Laptop cooling stands?

Message

tockki · #1 Post by **tockki** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 11:35 pm

Anybody try or recommend any laptop cooling stands out there?
Whether it's because the weather's getting warmer, it seems my fan is running more often in addition to hot but tolerable T60.
So I was wondering does anyone know the effectiveness of these stands and whether it would help quell the fan to a lower rpm... (of course there is the tpfancontrol, aircondition etc BUT just wanted to know about laptop cooling stands effectiveness,,,)

#2 Post by **rkawakami** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 2:17 am

I have my Gateway 450SX4 on top of an Antec cooling pad. Yes, it does keep the laptop running much cooler. I don't know if the laptop fan is running any slower because the noise from the two fans in the cooler is so loud!

I did try putting a T23 on the pad when it was running 100% CPU utilization but for some reason, the CPU temperature increased. I'm not sure if the fans are pushing or pulling air through the laptop. I'll fire it up in the morning and edit this post when I figure it out (everybody is sleeping right now and I don't want to make too much noise).

tockki · #3 Post by **tockki** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 9:52 am

Increase in temperature? hmmmm.... a little disappointing considering it defeating the purpose...

Was doing a little surfing and came across this laptop stand...

http://www.targus.com/us/CategorySearch ... erms=chill

(I'm wondering whether there are any reviews comparing the laptop stands along with the efficiencies and noise factor... now that would be nice..)

#4 Post by **rkawakami** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 10:23 am

The Antec cooler is trying to suck air out of the bottom of the laptop. Which goes against the normal heat disipation of the T23 I was using. The T23's CPU fan is in the MiniPCI area drawing outside air from somewhere and exhausting the hot air out the side. That may have confused the temperature sensors or fought against the CPU fan's airflow.

The Targus pads will probably do the same as they say that they "draw the heat away" from the laptop. Which I guess makes more sense than trying to blow air up[/i] into the bottom of the laptop. At any rate, if you can find a seller that has a money-back, satisfaction guarantee, no-questions-asked policy, then go for it.

It appears to do the job quite nicely for my Gateway. Since this Antec pad plugs into the USB port of the laptop and does not have any thermal sensors, you have to use a small on/off switch on the side to control it. I will tell you that when the two fans are operating, you can't hear ANY sound that normally comes out of the laptop (CPU fan, disk drive).

dsigma6 · #5 Post by **dsigma6** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 10:23 am

I've never disagreed with Ray, but well..

I think (and the tests show) that laptop stands are a waste if your goal is to have a cool running system. If it takes 1-3C off of your running temperature, so what?

I sometimes use my Targus coolpad, but it's just to keep the ThinkPad off of a surface and elevate it to a more posture-pleasing position.

#6 Post by **rkawakami** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 12:06 pm

I only use the cooling pad on my Gateway system. It has a Pentium 4 Mobile 1.7Ghz and a thermal trigger for the fan at, what I consider, a very high temperature setting (~70c). Since I could not find any firmware upgrade for this thing a couple of years ago and I didn't want to try taking it apart to apply any thermal grease, I elected for a cooling pad. It seemed to have helped keep the system cooler (as felt by my hand on the left side of the keyboard). At the time I did not run any benchmarks to back up that conclusion, so...

I have just been running SuperPI (4M digits; elapsed time 9min, 9sec) and with the cooler off, the temperature as reported by MobileMeter is:

63-69c

With the cooler on (and the CPU fan still kicking in at times):

61-66c

With the cooler off, the CPU fan seems to run longer than when the cooler is on. Yet even with the aid of the cooler, the CPU fan is still cycling on and off, albeit at a shorter "on" time. In other words, the duty cycle of the fan is reduced slightly when the cooler is operating.

For an idling system (CPU throttled down to 1.2Ghz, System Idle Process at 98-99%), here's the numbers:

Cooler off: 50c (allowed to stablize for five minutes after running SuperPI; CPU fan never came on)
Cooler on: 48c (after operating for one minute)
Cooler on: 47c (after operating for five minutes)
Cooler on: 46c (after operating for ten minutes)

I should add that the disk drive temperature also dropped four degrees (45->41c) when the cooler is on and the hard drive not allowed to enter the powered down state.

Is it worth the $20 for the cooler and two to three degrees? As dsigma6 says, probably doesn't make too much of a difference. I think that the cooler also keeps the memory bay (and modules) at a slightly reduced temperature but I haven't tried inserting a thermocouple to know for sure. But in my mind, a couple of degrees is better than nothing.

tockki · #7 Post by **tockki** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 3:13 am

Thanks for the info... ^^ decided that cooling stands aren't worth it but during my search for it, I found somthing more pleasing and bought a 500GB ext harddrive by Fantom for $129 with rebate ^^ at newegg instead... good price but bigger hole in my wallet...

Laptop cooling stands?

Laptop cooling stands?

Who is online