When I write, a laptop is a far more convenient and efficient option over a fully fledged and overkill desktop PC. I know, don’t hate me! I’m talking more about practicality here—I can just pick one up and carry on where I left off. Anyway, the bottom line is I get to use a lot of laptops and I don’t tend to chuck out any of my old tech, so over the last week or so I thought I’d give them some well-deserved TLC for all the hard work they’ve put in over the years.
This started with my old 2014 MacBook Pro, which I mention in this issue’s How To column. I removed the anti-glare layer that ruins the screens from these specific models, opened up the back case, and gave it a clean. This thing was filthy, so with a can of compressed air, Q-tips, and some small brushes, I carefully went around the PCB and fans to clean it. I then took the heatsink off the CPU, cleaned it up using isopropyl alcohol, and applied a drop of thermal paste. This very quickly improved the thermal performance of this MacBook and reduced fan noise.