Notebook running very hot

[oldcourt]

I recently purchased an "as new" HP Zbook Studio G7 15.6" laptop with Intel i9-10885H processor running at up to 5.3Gh. It gets very hot indeed.  I mount it on a laptop cradle with cooling fan even when running it on a desk or top temps on any of the 7 cores can reach 100 C.  This can't be good!

Is there any solution, please?

Oldcourt

[DzoNiBratte]

This concerns Intel Core 10th generation processors. It is characteristic of this generation that i7 and i9 CPUs may occasionally have individual cores reaching temperatures of up to 100°C, after which the temperature quickly drops to around 70–80°C due to thermal throttling.

If this behavior started suddenly, there are two possible scenarios:

1. Hardware-related cause – the processor itself, or one of its cores, may be degrading. Unfortunately, this is a known issue with some 10th generation Intel processors, and in such cases there is no permanent solution.

2. Software-related cause – the operating system. Windows 11 is known for several issues, including increased background load caused by telemetry services, Copilot, Recall, and other background processes, which can significantly stress the CPU.

Recommended steps:

• If you are not technically experienced, do not attempt the following yourself. Take the laptop to a professional service center.

• From a technical standpoint, recommended actions include:

  • Open the device and replace the thermal paste with a high-quality one (e.g., Arctic MX-6).

  • Clean the cooling fan and remove dust from the entire motherboard.

If the device was purchased as refurbished, this maintenance may have already been performed, but it is still worth verifying.

• For software diagnostics:

  • Download any Linux distribution, create a bootable USB drive, and start the system in Live mode (without installing it).

  • In Live mode, you can surf the internet and perform basic tasks while monitoring CPU temperatures.

  • If temperatures remain stable, this strongly indicates that the issue is related to Windows.

  • Alternatively, test Windows Safe Mode, but this is less reliable.

• Additional Windows mitigation:

  • Limit the processor maximum state to 99% in your Power Plan settings. This prevents the CPU from reaching 100% load and can reduce thermal spikes, helping with stability while troubleshooting.

These are the recommended diagnostic steps.
Please inform us about the outcome.

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Best regards.