Hi,

I've had an overheating issue with my Dell Studio XPS 16 for a long time. I did take it to repair once and it had new thermal paste applied. The overheating issue lessened, but still remained though. Now it's been quite a while since and the overheating has got a tad worse yet again. So I want to figure out what exactly is causing the overheating. I've opened the chassis and located the seemingly warmest component. However I don't know what this component is called and what purpose it serves.
Can SOMEONE PLEASE help me figure this out? I've linked some pictures of the component below.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/151/comp11.jpg/

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/854/comp22.jpg/
Laptops use separated apparatus for heatsinks, heat is drawn from the PROCESSOR using copper pipes and an exhaust fan expels it from the device. Pictured here are the contact points on a CPU and a GPU of a Sony Vaio E series laptop.So I should assume that it's my processor that gets overly warm? What can be done to cool down my processor?Clean fan & heat exchanger (looks like small radiator) if full of dust.I'll look into doing that, thank you. You can monitor the temps while the computer is running with: www.hwinfo.com
Download from "blue bar" near top of screen.I bought a spray can and cleaned out whatever dust I could. I also bought a docking station with a fan to help cool it down. It's a major improvement, but it seems the issue cannot be fully resolved.
My guess is just that the Studio XPS 16 clearly has a POOR design and/or poor components. Such is life with Dell
But thanks again for helping me out, Computer_Commando.We do what we can by remote control. For your future reference: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/sxl16/en/sm/index.htm
You could try this: http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/kcs/document?c=us&cs=19&docid=266616&l=en&s=dhs
I ran the Dell System CheckUp, and everything shows up as being just fine. I have read on various websites that this specific model has a poor design which causes the overheating. Though Dell would never admit to that...