Laptop Cooling

[Jaggannath]

OK, I was playing a game in the middle of today and the laptop showed a BSOD... it was clearly overheating, it was burning my legs when resting on it. My question is this: do any of you have any experiences with aftermarket cooling trays, similar to these:

Cooler 1

Cooler 2

Cooler 3

Cooler 4


Also, has anyone even heard of or used Ice mats to cool them??

Icemat 1

Icemat 2

The main problem is heat on the underside of my Inspiron 9300, happened because it hit 30C today outside, and my room is way hotter than that

[bailey]

you might want to make sure that the air flow path is not blocked or restricted any by dust or build up of any kind of residue,
I have used laptops in a industerial enviroment where the ambient tempetures have been well above 120 deg F with no problems.

[Dangermouse1]

If its burning you leg then your leg is restricting the air flow which will not help the temp.

[Statica]

A 'laptop' is just a name Jag! It's not really designed to be on the lap for extended, extensive work. It cools itself quite efficiently if allow the standoffs to work (by getting air below it!)

[Jaggannath]

Originally Posted by Statica A 'laptop' is just a name Jag! It's not really designed to be on the lap for extended, extensive work. It cools itself quite efficiently if allow the standoffs to work (by getting air below it!)

LOL oops :P

Nah, I know you have to let air underneath it, I actually had my legs steepled and separated, so the air could flow underneath... admittedly, I did put it on my doona cover for about 15 mins while I was researching something, so that generated a heap of heat. It's stinking hot in Australia atm, I hate summer with no air con

I was just thinking it'd be nice to get something to cool my lappie, because it runs hot when playing intensive games (which is what I was doing, catching up on gaming during my exam period )

Bailey, it's not dusty, first thing I checked. I'm actually not the only one who's had problems, a mate who lives in a similarly hot room has had the same issues with his Toshiba

[bailey]

I am betting that you did not open it up and look at how much dirt is around the cpu.
it can't help but picked so must inside where you cannot see whth out opening it.
you can try any of thoes coolers, but if the ambient air is that hot, it won't help much.
a air conditioner is your best bet all the way around.

intensive gamming is not something a loptop was designed to do, it don't have the cooling that would be needed for that.
you should use a large tower type case for that type of computing.
just my personal opinion.

[Jaggannath]

Originally Posted by bailey I am betting that you did not open it up and look at how much dirt is around the cpu.

And you'd be absolutely right... I can't without voiding the warranty. However, I have been blowing through the intakes quite vigorously, gave myself a headache. It hasn't overheated again, it was a one-off thing as stated

you can try any of thoes coolers, but if the ambient air is that hot, it won't help much. a air conditioner is your best bet all the way around.

Air con isn't an option unfortunately, I live what is essentially a barracks for uni students, and I'm leaving this room at the end of this year (for a house with air con, believe me )

intensive gamming is not something a loptop was designed to do, it don't have the cooling that would be needed for that. you should use a large tower type case for that type of computing. just my personal opinion.

Yeah, I know this, but I needed a laptop for my thesis, and it needed to be pretty capable for what I was doing, and seeing as my needs corresponded with a gaming computers needs in a laptop, I just bought one of them

[Thebranded]

currently getting one, its the coolermaster lappy cooler, reviews for it were good. when i use the lappy for extened times i usually remove the pcmcia cards/dummy cards and remove the optical (if you can) that offers better cooling, if i'm using it of mains i remove the battary as charging hte battary causes heat. but if you remove all these the screen tends to be a bit heavey and the whole lappy falls back if you let go.

btw in aust. syd. thats why i need the lappy cooler too!

[Jaggannath]

You're only three hours drive from me thebranded, although I'll be moving to Adelaide at the end of this year hopefully with my job