Penny just put her home theater Mac Mini into a cabinet to childproof it and now it's overheating. Leo says that needs better airflow. Raising it off the cabinet shelf is a good idea, or take it out and put it higher up so it can stay cooler.
David's laptop shuts down while he's playing Call of Duty. Leo says that's a protective measure. If the laptop gets too hot, it will shut down by design. The best thing he can do is make sure the laptop has free flowing air all around it so it can cool itself. Make sure that dust isn't blocking the airflow slots. Look to see if the laptop's fans are working properly. It could also be the thermal paste has been misapplied to the processor. It may be worth bringing in to get looked at.
Chris is a gamer and his laptop computer is shutting down after awhile. Leo says that's likely an overheating problem, which is causing the computer to shut down to protect it. The best thing to do is to make sure the laptop has proper airflow, or maybe have a fan underneath it. He could send it to a technician to clean it out as well.
Alley charges his HTC EVO 3D phone in the car, but it gets really hot. Leo says that as long as it’s not too hot to touch, then that’s normal. But if it’s really hot, that isn’t normal. Leo advises to take it back to the store and request a replacement. Tell them you’re worried it’ll explode. They’ll probably give you a new one as it sounds like the battery is overcharging and that could cause an explosion. Also, use a UL listed charger only. (thanks chatroom!)
Most modern computers have sensors on them to monitor all of that stuff, but they all do it differently. There are a couple that will do this though.
Leo and the chatroom both suggest this one, because it's been around for a long time.
Leo's used this one in the past, but it will have to work with his hardware.
