“Is it possible for laptop heat sinks to stop working?”

(Answer requested by Sameer Chakma.)

No, if you mean your question literally: At its heart, a computer’s heat sink is usually just a piece of inert metal. There’s nothing to break or stop working.

But I suspect you mean: “Is it possible for a PC’s heat-removal system to malfunction?” and that answer is a definite yes.

Thermal bonding: The heat sink — again, usually just inert metal — is held to the CPU/GPU or other hot chip or device with special, heat-conductive thermal paste or glue, and/or tight mechanical fasteners to ensure firm contact and good heat flow from the device to the sink. If the paste/glue or fasteners fail or come loose, heat won’t be able to exit the chip or device at the designed rate. Because some of the heat never gets to the heat sink — which itself is perfectly fine — the chip or device can overheat.

Duct/Fan Issues: The heat sink’s upper surface is usually molded with bumps or fins to increase its surface area; a fan draws cooler room air across these fins to remove their excess heat, and blows the heated air out a vent somewhere on the PC. Reduced airflow due to a problem with the fan(s), or with dust blockage in any part of the cooling system, also can result in overheating.

So, if your laptop or PC is experiencing overheating, it’s almost surely not the heat sink itself.

Rather, look for dust blockages, a dying fan, or — especially in a laptop that’s been dropped or treated roughly—- in a heat sink assembly that’s no longer properly attached to whatever it’s trying to cool.

If the latter — and if you’re willing and able to work on the guts of your system — you might be able to retighten the mechanical fasteners and/or to remove the heat sink, clean off the old thermal grease/glue from the sink and whatever it was attached to, and reinstall the heat sink with a thin, fresh layer of thermal grease/glue (it’s not very expensive: thermal grease glue – Google Search ).

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