[OT] Keepin' it cool

[Hell-demon]

Recently I bought an uber laptop for when I go to uni.

17" Widescreen
2.10 duel core processor
2 Gig mem
Geforce 8600m thingy do dah graphics card

It's a nice spec and it only cost me £475 including vat and posting.

Now one of my fears is my laptop getting hot and melting and this thing can get hot.

So I've been looking at ways for cooling it. One way is to get a cooling pad look here (http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0682471713.1212174848@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccceadeefdgmjegcflgceggdhhmdfhk.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=308550&category_oid=). But is it worth it and will it make a difference?

Or possibly for less get something that will raise the laptop giving space for it's built in fans to vent look please (http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0682471713.1212174848@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccceadeefdgmjegcflgceggdhhmdfhk.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=766850&category_oid=)

Or do you have something else?

Come on you techies get cracking.

[Riddle]

Interested in what info you get here Hell m8, as my dam legs are getting very hot as i type this!! I'll vouch for the heat thing thats for sure!

[Nidhogg]

It's just a way to squeeze more money out of you unnecessarily. If you're not going to alter it (e.g. overclock it) then the cooling it comes with will be sufficient. It's not like it's an XBOX 360 or anything. ;)

N

[aKe`cj]

if you go for a cooling stand, get a passive one .. those external fans are inefficient yet very noisy.

The only reason I got one, was for ergonomics and to have the notebook panel the same height as the external screen :)

[RAB]

It's just a way to squeeze more money out of you unnecessarily. If you're not going to alter it (e.g. overclock it) then the cooling it comes with will be sufficient. It's not like it's an XBOX 360 or anything. ;)

N

I've got my xbox360 on 4 small building blocks from my kid at each corner so it can 'breath' better. lol. Works nicely too.

My lap top is on most of the time and never seems to have a problem with heat. but anything that reduces the surface area that is against something else, i.e the bottom sitting on the desk, will improove cooling.
If it's going to sit on your desk all the time, something like I have used for my xbox will work nicely for you. If you're going to move around with it then you'll have to find something else to sit it on. Think heatsink.

[Animated]

I use the low-tech option - wedge a DVD case under the back of the laptop to raise it off the desk.

[StevenJ]

I'm more interested in where you got that laptop for that price... I could be tempted to upgrade... :D

[Hell-demon]

Dell.

It's A Vostro 1700.

Anyway....


I've been testing my laptops capabilities. It runs Portal ok and this morning i tried the demo of crysis. Runs ok-ish which is good. First time i played it my lappy got hot (although I was updating windows as well). and I rushed to the freezer to stick frozen chicken pie underneath it. Damn thing nearly defrosted it. After playing a second time my lappy is warm. My lappy has a vent at the side which spews hot air.


Still I'm pleased with my laptop but I think a cooling pad would help out.