cooling pad for laptop?

[Diamicles]

I'm looking to get a new laptop cooling pad. Right now I have the Belkin cooling pad which is kind of a piece of junk...any recommendations? I'm going to pair it up with something like this.

If anyone has any input on what cooling pads are worth the money I'd most appreciate it.

[Mafai]

I really wouldnt consider that a cooling pad, as it just provides a flat surface for your laptop to sit on, which allows for air between it and the laptop, no actual cooling.

I like Antec crap..

Newegg.com - PCs & Laptops,Laptop Accessories,Laptop Accessories,Antec,Cooler,

But here are all the laptop coolers available on newegg.

Newegg.com - PCs & Laptops,Laptop Accessories,Laptop Accessories,Cooler,

[Diamicles]

Yeah I mean I want to set the cooling pad on one of the laptop desk thingies...right now I just use a small 3 ring binder for the flat surface to set the belkin cooling station on, but like I said I just want to replace the cooling station and get a better object to set the whole thing on.

[Mafai]

oh alright. neweggs holder section is here for laptops.

Newegg.com - PCs & Laptops,Laptop Accessories,Laptop Accessories,Holder,

[Raineer]

I swear I've never seen one of these that do anything. Most laptops are spaced with feet which lift it off the pad.

Not to mention the bottom of laptops are (mostly) designed NOT to radiate heat downwards, so it's a pretty inefficient manner to cool them. I've tried 5 of these pads and they haven't moved the CPU temp more than a degree, if that.

edit: I know it's intuitive that if your laptop is burning your legs you would think a cooler would help, and I'm all ears if someone can suggest something that (verifiably) drops the CPU temp.

[Callisto]

I've had really bad hiccups/lag spikes for the last month that I couldn't figure out for my life what was causing it...turns out it was my laptop overheating(Toshiba Satellite), picked up a new cooling pad(Targus one from Best Buy) and it runs perfectly now.

Thanks for making this thread, got me to look at that as a possible reason.

[Kohan]

If you're going to purchase a laptop cooling platform, make sure it actually is a platform. If it doesn't lift the machine off the ground and give it some room to breathe, it's worthless.

I did purchase a cooler for a notebook I owned years ago, and it made a noticeable difference. However, my laptop's vents were located on its bottom, so the clearance was truthfully necessary. The platform was also made of metal, which is very important. Plastic and cloth accessories will only exacerbate the problem.

Even though most laptops are not designed with an exhaust on their bottom, their well-known tendency to get rather hot is worsened when they're sitting on surfaces which don't disperse heat. Further, you aren't strictly concerned with cooling the CPU -- you're interested in reducing the entire machine's temperature, which these devices can do. This is why it's useful to purchase a metallic platform.

[Alishe]

I have a Belkin microfiber "pillow" for my laptop, 30$ at bestbuy, I am sure Newegg sells them too. It's awesome, great for using your laptop anywhere in the house even in bed, completely comfortable to use and have on your lap, then for when my laptop is on my desk I just have the Logitech Alto wireless dock + wireless keyboard. I recommend both.

Edit: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834998475 that's the belkin cushion. Available in 3 colors all have 5/5 star reviews, unlike almost all "coolers" and I'd also give it a 5/5 if I cared enough to write a review. I've been using it for 14months still works great.

[toonces]

I have tried Targus (didn't like it)

SO i bought this one, and it is pretty good.

DriverHeaven.net: Vantec Lapcool 2

No idea if they have any new versions out but i would trust them also.

Oh yeah forgot, I bought a cooler cuz I had a DELL laptop that love to overheat while gaming, with targus it will still overheat.. with this one. Never again.

[Spekkio]

i've never found them to be of any more use than just setting it on a book or some other solid, flat surface. then again, i rarely use my laptop on my lap. if it's sitting on a desk or table, i really don't see the point of one of these unless they offer active airflow.

[mootsfox]

Never used them, never "needed" one.

I don't know how you guys all have these overheating laptops. Are you stuffing pet hair and food pieces in your vents?

A good and cheap way to lower temps by up to 15C is by replacing the stock thermal paste with real stuff.

[Kohan]

Which isn't feasible for the average person who doesn't know how to open a laptop, not to mention work with one without breaking it.

There are a lot of poorly put-together laptops out there which have overheating problems, as mine did. Even though I was -- coincidentally -- the manager of a repair center at the time, I could do nothing to alleviate its internal temperature aside from finding a way to mitigate some of the heat. Thus, a stand that helped disperse it was the option.

They aren't useless, so long as you get one that's at least made of a substance which can help seep heat away, and/or has fans which actually do their job. Depending upon your laptop and whether it has vents on the bottom or not, and the general temperature of wherever you use it, you may want said fans to either blow against (bringing cool air forward) or away (blowing hot air off) from the machine.

[Cream Soda]

Any recommendations for a 17" widescreen? Don't want to get one that is too small

[Kohan]

If you're not worried about how much money you spend:

Amazon.com: Notebook Cooler, Silver, ZM-NC2000: Automotive

[mootsfox]

Any recommendations for a 17" widescreen? Don't want to get one that is too small

A desk.

[Kohan]

The Zalman coolers are actually effective, since they perform as advertised (unlike the majority of coolers available, particularly the cheap plastic variety).

BCCHardware - Your Source for Tech News & Reviews! - Zalman ZM-NC1000 Notebook Cooler

Zalman NC 1000 Cooling Test on xps m1530 - Notebook Forums and Laptop Discussion

http://i44.tinypic.com/cu9ee.jpg

To note, those reviews are for the ZM-NC1000, not the 2000, but the only difference between the two is their size. They use the exact same materials and fans, and can be modified to throw additional fans on, if you feel so inclined.

[Cream Soda]

A desk.

Lol my laptop frequently overheats on a desk. I've been playing on a milk crate for the past year+ cause of the holes in it for the ventilation.

[mootsfox]

Define overheating. Laptops are designed to run at 70C for years.

I still don't understand how so many of BG have 'overheating' laptops. I've never seen this problem on other forums or anywhere outside of BG lol

[Cream Soda]

Define overheating.

Shuts off by itself unless well ventilated at the bottom (the crate) after having a lot of apps open or working the pc pretty hard.

[Colenzo]

Check out best buy they have some nice ones.