Advice wanted regarding laptop cooling units.

[mhendo]

My wife has a Toshiba laptop running a Celeron 2.8GHz processor. Because this is essentially a desktop processor, and not one of the newer M processors specifically designed for laptops, it sometimes gets pretty warm.

She's thinking about getting one of those tray-type units with inbuilt fans that go under the computer and help to keep it cool. I was just wondering if anyone has any experience with these, and if there are any particular makes and/or models that you would recommend.

Also, are these cooling units generally only designed for specific makes or models of laptop? Is it a one-type-fits-all arrangemant? For example, i can't imagine that a unit that works with a 12" laptop would work very well with a 15" laptop.

[mhendo]

I'll give this one bump in case some different people are reading the Boards today.

[Uvula Donor]

Originally Posted by mhendo

I'll give this one bump in case some different people are reading the Boards today.

Glad you bumped it - I missed it the first time.

My daughter was constantly complaining about her laptop running hot - not so much because of the big powerful processor (it's an older Dell with a PIII) but because she does a lot with it sitting crosslegged on the couch with the laptop, uh, in her lap.

We were at Staples, and they had one of those cooling trays, so I figured "what the hell" and got it for her. It's only about half an inch thick, light as a feather, and has two cooling fans built into it. Draws 5v from the USB port on the back of the laptop, but doesn't take up the port because it's a passthru plug.

It works beautifully and I can't recommend it highly enough. Since it's so thin and weighs next to nothing, she slips it right into her carrying case when she goes anywhere. It's not specific to any model laptop so she can keep using it even as we upgrade computers. Dead-quiet when it runs, too - you'd never know it was on if you didn't see the green LED power indicator.

And best of all, the combination of the thin aluminum top plate and the fans keep her laptop nice and cool. I never hear any more complaints about the laptop running hot any more.

It's one of the best accessories I've ever purchased for a PC.

[mhendo]

Thanks for the input.

Do you remember the brand that you bought?

[Uvula Donor]

It's an Antec. Blue-and-white box.


Oh, yeah:

Originally Posted by mhendo

Also, are these cooling units generally only designed for specific makes or models of laptop? Is it a one-type-fits-all arrangemant? For example, i can't imagine that a unit that works with a 12" laptop would work very well with a 15" laptop.

The fans are in the center of the pad, side by side. I'm pretty sure the pad would work no matter what size the laptop is - but it may not be as stable sitting on it on a desk.

[Nightsong]

I got one of these for my Dad's work laptop, since when he uses it at home it's just sitting on a table as opposed to work when it is docked in a station that has cooling fans built into it. Before this, the bottom of the laptop would get very hot: we're talking feeling it through the table (typical hollow plastic table), makes you go 'OW! WTF? ' when you touch it hot.

The one I got was this one: I almost got this instead, but decided not to since he already had a USB v2.0 hub and he didn't need yet another power cord to trip over. If your wife finds she's constantly running out of USB ports and she doesn't mind the power cord, she may want to opt for the one I didn't get.

So far so good: the laptop still runs a bit hotter than I'd like, but it's no longer at the 'hotter than a coffee warmer' temps it was previously and it seems to be a bit more stable. I'm hoping this'll mean the laptop will last longer than the previous ones he's had, but it'll take more time to tell.

___
<< C:\Coffee.exe not found, reboot user? Y/N? >>

[mhendo]

Thanks for the input, everyone.

We had to go grocery shopping today, so we stopped in at CompUSA just to check out what they had. They stocked both Targus and Antec notebook coolers. The list price for the Targus was $29.95, and for the Antec was $39.95.

But they had a special on the Antec, with $10 off instantly, plus a $20 rebate. This seemed too good to pass up, so we grabbed it. Assuming the rebate process goes smoothly, this means a final cost of $9.95. I don't think we could have done any better than that.

And the unit seems to work fine.

[Snowboarder Bo]

I have had the Targus Tornado for a couple of years now and I love it. Works great. Glad to hear that the other brand works great, too.

[Patty O'Furniture]

I just bought the Targus model today, then came home and flipped over my laptop to prepare the area. Then I noticed that the laptop's built-in fan can be removed with just two screws. It popped right off to reveal a dense plug of fine... um, something. Looked like accumulated dust, fluf, lint, etc. It had plugged up the exhaust port. This is why my fan has been running almost constantly lately.

I removed the hair plug and did a general toothbrush cleaning of the whole fan bay area. Put it back together and would you believe the laptop doesn't run hot any more? And that pesky fan - haven't heard it come on once today.

Ah well... my new cooling pad is standing by and if my laptop even thinks about getting hot, well just look out because I'm ready to switch that baby on.

Moral of the story: Check your cooling fan to make sure it's not just clogged up with a lint plug before spending $50 on a cooling pad.

[Patty O'Furniture]

i can't imagine that a unit that works with a 12" laptop would work very well with a 15" laptop.

My laptop base is about 12" wide (screen size about 14" diag). The cooling pad is only about 10" wide, so it does make my laptop look as if it's floating above the surface of my desk. I don't think this would affect the cooling performance, though.