PSA: A cheap thermal pad trick saved a laptop motherboard in Phoenix

I had a Dell XPS 13 that kept shutting down from heat, even after a full fan clean and repaste. On a hunch, I replaced the tiny thermal pad over the voltage regulator with a 1.5mm Fujipoly pad I had left from another job. The difference was huge, the board runs 15 degrees cooler now. Has anyone else found a specific component that's a common heat culprit on these thin laptops?

2 comments

2 Comments

seth_carr15d ago

Honestly, that bit about the voltage regulator being the real problem makes so much sense. My old work laptop had the same random shutdowns, and we just kept repasting the CPU. Tbh, I wish I'd thought to check the other components like that.

paul_morgan14d ago

Actually, the voltage regulator is on the CPU...