Any Recommendations On A Cooling System For A Laptop

[Saint_Michael 3]

Well summer is hear that means it's getting warm out which means my computer is getting hotter then usually, but last couple of days I been thinking about how to keep my laptop cooler to beat this wonderful, I looked around and I haven't found anything that looks great to use to help cool my computer down. So my questions is to those who have a laptop any recommendations on a effective cooling system for a laptop computer? Also don't just post links to some random website and say look here at stuff, I need a effective product thats low cost and something I don't need to take my laptop apart in order to get it connected.

[BuffaloHelp 24]

My sister's laptop was overheating as well. Last week, Office Depot had some great Memorial Day sales and I took the advantage of purchasing Targus Chillhub (retail $54.99) at a whopping $9.99. What a deal, what a steal!Powered by USB with additional 4 USB ports built-in to the cooler pan, two silent fans directly centered two cooling fans seem to be doing the job. My sister's laptop has not frozen in past 3 hours of constant usage. In fact I am making this post using her laptop. Chillhub does not cool the laptop significantly. But by circulating the hot air formed underneath the laptop, it's at least making my sister's laptop free from sudden freezing. The drawback to Chillhub's design is that it's not wide enough for 15.4" laptop design. It seems like it was designed for traditional 15" laptops in the past--which my mother's ultra thin laptop fits perfectly.Other designs were considered, such as Antec, APC and Kensington. But my skepticism superseded any effective functionality and the price won me over my decision. According to my sister, it is better effective to place an ordinary house fan across the laptop--which cools even further and faster than any laptop cooler. That's my sister; always practical.

[truefusion 3]

I need a effective product thats low cost and something I don't need to take my laptop apart in order to get it connected.

Keep your A/C on at all times—there, an effective product that doesn't require getting into the laptop. Besides that, i don't see how you're going to cool it down without getting in there and doing some manual work.
Btw, this desktop computer i'm using goes to around 45 degrees celcius, and it works fine on hot days.

[Watermonkey 0]

45? (113 F) My computer passes 45 C within about 15 seconds of waking it! I think you may want to re-visit that number... Sounds like you're living in a freezer on a factory trawler or something and doing nothing with your computer other then the screensaver and email!It's nothing to see my computer go past 161 F (71 C) on a regular basis (it's at 138 F right now) and it's new, but it's still got a thermal shutdown safety switch. The first thing I'd do if I were you, Mike, is take it apart and blow those fans with some canned air. Dust is your enemy and will cause your computer to overheat in a hurry. Second, I'd consider something similar to what BH is describing. Just getting it off the table can make all the difference in the world! Many computers have design flaws that make cooling more challenging then others. I had trouble with my Toshiba Satellite turning off when it was sitting in the car seat next to me (streets and trips) at work and it never occurred to me it was just overheating! I just thought it was getting old and tired. After blowing out its fan, it runs much cooler and doesn't shut down when it's on the couch like it used to. Blow out those fans!

[Yuripro84 0]

Obviously, like mentioned before, make sure you dust out your laptop to get that dust out of there. I hadn't for about a year or two, but after dusting it out, it ran around 5 times faster (at least) and was so much quieter. Also, look at some stores for a cooling system. Even go to a store and ask one of the employees for any recommendations, they (usually) know what's best.Good luck finding this!

[Jimmy 0]

SM, I know that you've said you don't want anything to do with taking the laptop apart, but I think it might be your best option... my old hp laptop (not old, but older!) had a power problem, so after much worrying I decided to have a look. It doesn't change anything and you don't have to touch any metal parts to worry about static discharge at all

Honestly you're best option would be to clean the fans... It doesn't take anything and is free... It's surprisingly easy to clean 'em:

 

Just turn the laptop upside down and put it flat on a table (with a towel to stop it scratching or whatever)

undo the 5 or so screws holding the base plate off and carefully lift it off.

get a cotton bud and clean the fans... I probably wouldn't blow them as teh dust would just go everywhere, but whatever you feel like

bear in mind also that this would be quicker than waiting for a new cooler and having another thing to get working and keep with the laptop...

 

OK if that's not your thing I think the zalman cooler would be a good thing to get... it's only ?30 and I can say it is built well... none of those annoying creaks. (considering it's aluminium - comes in black or silver, whichever suits your comp better...)

Also, it's the right size for up to 17" screen, not many other ones are!

A quick google for a place to buy sent me here: Zalman cooler See Review

 

 

This is it... it may also be good for a slight tilt in the keyboard of the laptop... I'm thinking I might save up and get one, I could use it right now

(another bonus about this one is that, apparantly, the fans are nice and quite too, looking at reviews!)

Edited June 9, 2007 by Jimmy (see edit history)

[Saint_Michael 3]

@Buff that is a steal of course that is a tad bit expensive and from what I been reading these things do break easily especially the fans.

 

@true fusion I usually do, sometimes I unplug my laptop and sit it right next the AC for a few minutes for it to drop down in the high 70's low 80's before I go back to what I do.

