Cooling System for Laptop

[brassburnz]

Cleaning out vents and keeping the fan clean are must-do maintenance for laptops but anyone who has ever tried using a high-performance laptop on their lap will tell you that even when clean the bottom gets really hot. That's because there is not enough room for sufficient air-flow within the case and the manufacturer is relying on on heat transfer to the case (conduction) to cool most of the components. That's where a cooling pad with a fan comes into play. It keeps the case cool and therefore keep components not cooled by the fan cooler than they would otherwise be. Heat is the enemy of electronics and anything that you can do to keep your computer's electronics (hard drives, memory, graphics, etc.) cooler can extend their lives and help keep plastic cases from delaminating or at least slow the process. I highly recommend using a fan-powered cooling pad with any laptop computer whose bottom gets really warm to the touch. Is a $20 cooling fan really too much money to help extend the life of electronics?

What model cooling fan do you suggest/use?

[OutlawStar]

I would disagree with you on manufacturers counting on heat conduction to aid the fans and heat sinks: certainly they count on adequate airflow and the laptop being on a flat surface like a desk, but if i have a wood or plastic desk there won't be much conduction.

My biggest gripe with cooking pads in the direction of airflow: most have the fans blowing down toward the desk under the premise is sticking great away from the laptop. However most laptops have fans sticking fresh air from under. So it creates a battle for proper airflow into the heat sinks.

I don't think i would get another cooling pad (though it did help my old thermally challenged Toshiba when i took off bottom panels) but just keep in mind they're essentially 2 plastic panels, and regular 12v fans. The cheap ones are cheap because fans can be made as cheaply as possible. You can always make your own laptop platform out of wood or metal brackets, affix 2 or more fans, and plug those into a USB port, or wire then to a plug-in adapter. Corsair and noctua make some of the best fans, larger fans will move more air quieter, smaller fans will always be louder for the same cfm.

[sholling]

What model cooling fan do you suggest/use?

All of mine have been in use for years and are no longer in production. What I look for name are brand coolers with a single large (160mm or larger) fan because a single large fan is quieter than 2-3 smaller fans. It also needs an Amazon rating for 4 or more stars for me to buy it. A metal grill is a plus because it shows that they are going for quality construction instead of cheap. Finally it has to sit up high enough to allow for a free flow of cool air from under the cooler up to the bottom of the notebook sitting an 1/8" or more above the pad. Something like the one linked below. Note: I have NOT tested or even handled this cooler. I'm just using it as an example.

https://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-NotePal-Ultra-Slim-R9-NBC-XSLI-GP/dp/B005C31HC0

I would disagree with you on manufacturers counting on heat conduction to aid the fans and heat sinks: certainly they count on adequate airflow and the laptop being on a flat surface like a desk, but if i have a wood or plastic desk there won't be much conduction.

They count on conduction from internal components to the case and the laptop's feet providing an 1/8" of space or so to allow convection driven air flow and the cooling fan pulling air across the bottom of the case. That's not enough airflow to cool the case. Not close to enough.

My biggest gripe with cooking pads in the direction of airflow: most have the fans blowing down toward the desk under the premise is sticking great away from the laptop. However most laptops have fans sticking fresh air from under. So it creates a battle for proper airflow into the heat sinks.

The USB cooling pads that I've used blow air upward toward the case and the laptop's vents thus cooling the case and providing a source of cool air to the heatsinks. Perhaps you had yours upside down?

you can always make your own laptop platform out of wood or metal brackets, affix 2 or more fans, and plug those into a USB port, or wire then to a plug-in adapter. Corsair and noctua make some of the best fans, larger fans will move more air quieter, smaller fans will always be louder for the same cfm.

Here we agree.

[OutlawStar]

The USB cooling pads that I've used blow air upward toward the case and the laptop's vents thus cooling the case and providing a source of cool air to the heatsinks. Perhaps you had yours upside down?

Nah, my old coolermaster was one of the few at the time that had the fans pushing air towards the bottom of the laptop, all others even advertised it "sucks hot air away".

I haven't owned a laptop in many years; have never really needed mobile computing that produced enough heat to worry about external cooling. I use a laptop for work, but if you need a special docking station just to do normal things on a computer, its time to buy a desktop and not worry about cooling pads.

[brassburnz]

Sholling- thanks for the single fan suggestion. The multi-fan units looked incredibly cheap and the reviews usually mentioned one or more fans going out before too long.

