whats up, my laptop keeps over heating and i dont know what to do about it

Buy a can of compressed air and blow it out for starters.

I agree. Remove all slide in devices and blast out as much dust and dirt as you can. Or consider taking to a shop for a professional cleaning. Sadly, notebooks are not very user friendly when it comes to preventative maintenance by the user.

And check a Laptop Cooling Pad w/ext. power supply.

I don't know what you set it on when you use it, but if you set it on a pillow or any suface that covers most of the bottom (can even be your lap, but you'll probably notice) and vents the laptop can't breath very well and it overheats a lot quicker then when set on a desk or just somewhere with breathing room. This is just a hint, but is probably not your main problem.

Originally Posted by Upgradesforever

I don't know what you set it on when you use it, but if you set it on a pillow or any suface that covers most of the bottom (can even be your lap, but you'll probably notice) and vents the laptop can't breath very well and it overheats a lot quicker then when set on a desk or just somewhere with breathing room. This is just a hint, but is probably not your main problem.

Which is actually why there is a push to call them notebooks, instead of laptops.

Really? I never knew there was much of a dispute between what to call it, I just assumed they were alternate names for it. That is interesting that alone is a push to call them notebooks. It makes sense in a very simplistic way, but I suppose for non-tech-savvy people a lot of "computer common sense" is not so common...and doesn't make as much sense! It's all a matter of perspective!

A: "Hey! I got a notebook the other day!"
B: "Really? What's so special about it?"
A: "Well it has 4 Gigs of RAM, a 9800GM-"
B: "A BOOK HAS COMPUTER PARTS IN IT?!"
A: "....."

On topic: A laptop/notebook cooler works well, and I've also found managing the temperature with a 3rd party freeware such as I8kfangui (for dell notebooks) or Speedfan helps as well.

I never knew there was much of a dispute...

I would not call it a "dispute", rather just a shift in industry trends, as no one is really presenting any opposition to the shift. When portable computing shifted from the "luggable" suitcase type to computers small enough to sit on your lap, "laptop" was used as a cute marketing term. This worked because laptop cases were thick enough to support decent cooling (large heatsinks and fans) for the relatively small amount of heat generated by the typical heat generating devices (CPU, GPU, RAM, chipset, regulator/charging circuits, etc.) of the day - barely.

To differentiate between 8-10 lb laptops and the new "thinner", lighter, more powerful portables hitting the shelves, someone came up with the term "notebook". Thinner still are notepads and tablet PCs (Ironically, the tablet PC is now mutating to great big tabletop PCs where the whole top of the table (or wall mounted screen) is a big touch screen. )

Heat, the bane of all electronics, quickly became an issue as technology advanced and more power (and more heat) came in smaller packages, and thinner portable cases that don't allow for big heatsinks and large fans. Setting portable computers in nice warm laps has never been a good idea - makers have recommended setting the computer on a hard flat surface, like a airplane tray table, for a long time.

To complicate matters, laptops and notebooks have never allowed easy access to the interior of the case for regular cleaning of all the heat trapping dust and dirt that gets pulled in by the fan(s). I recommend PCs be inspected at least monthly, and cleaned as needed. Sadly, cleaning the notebook's interior is not in the capability of most notebook owners, and so it must be taken to a shop for cleaning. How often would depend on how many hours it has run since last clean, and the environment it is used in. They can get quite dirty in just a few months.

In any event, PC health monitoring is essential with all computers, including notebooks. There are several suitable 3rd party monitors, including those mentioned. I would also suggest you look at the monitoring program that came with the notebook, or on the maker's site for their "supported" program.

It's all a matter of perspective!

More of habit probably. They were, and still are, called laptops and most people immediately understand that to mean a portable computer. "Notebook", on the other hand, for many people still conjures up the thought of a pad of paper used to write notes. Sort of like the term "desktop" computer, still used today even though most computer cases are not of the horizontal "desktop" design that actually sat on the desk with the big CRT monitor sitting on top, but of the vertical "tower" type cases that typically sit on the floor - all are often categorized as "desktop", to mean, not a laptop!

Thanks for the explainations! You make a lot of good points. I was at a presentation on the design of the Wii a couple days ago where the head designer from the IBM Wii team discussed the designing of the Wii. I was supprised to find out that Nintendo told them to build for, "Cost, Power, and Performance," which pretty much ended up meaning use the lowest power possible for adaquate performance to keep costs low. They did it for the reason you mention: more power equals more heat and more heat equals spending more money to keep it cool. It was interesting that they used this concept on the Wii and actually the Xbox360 and PS3 as well because I would have thought that the "next gen" systems would have been packed with the best technology. They really just pack them with pretty good, cost efficient technology. It makes a lot of sense though as otherwise they would have to charge prices that consumers wouldn't be happy to pay. As far as the name hame goes, notebook/laptop/desktop, or whatever people call them I supposed is always going to be based on trends...and trends will always be set by marketing and the media.

It was interesting that they used this concept on the Wii and actually the Xbox360 and PS3 as well because I would have thought that the "next gen" systems would have been packed with the best technology.

No way. The best technology is always too new, too cutting edge, and too expensive for the mass market to afford.