Laptop Cooling
 

I was just wondering if you knew of any laptop coolers that have a real good cooling effect and are not bulky. My laptop get hot :(

The simplest, cheapest way to make sure a laptop stays cool is to make sure that you do not work with the laptop sitting on anything soft or plush while you are using it. Many people like to sit on their couch relaxing while they work/play. Unfortunately the surface of your couch, the blanket you are snuggled with, even your lap is soft and plush. This blocks the flow of air and prevents the laptop from being able to get rid of heat.
A TV tray often works well to help avoid this. Sitting the laptop on a bare spot on your coffee table will work also.
If your have a Uber-Gaming laptop that can heat a 20' x 20' room I will have to defer to the opinion of a TFP’r that has experience with laptop cooling pads.

i wouldnt call it an uber gaming laptop but it has a 3 GHz non mobile pentium 4 processor and a dedicated radeon video card.

I had two of the three fans on my old HP laptop go out, and we didn't really want to replace the fans, as a new laptop was in my near future at the time. We bought a Targus cooling mat and it worked beautifully.

I have a lapdesk that I use, so my laptop is always on a smooth, solid surface. The cooling mat, which was about half an inch thick, sat underneath my laptop. It kept my laptop cool, and I was able to use it for several months longer than I thought I would... My laptop was getting so hot that it would turn itself off, before I got the cooling mat. I got my new laptop for c'mas, but I'm keeping the mat, just in case.

thats a good one, and cheap too. Thanks. I dont know if any of fans are out because just recently it has started to turn itself off and get really hot.

I had a similar problem with my laptop. I downloaded a free program called SpeedFan for windows and it ended up that the laptop's BIOS was spinning the fans up once the heat had already built up to a very high temp. Using this program I was able to set the fans to go on soon (and even specify how fast they should spin) and the high temperatures are now gone.

Thanks, I got speedfan, but it wont show anything about the fans, that whole area is just blank, no names, nothing. Is there anything I could do to locate the fans or something? I have an Averatec laptop if that helps.

Speedfan doesn't know about all chipsets. Which model? I got lots of hits googling "averatec speedfan". You might find a workaround. Or let us know the model.

You might also want to try cleaning out the passages. If you used the laptop on carpet or blankets, or just a dusty area, the fans and vents can collect quite a bit which hinders airflow. Put a vacuum hose right up to the vents. If you have canned air, try it.

It's an averatec 6130HS. I will try looking on google too. I have used canned air with little success. I hope i don't have to buy a cooling mat because I like that my laptop is so thin. Oh well if it comes down to it.

I'll second the Targus cooling mat. Before the mobo in my 4 year old Sony VAIO lappy died last month, it served me well. Only cost me about $25 and stopped it from crashing on a regular basis.

There are plenty of overheating reports with that model. Of course, any laptop/notebook will cook if you use it on your lap and block the vents.

Several people seem to have corrected their problem by improving the processor to heatsink contact. Whether the stock unit uses paste or a pad I don't know, but it can usually be improved from whatever was slapped together at the factory.

Other reports mention extending the factory feet to improve airflow. I've done that to several laptops. Sometimes just another mm clearance can make a big difference. Temporary extensions would certainly be the easy to try.

i used to have problems with mine, i used it on my bed and the fan bearings broke, and after i got a new cooling unit installed inside, i no longer place it on any surfaces that might suck up fuzz or anything..... for surfaces that might create heat problems, i just put a binder under it.... the surface is pretty good for laptop usage, and if you need more ventalation, you can open the binder and fold the one side under, and then rest the back of your laptop ontop of the binder rings, allowing plenty of air to flow! you can even slide something under the other side of the laptop to keep it up as well if needed. there is plenty of little ways of settingit up to work best for you, best of all, it's cheap


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