On Our Bench: Overheating Gaming Laptop With Clogged Vents and Dust-Caked Fans (NJ)

Posted October 10, 2026 at 7:04 AM ET

A real repair from the bench at Dave's Computers in Somerville, NJ. A gaming laptop came in overheating. Once the bottom cover came off, the reason was obvious: the vents were fully clogged and the fan blades were even worse.

🔧 Repairs on Our Bench 🏆 On the Bench Since 2011 📍 Somerville, NJ · Drop-Off Shop

Inside an overheating unbranded gaming laptop with dual fans clogged with dust and an 80Wh battery, on the bench at Dave's Computers in Somerville, NJ — Bottom cover off: both fans packed with dust before cleaning.

What came in

A customer brought in an unbranded gaming laptop because it was overheating. Gaming laptops pack a fast processor and graphics chip into a thin case, so they depend completely on their fans and vents to push heat out. When that airflow is blocked, the heat has nowhere to go.

What we found

We took the bottom cover off and found the vents fully clogged with dust. The fan blades were even worse off, with buildup packed between every blade. The laptop's dual fans and the heat pipes that run between them could not move air through the heatsink fins, so the system was cooking itself.

Close-up of a gaming laptop fan and heatsink vent packed with dust before cleaning at Dave's Computers in Somerville, NJ — Close-up of the fan and vent before cleaning. Dust is packed into the fan blades and across the heatsink fins.

What we did

Cleaned the fan blades with tiny brushes, working the packed dust out from between each blade by hand.
Blew out the vents and heatsink fins with an air compressor to clear the buildup the brushes could not reach.
Wiped away the loose, floating dust inside the case so it would not get pulled right back into the fans.

The result

With the vents and fans clear, the laptop was able to breathe again and move heat out the way it was designed to.

Dave's tip: gaming laptops need cleaning too. A gaming laptop pulls in a lot of air, and dust comes in with it. If yours is running hot, getting loud, or slowing down during games, a buildup like this is a common cause. If you need laptop cleaning, stop by and we will cool it down by thoroughly removing all the dust. Our laptop repair in New Jersey page covers everything we do for laptops, and our laptop thermal paste replacement page explains the next step when a cleaning alone is not enough.

Curious what this buildup looks like up close and why it happens? Read how to clean a laptop fan and why summer is our busiest season for overheating laptops.

Parts on This Job

What we could identify in this laptop.

Part	Brand / model	What we did
Laptop	Unbranded gaming laptop (no manufacturer branding)	Bottom cover removed for a full internal cleaning
Cooling	Dual fans with shared heat pipes	Fan blades brushed clean, vents and heatsink fins blown out
Battery	80Wh internal battery	No work needed

Laptop Running Hot? Bring It to Dave's in Somerville, NJ

Stop by our shop and we will open it up, clear out the dust and get it cooling properly again. Call to schedule or send a repair request.

📞 (908) 428-9558

Mon-Fri 10am-5pm · Sat 9am-2pm · 75 N Bridge St, Somerville NJ · Drop-Offs Welcome