Suggestions for good accessories to keep laptop cool?

Hello,
I own a Dell XPS 15 and use it mainly for writing code and watching Netflix. However, whenever I play any games on it (I play Counterstrike a lot ) it becomes really hot. At the moment I am not using any accessories to keep the temperature down. I make sure that the laptop is placed on a level surface and has good ventilation, but I still fear that it may get damaged or something.

So, what has worked for you, in terms of accessories (cooling mats etc) or any other tips? Also, what is the maximum temperature at which the laptop can run for a couple of hours with no damage?

Thanks in advance.

 

You might want to take a look at this thread: http://www.laptop-forums.com/threads/over-heating-problem.25629/

Processors have a throttle feature. When the core temperatures reach a certain level of temperature, they slow themselves down. If that's not enough and the temperature keeps rising, they also shut themselves down when they reach or exceed a certain level of temperature, protecting themselves from getting damaged. I'd be more worried about the GPU, it doesn't have any shutdown mechanism to protect itself from getting fried. "Safe" temperature ranges depend on the model of your CPU and GPU. I think it's best you monitor their temperatures with monitoring programs. Good luck!

 

I was using the USB plug in cooling fan for my Window laptops. It helped a little, but I found that once the laptop is overheating, it will keep over heating. I used the compressed air can and spray it to clean out the dust/dirt/whatever, and it helped a bit too.

 

You could use one of those cooling fan boards and place it underneath your laptop to keep it cool and you should also use it in a cold place in order to keep it cooler and make it last longer.

 

There are laptop lap pads that come with a built in cooling fan. That would be a good investment. I am sure that there are many different brands. My friend has one and she loves it and it keeps her computer very cool.

 

I actually had mine over heat and freeze itself recently. I thought the entire thing was done, but remembered that it has a shut off feature to keep from frying. I had no idea that the fan had become so clogged and blocked up with fibers from laying on flat, fluffy surfaces. I had to take the entire thing apart and blow out all of the dust, dander and cat hair. I let it cool for about 2 hours, put it back together and then started it up. Sounds better and runs faster now. I definitely recommend getting in the habit of keeping your laptop on a solid surface to avoid this from happening.

 

I have seen a small fan which they call cooling fan. The cdr-king store is almost complete with electronic gadgets and accessories, from computers to other technology like solar panels and e-bikes. The store sells cheap Chinese products that can compete with the original mainly because of the cheap price.

For an accessory to cool your computer, I think that small cooling fan is cute.

 

I have a little platform that sits in my lap. It has holes in it and fan beneath. You plug it in. The fan blows through the holes to the underneath side of the laptop. It keeps it cooled off while it is in your lap. I like it.

 

When my old Dell Vostro 1500 still worked, I was using a USB powered cooler for the laptop to sit on the top of it. I had two fans.

Anyway, if your laptop has the fan intake at the bottom, then it will help greatly. If not, then it probably won't help much. Clear the dust out of the vent and the fan will help to cool your laptop more than adding a cool which does not even provide direct air to your laptop's vent.

 

I know that many electronic stores offer cooling fans specifically designed for laptops. My brother used to have a laptop with a failed cooling system, so he designed one out of legos (which were used to prop up the laptop) and underneath he put a small desk fan. This seemed to work pretty well. Cheers!

-Jaydon

 

The maximum temperature a laptop could handle in day to day use shouldn't be your concern. All the decently new components have some kind of thermal management system, usually known as throttling. That is, whenever a sensor reaches a certain temperature, this system comes in and underclocks the component, reducing the temperature and the prformance along with it.
Manual underclocking could be of use as well, but if you're playing CS you might not like the results in lost frames.
If you choose to go with a more traditional external cooler, my advice is to choose the one with the biggest possible fan size for your laptop. That way, the fan will spin more slowly therefore making less noise when compared to a smaller one.
If you want a more elegant solution, perhaps you should check out Opolar's LC05, which takes up less space, and it's the only one with this approach I could find.

 

1. Find a hard and flat surface. If it is on a pillow or soft surface like bed then you’re doing it wrong. A flat surface helps in maintaining good air-flow.

2. Clean your laptop. Purchase a can of compressed air and spray it into the vents but make sure that the power is off.

3. Buy a cooling pad or make a stand. There are many kind of laptop stands. Some of them come with fan.

4. Monitor the temperature. You do it to gauge a fever. Same goes for your laptop. SpeedFan is one program that’ll get you going.

 

Every computer has a built-in system and if it gets too hot it shuts down automatically so you won't damage the hardware. Sure, it's not beneficial to keep your laptop running at high temperatures but it will take a while to damage your components. That being said, if you're tech savvy you should take apart the CPU and GPU and re-apply the thermal paste, it will help greatly.

 

I have a flat thing that has fans in it. It's powered via USB. It chews up my laptop's batteries, so I only use it when I'm able to plug my laptop into the wall. That's the only time it's relevant. For the rest of the time, I don't have any really good options. Fortunately, it tends to be really cold in Canada so my usual concern is keeping it warm.

 

I personally think that if you already have a good cooling system and cooling measures then you don't have nothing to worry about, it's normal when these kind of devices get warmed up like that, every single electronic device does the same. Good luck.

 

Great tip here. I remember learning about this and thinking I was the biggest idiot ever, but I have since learned that I was not really alone in having to learn this the heard way. I was just so used to having it sit on something on my chest when I laid in bed, but it would get really hot and I just never put two and two together. Simple, and it might seem obvious to some, but important nonetheless.

 

placing the laptop on hard surface oron the surface that does not heat fast (wood for instance) is the most common way to cool your laptop.If this does not work, you can use a cooling fan. Sometimes I have found your room temperature (or environment temperature) also triggers heating problem. shutting the laptop and booting after sometime also works.

 

I use a cooling stand. It has a very big fan, about six inches in diameter. I use my laptop up to 20 hours everyday, surfing the Web and playing games. So far I have been using this laptop with the cooling stand for about three months. So far so good.

 

You don't necessarily have to make purchases to make your laptop cool. Powering it down for 10 min works fine. When you switch it on again, use only the applications that you really need and shut down those you don't need. When the processor becomes overloaded, your computer uses the hard drive as its virtual memory and this overloads it. You should also unclog the cooling vents on your computer as well as making sure that the room is air conditioned.

 

Cleaning the cooling vents is a good idea. Just use a soft one-inch paint brush to sweep the vents lightly. Do it often before the dust becomes thick and hard to remove. As for air-conditioning, it's not a requirement. Computers are now built to work in normal room temperatures.