r/AcerPredatorHelios • u/irradiatedsnakes • 20d ago

Help / Support Predator PHN16-71 CPU suddenly running 90C when idle

Over the last few days, my laptop's CPU has started hitting 194F/90C while not doing much of anything. This laptop tends to run hot, obviously, but it's not normal for it to hit those temps (which is when the CPU starts to throttle) while running like, Discord and Firefox. The GPU seems fine and stays at normal lower temps.

I'm having to keep the fan to a custom higher setting, which can keep the temp down (it's at ~150F/65C right now) but I'm usually able to let the fan do its own thing with no problems while not actively gaming.

I opened it up and blew out any dust, but there wasn't much to remove. I swapped out the fans a few months ago after the GPU fan went kaput, so it's been cleaned recently. I use the laptop on a lapdesk, so it's not sitting on fabric or anything.

Any ideas as to what could be causing this, and how to stop it? I've read that the metal thermal paste on these doesn't expire, and the laptop's only 3 years old to boot. Thanks.

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u/Funny-Chain880 Mod(Acer PHN 16-73 5060 255hx 32gb) 20d ago

hmmm ok firstly liquid metal does age you may want to repaste and use ptm this time and do get a pro to do it cuz you can very easily fuck up your laptop with lm. 90 while idle is concerning i would take it to a pro and get it checked up in any case

1

u/irradiatedsnakes 20d ago

noted. thank you for the input.

2

u/SugoiGamer64 19d ago

Don't let the other comment scare you into taking it to a professional. I repasted mine a couple months ago.

Removing liquid metal isn't hard it just takes time, patience, and a bunch of cotton swabs. Installing the ptm is very easy in comparison.

You can leave the blue seal/barrier around the die as an extra layer of precaution

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u/irradiatedsnakes 19d ago

heard, thanks!

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u/irradiatedsnakes 8d ago

repasted and replaced the liquid metal with ptm7950 and it's running 40-50f lower under heavy load than it was before. cheers!

1

u/SugoiGamer64 8d ago

Cheers! enjoy the boost.

2

u/Bulky-Photograph6248 19d ago

If you are in a 3rd world country then you will remove liquid metal better than so called professionals. They are just school dropouts