ROG Strix G1513IC High temp on idle - Planning to go to a service center for maintenance

[Izo]

Good day, 

My ROG Laptop has been with me for almost 2 years now and it hasn't been maintained in any way. I am noticing a consistent high temperature (70 - 90 degrees Celsius) of my CPU on idle or when I open chrome. Based on my research, a possible cause would be a dried up thermal paste. I tried re-applying it myself but I can't remove the heatsink and I don't want to force it in fear of breaking something.

Should I go to a service center and have them re-apply it or see if there's another reason why my laptop maintains a high temperature even on idle? If so, how much would it cost? 

Thanks!

[Kezmark · Accepted solution]

I don't quite understand what you mean by "can't remove the heatsink", since it should come off easily if you removed all the screws. That being said, if you're having problems with that then you definitely shouldn't be reapplying it yourself. Just have someone that know what they're doing, do it. Be it a service center, or someone else you trust.

70 at idle is insane to get. So your paste is likely in terrible shape, maybe even wasn't applied well the first time anyway. Also, you should fully dust the fans and heatsink, since having done no maintenance in 2 years, likely means they are clogged with dust.

As for cost? Shouldn't be too much, but honestly I wouldn't know either way, as it depends where you live and where you take it. But it's a very simple and quick job to reapply thermal paste, so I don't see why it would be expensive.

[Izo]

I don't get it myself either. I watched a youtube tutorial on how to remove it and all they did was remove the screws and it's done. I removed all 10 screws of the heatsink but when I try lifting it, it just budges a little. It felt like something else was preventing it from being removed.

Anyway, I don't want to force it so I will go to a service center instead. Thanks!