over heating + Left shift key not working (Aspire F5-573G) What should I do?

ARUH
ARUH Member Posts: 15 Troubleshooter
edited June 2023 in Aspire Laptops

Hi,

I thought I posted this question yesterday but I can't see it. Reposting today, sorry if there's a duplicate.

I have an Aspire Aspire F5-573G laptop for several years. Last year the fan started making too much noise I was afraid it will suddenly break. So I took it to a workshop and he replaced the fan with a new one. He applied the thermal paste on CPU and GPU. Since then, the working is working with normal sound. However I feel the laptop is over heating when i'm playing some games. It used to get hot earlier, but I don't think it was as hot as now. Some software utilities i used shows CPU temperature reaching 100 C while playing. Unfortunately I don't know how was much was the temperature reaching before changing the fan.

1- Any explanation why temperature is reaching 100 C? Should I worry about that? What should i do?

2- Could there be some settings I need to change, or something that controls the fan got corrupted?

3- The Left Shift key stopped working several weeks after I changed the fan. Could the fan installation have caused some circuitry problem to the keyboard? or could it be the heat on that side?

4- How can I fix the Shift key? I tried taking it and cleaning + vacuuming with no luck. It might have gotten worse actually.

Thanks

[Edited the thread to add issue detail]

Answers

  • Puraw
    Puraw ACE, Member Posts: 13,035 Trailblazer

    Your 7-year-old Windows10 laptop is not on Acer's eligible W11 upgrade list so if you installed W11, your BIOS is not compatible: Intel Core i7-6500U supports Configurable TDP (Thermal Design Power) to prevent overheating, you should lower the maximum processor power state when plugged-in advanced Power Plan settings from 100% to 95% as the CPU will get damaged when CPU temp. reach 100°C. The repair shop may have also botched the heatsink connection to the fan, check on this picture if all the heat shields/sinks are present and that the correct fan was installed. Poorly applied thermal paste may be another reason for the overheating, don't use compressed air or a vacuum cleaner this will impair the fan. Downgrade to W10 if you are on W11, use Balanced Power Plan and get a temp. monitor app like CPUID HWMonitor and buy a powerful 5-fan cooling pad.

  • ARUH
    ARUH Member Posts: 15 Troubleshooter

    Wow. Thanks for the quick response.

    I am using windows 10.

    I changed the max processor power state to 95%. Will observe for few days.

    I took a photo while he was working on the laptop. It seems okay to my untrained eye. I'm attaching it here.

    Regarding the paste, He did put a small amount not sure about the brand. photo uploaded .

    Unfortunately I didn't pay attention to the fan type.

    Could the overheating have caused any damage to the keyboard circuitry? My Left Shift key stopped working, and it is on the side that gets hot while gaming. I took the face out and tried to clean under it with no luck.

  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 12,027 Trailblazer
    edited June 2023

    Just in addition of what you should be aware of also, and that is that this laptop is an older laptop and its cooling functions allot different to when it was new, laptops components as and like all PC components will dissipate heat less effectively as they get older, as their circuitry material deteriorate as its not only the actual cooling fan and thermal paste that contributes to dissipating heat but it’s the actual circuitry components design themselves that do that also, which over time does deteriorate and hence and why your laptop will run hotter as its gets older, Its like with everything that gets old if you know what I mean and you are old like me😁

    As you can see, the Aspire F5-575Gs thermal module/fan is not the greatest thermal module ever designed by Acer 😂

    Compare that to the latest gaming laptops of Acer current Predator PH18-71.

  • ARUH
    ARUH Member Posts: 15 Troubleshooter

    I can imagine what old age can do to the laptop (and the body :p)

    But here's the thing, i didn't notice it getting as hot as now. The old fan was noisy but it cooling as in the early years i think.

    Now after replacement, the noise is normal, but the heat i think is higher, it kind of stings my fingers at times. I'm almost sure something changed after the replacement.

    So i'm trying to reach a conclusion whether something was botched at the repair shop and maybe we can do another repair, reinstall the fan and the thermal paste, or try another fan.

    Or it's something i just need to live with it and try other tricks like Puraw suggested above, reduce the max cpu state and use a cooling pad. I've already reduced the max state to 90% and the temps reach around 94 C while gaming.

    Oh and for the Left Shift key problem, is there anything to be done now or it is gone for good? it's irritating to use the Right Shift key only :D

  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 12,027 Trailblazer
    edited June 2023

    Changing the fan or paste will make no difference, maybe liquid metal paste but that is a very dangerous paste to use as its conductive and if used incorrectly can destroy your laptop, you can use that. Just to tell you what I’ve done as I’ve got the same problem with an old Aspire V3-571G that runs very hot also, this laptop has an i7-3610QM CPU and Nvidia GT640 dedicated GPU and after a while, you can fry an egg on its base, as it gets so hot. What I do is use a twin fan tablet cooler that pumps cold air into its vents underneath, I’ve also modified its bottom case and put extra vent holes (for the hot air to escape, that is if you want to do that?) also keeping these laptops off the table helps the heat circulate better. With the Shift Key you can either change the key (look for a new key online) or you can change the keyboard.