I have a silver Toshiba Satellite L875D, and a week ago the fan started making a grinding sound and I think it's not working very well anymore. (doesn't make the sound now, but it's not cooling very well. The image above pops up whenever I turn on my laptop.) So whenever i play Agar.io for more than a few minutes my laptop gets too hot and abruptly shuts down.

how difficult would it be to replace the fan/heatsink assembly? (quick google search tells me that it's an integrated heatsink/fan that's thermal pasted on) never done laptop surgery before... how much would someone on here charge to do it for me?

(I'm trying to leverage my wife into letting me get a new laptop because of the issue, but she isn't too receptive since i want a new gaming desktop too)

9/4/2015 5:18:31 PM

9/4/2015 5:50:06 PM

You have to ask your wife if you want to get a new laptop?

9/5/2015 12:22:28 AM

He's a teacher, they don't have laptop money laying around.

9/5/2015 3:44:03 PM

Ah ok.

9/5/2015 4:17:18 PM

^^^ says the guy without a wife

9/5/2015 5:36:05 PM

Very traditionalist are we? Catholic?

I have a partner I've lived with for more than 3 years. Not feeling pressured to get married any time soon. Plus men get married at what? 29-30 these days? Not in a rush.

9/5/2015 9:10:16 PM

^ same, but gf != wife.

9/6/2015 4:40:45 PM

Says who? I've been dating and lived with the same person for over 3 years. We're committed to each other and have other priorities at the moment (buying a house, traveling, having fun). We don't feel a rush to get married. We handle our finances just like a married couple and we discuss big purchases mutually as well.

It's 2015. There's a large population of people who don't feel the need to immediately get married right after college any more and have kids. I think it's discriminatory saying someone's partner isn't the same thing as someone's wife just because they haven't had a wedding and signed a document. In many cases a committed life partner is exactly the same thing as a wife.

I could have said "You have to ask your wife/girlfriend/partner/etc if you want to get a new laptop?" and it would have had the same meaning. I just don't think you can immediately judge someone because they haven't signed a document to get a wife yet. In many cases I could be way more committed to my partner than many people who got married way younger than me.

Just my two cents. It was really sarcasm. If I was buying a laptop I'd consult my girlfriend but I wouldn't have to get permission.

9/6/2015 4:54:22 PM

Quote :

"If I was buying a laptop I'd consult my girlfriend but I wouldn't have to get permission."

which is why girlfriend doesn't equal wife. If she starts to not approve of your spending habits she can just leave your ass with no issues. If you have a wife, theres alot more work that goes into it because there is alot of legal stuff to go through and alot of splitting of property to go through if you want to leave the other person.

My wife and I share a bank account. Its just one big pool of money, so its not "my money" or "her money" its "our money". She would not approve of me going out and spending a couple hundred bucks on a laptop without discussing it with her the same way I wouldn't approve of her doing the same. The whole, "You have to ask your wife for....." is an extremely ignorant statement and deserved the response it got no matter who you live with.

9/6/2015 6:28:41 PM

I understand the legal ramifications. We both have our personal budgets as well as a combined pool of money every month. If she wants to spend some of her personal spending for the month on a nice pair of boots I'm not going to say she can't. Same thing with me purchasing something like a set of skis or a laptop. I know plenty of married couples where this is exactly how it works. I don't think any of that would change if I get legally married.

Although I was approaching it more from a relationship standpoint not a legal standpoint.

So are you saying we just shouldn't get married then I can keep buying toys? Heh.

9/6/2015 7:03:12 PM

today i learned that a girlfriend is the same as a wife, and that i should make thousand dollar purchases for myself without consulting her. sounds like the formula for a long lasting relationship to me.

9/6/2015 7:17:06 PM

Sorry I derailed this thread. Didn't say not consult. Consulting is very different than getting permission.

Back to the topic you want a new laptop AND a new gaming desktop?

I've taken apart quite a few laptops and reapplied thermal paste, replaced heatsink/fans, etc. It's really not too complicated especially on one of those larger laptops. See the video synapse posted before he assisted me in derailing the thread.

[Edited on September 6, 2015 at 7:20 PM. Reason : can't spell]

9/6/2015 7:19:59 PM

consult/permission/agreement... we respect one another and regardless of the wording neither one of us would make a purchase like that without the other's buy-in.

but yes, i ordered a replacement part for under 20 bucks and am just going to try to do it myself. watched that video and it doesn't look too hard... i read somewhere though that the fan/heatsink are a unit for this particular laptop and i might not be able to just swap the fan... is it hard to remove thermal paste and re-apply if necessary? (never done it)

[Edited on September 6, 2015 at 7:27 PM. Reason : ]

9/6/2015 7:26:02 PM

That makes sense. Usually the fan and heat sink are one piece that connect to the motherboard of the laptop (where the CPU is). If you're removing the existing heat sink and fan you'll have to reapply new thermal paste. I've seen Dell techs who never reapply new thermal paste but it's generally not a good idea especially if the laptop is older. You can either order some online or probably pick some up at Best Buy.

Something like this is great:

http://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-Performance-Compound-Interface-Material/dp/B0045JCFLY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1441582136&sr=8-1&keywords=ARCTIC+MX-4&pebp=1441582136522&perid=0248EV8WK818YFYK7GJN

There are two schools of thought when applying thermal paste:

1. The pea sized dot school (much easier)

2. Spread it thinly over the entire CPU school (also GPU or north bridge if the heatsink covers another chip). Harder but some people argue it provides better coverage.

You should be able to find a plethora of YouTube videos for either methodology. Remember to clean the entire surface of the processor / chips with some solution that's as close to alcohol as you can get. Rubbing alcohol will work if it's close to 99%. Some solutions are closer to 70% and people say they leave residue.

9/6/2015 7:34:01 PM

Quote :

"chips with some solution that's as close to alcohol as you can get. Rubbing alcohol will work if it's close to 99%"

No. Use a xylenol-based cleaner (most "goo gone" type things are xylenol). Works a hundred times better than rubbing alcohol.

9/8/2015 1:06:41 AM

I've seen a Dell laptop tech use spit before.

9/8/2015 10:44:21 AM