dell vostro 3500 (new with core i7 11th generation) overheating

I have the same problem with the same model of laptop (Dell Vostro 3500) even after applying new thermal paste and cleaning the fan and vents it still overheats even if i am not doing anything at all.

I tried to disable turbo boost but power settings in bios is locked in this model so i used an external software called throttlestop which allowed me to disable turbo and the temperature decreased after that but now how can I fix this issue without using an external software ?

Hi there.

I recently made my mind up about overheating issues with a Dell Latitude 5421 which i already sent back because of a very weak design in terms of heat dissipation.

I took a look into your service manual and the system specs - i think there is quite something you can do, but it will take some time, precise working and also the guts to do so - i warn you, that you can ruin stuff if you dont know how to do it - so keep that in mind please.

First at all lets take a look on the bottom of your unit:

The design is "ok" - there could be more ventilation slots, but from the overall perspective i would say that this is not causing a real problem and also not to be accounted as an technical flaw.

Watching the core of your unit shows some flaws and also some modifications you could do.

There is obviously only one heat-pipe covering the CPU - right now i really dont see where that GPU is, but i marked three things not only in yellow, but also putting a blue circle around that area.

First at all there might be the most obvious thing which might cause your overheating issues - there is a feeble paste job made in the manufacturing / assembly factory back then and the sad thing about this - you can only check that on your own and have to remove the heatpipe/sink. But once you do this, you must be prepared to clean stuff real good and also be able to reapply thermal paste - there are a few which are decent and will work very well, like arctic mx-4 or noctua NT-H2.

This would be , at least for me being picky with heat in notebooks, not the only change or modification in your notebook. You see those three bigger marked things on your motherboard as well as the other smaller only yellow marked things. I would obviously try to install some thermal pads on them with additional thin and small copper shim plates. All of this stuff can be bought via amazon and if you apply that stuff the right way, might make a HUGE decrease in the overall heat as well as stopping your unit to overheat. Nonetheless - you will still have a HOT notebook - but crucial parts should not overheat that much and would be better in getting rid of that heat. Especially the CPU and GPU(?!?) after a well done repaste job. 

The easiest way to get your system down with cooling would be one of these modern notebook stands with included fans (2-3). No need to open the unit and dissasemble and do some dirty work inside there. But i doubt that this will be the final solution for your problem.

I hope that did help. There is tons of resources and also some stuff being available in terms of youtube videos and manuals how to apply and repaste thermal paste as well as applying thermal pads.

All the best with your unit! Once again, please take care whatever you do - there is a risk of damaging stuff if you do it the wrong way and dont take care working inside of your notebook!

Thanks a lot for your detailed explanation. I agree with you that these are some design flaws that are leading to overheating. However, if it was only a design issue, it would have overheated from the very beginning. At first months of usage there was no overheating issues at all and the laptop functioned normally. Now even on idle, plugged in or not, it always overheats in a minute.

Thanks again for your explanation, I appreciate it and I think if I apply your suggestions the temperature would drop by at least 5 degrees. 

best regards