While using a laptop computer I noticed high noise levels, caused by the cooling fan.
I decided to check the CPU temperatures using HWMonitor.
The idle temperatures were around 70° C.
And load temperatures were around 85°-94° C.
These temperatures could be high enough to cause thermal throttling, which would affect system performance.
Therefore I measured performance with 7-Zip and CPU-Z benchmarks.
I decided to disassemble the laptop computer and clean the cooling system, using compressed air.
(Be aware that most compressed air cans contain harmful chemicals, so use them outside or in a well ventilated area)
Cleaning the cooling system had a significant effect.
Now idle temperatures were much lower, around 55° C.
And load temperatures were also lower, around 74°-85° C.
Also noticed much lower fan speeds, so the computer wasn’t as noisy as before.
Table of thermal readings:
| Idle | Load | |
|---|---|---|
| Before cleaning | 70° C | 85°-94° |
| After cleaning | 55° C | 74°-85° C |
| Improvement | 15° C | 9°-11° C |
The system had been affected by thermal throttling, because the 7-Zip and CPU-Z benchmarks improved.
Table of benchmark results:
| 7-Zip score | CPU-Z single | CPU-Z multi | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before cleaning | 12491 | 1321 | 4572 |
| After cleaning | 16572 | 1510 | 5494 |
| Improvement | 32,6% | 14,3% | 20,2% |
Conclusion
It can be relevant to clean a computers cooling system.
It may improve noise levels, temperatures and performance.