I was using my laptop for a video project using Premier Pro CC 2018. It is hardly ideal for the task with only 6 gigs of RAM even though it has an i7 processor. Now that I'm not running Premier Pro, my laptop is running much cooler.

I think I'll spring for the cooler in your link and let you know how it works out.

[sholling]

I haven't owned a laptop in many years; have never really needed mobile computing that produced enough heat to worry about external cooling. I use a laptop for work, but if you need a special docking station just to do normal things on a computer, its time to buy a desktop and not worry about cooling pads.

I own three laptops (one of which is retired) and two desktops but I don't just use fans for computers. Over the years I've added cooling fans to several bits of too hot electronics.

[brassburnz]

The CoolerMaster X-Slim cooling pad arrived today. It feels very study with a plastic frame and wire mesh grill. The power cable has a pass through USB connection so I don't lose a USB port.

There is plenty of room under the cooling pad for air circulation. The literature says the single fan moves 70 CFM. The laptop fan is noisier than the cooling pad fan.

For 20 bucks delivered the next day, I'd say this is a good purchase. We'll have to see how well it holds up in a few months. Thanks for the input.

https://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-NotePal-Ultra-Slim-R9-NBC-XSLI-GP/dp/B005C31HC0

[sonofeugene]

Maybe a newer laptop? I bought a top of the line Lenovo 17.3" P71, E3-1505, 1TB SSD, 64 GB RAM, and nVida P4000 video card and I run large CAD files on Solidworks and the darn thing doesn't even get warm.

[sholling]

The CoolerMaster X-Slim cooling pad arrived today. It feels very study with a plastic frame and wire mesh grill. The power cable has a pass through USB connection so I don't lose a USB port.

There is plenty of room under the cooling pad for air circulation. The literature says the single fan moves 70 CFM. The laptop fan is noisier than the cooling pad fan.

For 20 bucks delivered the next day, I'd say this is a good purchase. We'll have to see how well it holds up in a few months. Thanks for the input.

https://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master.../dp/B005C31HC0

Thanks for the update.

[Dragunov]

The thing I don't like about cooling pads, is they blow entirely, too much dust into the computer, unless they blow AWAY from it. If you must use it on your lap, get yourself a small, plastic cutting board, and use that.

Most laptops have adequate cooling, if used properly. The best way to better cooling, is to prop up the back of it with a couple of 2 liter bottle caps, and give it more space. Especially, if you're gaming.

Lenovo has always had good cooling, as has MSI, Alienware, and the HP15 Pavilion.

I have 20 Lenovo ThinkPads. Never had cooling issues with any of them.

When I'm gaming, a hard, flat surface, and 2 liter bottle caps are my routine.

[Dragunov]

Also, using SSD, or M.2, not only improves weight, and battery life, it promotes better cooling.

IF you want higher tech, than bottle caps, you can get fans that fit into your optical drive bay (if you have one). That is a far better solution, than a cooling pad. However, if you use optical media, you'll need an external. There are external, USB cases for a couple of dollars, you can fit your now removed optical drive in, and keep it useful.

If you already have a cooling pad, a couple of USED dryer sheets, taped to the top of the cooler, will aid in dust prevention. I used to live in a dusty area, and taped used dryer sheets over the fans on my towers. Dust collection was reduced probably 90%.

[brassburnz]

The cooling pad I have blows away from the bottom of the laptop. I've raised the bottom of the laptop using felt pads in the rear and rubber feet in the front. When running processor intensive apps like Adobe Premier Pro, my laptop gets pretty warm. I'm running an SSD, so that helps.

So far so good with the new setup. I have an optical drive, so I suppose I can put a fan in there if I have to. I've never seen a unit like that. Have to do some research.

[sholling]

The cooling pad I have blows away from the bottom of the laptop. I've raised the bottom of the laptop using felt pads in the rear and rubber feet in the front. When running processor intensive apps like Adobe Premier Pro, my laptop gets pretty warm. I'm running an SSD, so that helps.

I would switch out your cooling pad for one that blows up at the bottom of the laptop.

[Dragunov]

I would switch out your cooling pad for one that blows up at the bottom of the laptop.

They blow dust into the laptop.

[sholling]

They blow dust into the laptop.

What do you think the laptop's internal fan is doing? It's sucking dusty air into the laptop. When you pull air away from the bottom of a laptop you are competing with the laptop's internal fan for air. When you blow air at the bottom of a laptop you are providing the laptop's internal fan with cool air that is no dustier than the air the internal fan would have pulled in anyway and you're cooling the bottom of the case. When you cool your body with a fan do you point it at you or away from you?