Lately my Sony Vaio laptop was misbehaving: the cooling fan was going crazy. Just a few minutes after starting up, it would turn to the highest speed and stay there, then in 10-20 minutes the computer would shut off. So I took it apart and found a one centimeter layer of compacted dust obstructing the airflow to the CPU heat sink. When I took the heat sink off, it came out with the CPU "glued" to it.

I probably could put the CPU back in place (together with the heat sink) but I was wondering - should I take it off the heat sink and replace the thermo compound? Does this compound degrade over time? The laptop is about 3.5 years old.

Thanks,

Lately my Sony Vaio laptop was misbehaving: the cooling fan was going crazy. Just a few minutes after starting up, it would turn to the highest speed and stay there, then in 10-20 minutes the computer would shut off. So I took it apart and found a one centimeter layer of compacted dust obstructing the airflow to the CPU heat sink. When I took the heat sink off, it came out with the CPU "glued" to it.

I probably could put the CPU back in place (together with the heat sink) but I was wondering - should I take it off the heat sink and replace the thermo compound? Does this compound degrade over time? The laptop is about 3.5 years old.

Thanks,

you can try applying the new thermo greese. dust is a major issue in computers too.

I sure "can" try... I'm a certified electronics technician...

However, my question is, "SHOULD" or should I not replace the old thermo compound? The heatsink is firmly attached to the CPU. My expertise is with other electronics, not computers...

It's not difficult. Just make sure you get a thin, even coating of thermo paste on there. I prefer Artic Silver over the 'grease' kinds that are either like graphite or lithium.

There are plenty of sites online with instructions for the process. After 3+ years, the paste/grease on there is going to be fairly dry and not transferring heat the way it did when new.

Eric