 

@Watermonkey I bust a can out a couple times of month, but my laptop don't get that dusty due to the fact I have poor ventilation when I have it on my lap or on a pillion for comfort. I might haveto change my ventilation patterns around, interestingly enough I called up dell to see if I could adjust the fans myself, but no luck on that.

 

@Jimmy thats what I more or less been looking at for a few hours of searching, I did most of it at newegg.com and you be surprised how many different cooling systems they have. Of course with my laptop being a Dell XPS it's pretty big and most of the cooling systems were small; however, I did find this one:

 

 

with 198 reviews with 60% of them rated excellent I would say this would be the perfect one.

 

FULL PRODUCT INFO

[Renaissance 0]

I was looking at a similar method for use at my cottage. It is a nice find but you have to remember that it is USB powered. Is there any info on battery usage? Things will be fine so long as you maintain outlet power, but I have a feeling that it will kill your battery.

[master_bacarra 0]

my [former] classmate also has a cooler similar to the ones in the picture. i was surprised because i haven't heard about such before. i know, where have i been? hahaha. anyway, one of my batchmates in college said he had an air conditioning system installed in his room just for his laptop, but he said it wasn't helping that much; although i know it would probably be less hot in your place than here in the tropics

[Saint_Michael 3]

I was looking at a similar method for use at my cottage. It is a nice find but you have to remember that it is USB powered. Is there any info on battery usage? Things will be fine so long as you maintain outlet power, but I have a feeling that it will kill your battery.

If it helps this product comes with an On and off switch, and I looked over the specs and it doesn't mention anything, but I would assume that detail would be found in the actual package. I am to assume that your referring to how much juice it will suck out from the battery if you don't have a AC adaptor plug in?

@MB I would assume you know about PC cooling systems, if so its same concept but for a laptop. As with you friend in order for the AC to work the computer needs to be directly in it's air path for it to stay cool, just running a AC won't help as much if not next to the AC.

[Renaissance 0]

I am to assume that your referring to how much juice it will suck out from the battery if you don't have a AC adaptor plug in?

Yeah, that's what I meant. There's not much point keeping a laptop cool if it wouldn't last long.

As with you friend in order for the AC to work the computer needs to be directly in it's air path for it to stay cool, just running a AC won't help as much if not next to the AC.

I would suggest a small well-powered fan. Face it away from the laptop at the "vent" so that the air is being drawn from the opening.

[Saint_Michael 3]

Well I finally got my cooling system; I bought the one that I displayed in my previous post and for the most part it is staying relatively cool, mind you that my laptop computer dwarfs this by 2 inches. However, it takes a lot longer for this to heat up then it normally does, right now I got it hovering around 96-98 degree's going on for about 20 minutes now, which is a good thing because usually it is around 105-110 by now; so in other words my laptop temperature has drop a good 11-13 degree's. A bit uncomfortable sitting on my lap but I got a board under it and then a nice cozy cushion to soften the blow. It relatively cools most of my computer especially near the RAM and barely reaches the built in fans on my laptop; so for the most part it covers the 17" spec it claims it does. So the cooling system is worth the $23 investment I got it for since it takes longer for my computer to heat up then it normally does.

[Jimmy 0]

@ renaissance, the link to review for the one I posted does go over battery life as well - They found about 10-15 percent battery time was lost depending on low-high speed, but it's not too much of an issue... I mean, considering if your laptop is sitting on this thing, then it's probably gonna be plugged in at ur desk, or if the cooling system wasn't USB to save battery power, you'd have to plug that in instead, making absolutely no difference!!!Also, the one I looked at has an on/off switch and is sizable enough for 17" screens.Would be useful for anyone considering a laptop cooler...

[Saint_Michael 3]

Well I put this cooling system to the test I let the fans run with my computer unplugged and let it run for an hour, and I didn't find any big battery loss. However, I do believe USB doesn't take that much power to begin with; anyways I couldn't give you specifics as to how much they take, but worth investigating.

Edited June 13, 2007 by Saint_Michael (see edit history)

[Renaissance 0]

@ renaissance, the link to review for the one I posted does go over battery life as well - They found about 10-15 percent battery time was lost depending on low-high speed, but it's not too much of an issue... I mean, considering if your laptop is sitting on this thing, then it's probably gonna be plugged in at ur desk, or if the cooling system wasn't USB to save battery power, you'd have to plug that in instead, making absolutely no difference!!!

Hmm, don't know how I missed that info, must be a case of late-night posting :PYou're right about the USB power being "necessary", I was just wondering how optimized it was.

Well I put this cooling system to the test I let the fans run with my computer unplugged and let it run for an hour, and I didn't find any big battery loss. However, I do believe USB doesn't take that much power anyways, I could give you specifics as to how much they take, but worth investigating.

I'm not sure yet, but if I do buy it I can give it a real test! My cottage has wall-to-wall windows with sun exposure from sunrise to ~6pm. My laptop is a T41 (slim and black), the area I "work" in is in direct sunlight, and having no AC makes it really toasty. I know the USB-powered fan base can't make that much of a difference but anything helps; honestly a scenario like that makes me dream of a nitrogen-injected processor