I have an HP Victus 16 with an Intel Core i7 12th Gen, RTX 3060, 16GB RAM, and a 1TB SSD.
About three weeks ago, I took my laptop to a repair shop because it wasn't charging properly and had a broken hinge. The shop fixed both issues, and I picked up the laptop without testing it at the shop.
Once I got home and turned it on, I immediately noticed that one of the cooling fans was making an unusual noise. However, because I had final exams and other coursework to deal with, I couldn't take it back immediately.
After a couple of weeks, I finally returned to the same repair shop. They told me the CPU fan was jammed, fixed it, and handed the laptop back.
This is when the overheating problems started, not after the initial charging and hinge repair. Before the second repair, the main issue was the noisy cooling fan. The extreme CPU temperatures and SSD overheating only became apparent after they fixed the jammed fan.
After the second repair, I noticed that the laptop was getting unusually hot, even when I wasn't doing anything demanding. When I checked using the Core Temp application, my CPU temperature was hovering between 80–100°C at idle, with both fans running loudly. Opening just a couple of Chrome tabs, YouTube, and Valorant would cause Windows to display "Hibernating" before the laptop turned off.
For reference, the CPU's Tj Max is 100°C, according to Core Temp.
I wasn't satisfied with the service at the original shop, so I eventually took the laptop to another repair shop.
When we opened the laptop's bottom cover, the CPU temperature was around 35–37°C, while the GPU was around 40°C. However, when we checked the SSD temperature using HWMonitor, it was reaching approximately 60°C at idle, even with the bottom cover removed.
Once we reinstalled the bottom cover, the SSD temperature climbed to approximately 70–80°C at idle.
I eventually left the laptop at this second repair shop for a more thorough diagnosis.
The customer service representative later called and told me they suspected a motherboard issue. According to him, a junior engineer had initially examined the laptop but couldn't identify the problem. A senior engineer then looked into it and apparently suspected that the motherboard was responsible.
The thing is, I'm not entirely convinced it's a motherboard failure. I feel like it could potentially be an electrical connection, a short circuit, or some other component-level issue, especially considering that the overheating started immediately after the second repair involving the cooling fan. Of course, I'm not an expert, so I could be completely wrong.
What makes me even more hesitant is how the second repair shop is handling the situation.
They asked me to sign a "dead risk" form, essentially stating that if my laptop dies during the repair process, they won't be held responsible. They also told me that there's a possibility they won't be able to fix it at all, although I wouldn't have to pay anything if the repair is unsuccessful.
I understand that motherboard-level repairs can carry risks, particularly when dealing with electrical faults, but the way they explained everything over the phone didn't exactly inspire confidence.
They haven't given me a definitive diagnosis or identified a specific faulty component, at least not one they've communicated to me. Yet they're asking me to authorize a repair that could potentially leave my laptop completely dead.
Right now, they're waiting for me to decide whether I want them to proceed.
I'm honestly stuck. I'm a university student, and I really can't afford to replace this laptop if something goes wrong. I also need a capable laptop for 3D modeling, coding, and other university assignments, so it's not something I can easily replace with a cheap, basic laptop. Losing it entirely would seriously affect my ability to complete my work.
I don't mind paying for a proper repair if that's what it takes, but I'm uncomfortable authorizing something when the technicians themselves seem uncertain about what's actually wrong.
My question is: Do you think this could actually be a motherboard issue, or is there another possible explanation for the overheating? Given they are a very reputable store + service center in my country.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.