2020 Razer Blade 15 Advanced Overheats while doing Absolutely Nothing | Razer Insider
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Specs:

Windows 11

Intel Core i7-10875H CPU @ 2.30 GHz

16.0 GB RAM (2933 MHz SODIMM form factor)

RTX 2070 Super Max-Q (8 GB dedicated memory)

 

As the title suggests, my laptop undergoes thermal shutdown (screen off, flashing green power light, fans still running) after a few minutes of being on, even if HWMonitor or Task Manager is the only thing running. It would run warm but was still perfectly usable two weeks ago when I shut it down and left home for a trip, but now it's unusable. 

I use this laptop daily for school and for gaming on weekends (Rivals of Aether, Overwatch 2, NFS Heat/Rivals, sometimes Minecraft and Terraria, etc.) The original battery went bad about 2 years ago, and the replacement lasted another year, and the laptop currently doesn't have a battery. 

HWMonitor shows that the GPU hovers at 60C on startup while the CPU starts at 70 and rapidly spikes to 100C. Total CPU utilization never goes above 15%.


I have already tried:

  • Cleaning the fans and heatsink
     
  • Removing all of the thermal paste and replacing it (Corsair TM30)
    Did this a total of three times (with startups and overheats in between) to be sure I did it correctly rfull chip coverage without any overspill, torqued screws as tightly as possible without stripping them]). I didn't replace the thermal pads, but all but one were still malleable and seemed fine. 
     
  • ​​​​​​​Putting the laptop on a lifted grate for increased airflow
     
  • Checking for malware: Microsoft Defender's last scans reported nothing, and any scan attempt now gets thermal shutdown before it can complete (I'm 99.5% sure there's no malware though) 
     
  • Disabling CPU Turbo Boost 
     
  • Running max fans
    This and disabling turbo helped marginally, I get spikes to 100C and hover around 70 on idle, but i still can’t do anything more intensive than watching a YouTube video 
     
  • Uninstalling several games (My ssd was almost full when the first shutdown happened and I thought that caused it
     
  • Disabling all nonessential startup apps
     
  • Checking for system updates
     
  • Updating BIOS (from 1.04 to 1.06)

 

Everything except perma-max fans and turbo-boost off did nothing to help. I took it to Staples and they weren't able to help either.

I’m working on undervolting, but I’ve read that it doesn’t really help idle temperatures which is what I’m struggling with.

I'm out of ideas, the laptop’s out of warranty, and every forum I've seen discussing Blades overheating suggests doing things I've already done. Is there *anything* else I can try short of soldering something on the motherboard or buying a new computer?

I need this computer for school so I really need this issue resolved quickly. I’d appreciate any advice you all have.

After some more head-scratching, I think the most logical conclusion is that the heatsink has gone bad. I have ordered another heatsink off Ebay and will update this post once it’s installed.


Finally got the heatsink and installed it, turns out that was the problem. I suspected it was the problem when the CPU was throttling but the fans were on max and blowing cold air out. Hope that info helps someone.


Where did you get the heatsink?

I'm having the same issue.


Where did you get the heatsink?

Sorry, I didn't see the part about eBay before I commented.


So the heatsink gone bad by itself? any viusal damages? 


I replaced the heatsink in mine and it didn’t fix the problem.  I think the GPU is going bad and I can’t swap that out easily.


I'm coming to the same conclusion with a similar model.

I’ve attached a thermal probe around the CPU/GPU area which displayed 90c~100c but as you travel towards the end of the Vapour Chamber Heatsink to the exhaust vents, the heat is not moving towards the heat spreaders.
It appears the heat is trapped, possible faulty VC Heatsink, I’ve ordered a used but hopefully a working replacement.

I can also verify this by touch, temps around the ends of the VC heatsink and heat spreaders are cool to the touch, almost room temp but the surface area around the CPU and GPU are blazing hot and far too hot to touch.

I would like to also add, no visible punctures or damage to the VC Heat sink, no visible witness of liquid to suggest there was a leak.


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