I have a gaming laptop that I found has degraded in performance over the 2 years I had it.
It seems to be a heating issue, I now need ice packs just to play games. Could there be dust etc blocking the fans?
Should I take it apart to clean it? Or is this best left to a professional? Should I be getting my laptop cleaned every few years of use?
After 2 years of use there will be dust accumulated inside. (It may look clean if we only see it on the bottom ventilation holes).
Yes, take it a part. Buy some pry tools (cheap), a set of precision screws (this is important, often overlooked, you need proper size of screwdriver to avoid stripping the screws), a new thermal paste, small and soft brushes, alcohols etc.
Don’t forget to see “your laptop model dissambly/teardown videos” on YouTube.
Goodluck