]

You may have decreased thermal transfer between the HSF and the CPU. Removing the HSF and removing the OLD thermal paste and putting a good thermal paste on, say Artic Silver 5 may do the trick.

I think you'll find that in that cpu series, when it reaches a set temp it just does a shut down to protect the CPU.

 

[DreamWave]

You may have decreased thermal transfer between the HSF and the CPU. Removing the HSF and removing the OLD thermal paste and putting a good thermal paste on, say Artic Silver 5 may do the trick.

I think you'll find that in that cpu series, when it reaches a set temp it just does a shut down to protect the CPU.

Thanks, RetiredChief

I might have removed the HSF a while back when I opened it for the first time and not replaced the termal paste.. I'll be sure to get some paste and try that tomorrow. In the mean time .. I'm still open to any other suggestions and ideas

 

[RetiredChief]

YES, You must ALWAYS replace the thermal compund when removing the HSF from the CPU. If you did not then there is your reason for higher temps.

You are not the first, nor the last to not replace the paste when breaking the contact. Try using some Alcohol (I use the 91%) and a lint free cloth.

 

[DreamWave]

YES, You must ALWAYS replace the thermal compund when removing the HSF from the CPU. If you did not then there is your reason for higher temps.

You are not the first, nor the last to not replace the paste when breaking the contact. Try using some Alcohol (I use the 91%) and a lint free cloth.

Thank you. I was skeptical that the paste can be the cause for such fast overheating. I've always thought it helped but not to such degree.
Yesterday I went and bought a tube. When I took off the heat sink I found out it was one heat sink for the GPU, the CPU and another chip (not sure what it is). The thermal paste of the CPU was old and had dried and had been opened. The two other chips didn't have any thermal paste whatsoever. Don't know why the manufacturer decided they don't need any. I applied thermal paste to the three chips and closed the thing.
Since yesterday the laptop is actually cold.
No excessive overheating.
Problem solved.

Thank you for turning my attention towards this problem.