turn it off and on again

[Legendary Silke]

Yeah I love my cooling pad. Was only $12 or so on Cyber Monday and it got great reviews, love this one. Only issue is my laptop can slide off of it sometimes but I find ways to keep it there one way or another. The laptop gets so much cooler when it's on that it almost surprises me. At times it feels ice cold and I dunno whether that's good or not..... :(

Cooling pads definitely help when the laptop itself doesn't have cooling issues by itself, and by that I mean blocked vents or a failing fan.

You can never be cold enough until it's out of spec. So long as you stay away from sub-zero temperatures, you should be fine...and most homes shouldn't have a problem with that.

I personally think that laptop being cool may mean a good thing most of the time, because for some, they're able to do several tasks that demands many GPU and CPU activity (like gaming or rendering videos) without having the risk of it being overheating most of the time.

And speaking of which, usually my cooling pad works pretty good at reducing heat most of the time, even though sometimes it's not enough when it comes to rendering videos that I have to provide extra fan in the back.

Bingo! Thermal throttling makes your performance tank.

I think I prefer desktops, though. They are much nicer in terms of cooling options.

 

[Tsutarja]

I need to replace my cooling pad. The USB cable that comes with it is worn out from constant use and I'm using my laptop like crazy these days since I don't have a desktop. :/

 

[Sheep]

Good to know, thanks Twiggy. ♥ I'm not very tech-savvy so I had no idea lol. Yeah.. I got my cooling pad originally to hopefully play games more but I still stick to minimal usage and turn the game off if the fan becomes too loud. Doesn't happen often (only for those more intensive 3D games) but bothers me when it does. ;(

Hope you can replace yours soon, Zach!

 

[Legendary Silke]

I need to replace my cooling pad. The USB cable that comes with it is worn out from constant use and I'm using my laptop like crazy these days since I don't have a desktop. :/

Maybe when it breaks :)

(While you're at it, clean out your laptop's heat sinks.)

It's kind of amazing how much improvement you can get with a cheap 2.1 25W set of desktop speakers compared to a freebie USB speaker.

 

[Legendary Silke]

Personally I think cooling pads aren't that necessary if you can make sure that the laptop is working in tip-top shape when it comes to its fans, heat sinks, and vents. Having them be as unobstructed as possible is much better than any cooling pad.

 

[Legendary Silke]

Even then, it's difficult sometimes, I can run Dolphin, a Wii emulator, and even with a cooling pad it still runs at 60°C. Without, it'd probably be at 70 or even higher.

It probably isn't thermal throttling. ;)

 

[Tsutarja]

So far my laptop has done great with ventilation in the almost two years I've owned it. I have yet to hear its fans get loud compared to my last two laptops (both HP and Compaq, respectively), so I hope nothing's wrong yet. :P

 

[Legendary Silke]

Sometimes I envy you guys.

I tend to not bother with AC, though.

 

[Morkula]

Cooling pads are mostly ineffective at actually cooling laptops - and in some cases can actually make them run hotter if they block fans/vents/etc.

Re: desktop CPU coolers - I actually upgraded to an H100i GTX a few weeks ago and it's made a noticeable difference from my old Hyper 212 Plus. Idle temps are only a couple degrees cooler, but load temps have dropped about 15-18 degrees. My CPU is overclocked as well, so the cooler the better.

 

[Legendary Silke]

Cooling pads are mostly ineffective at actually cooling laptops - and in some cases can actually make them run hotter if they block fans/vents/etc.

Re: desktop CPU coolers - I actually upgraded to an H100i GTX a few weeks ago and it's made a noticeable difference from my old Hyper 212 Plus. Idle temps are only a couple degrees cooler, but load temps have dropped about 15-18 degrees. My CPU is overclocked as well, so the cooler the better.

Probably should check how the cooling system works on the laptop before getting a cooling pad in the first place. If it doesn't have any vents on the bottom... :)

I want a H80i GT myself. :)

 

[Morkula]

Probably should check how the cooling system works on the laptop before getting a cooling pad in the first place. If it doesn't have any vents on the bottom... :)

I want a H80i GT myself. :)

I was planning on the H80i GT but the H100i was on sale for only $10 more, so I figured the extra performance was worth it. Either way though, it looks much nicer than having a giant metal heatsink on my motherboard.

 

[Legendary Silke]

I was planning on the H80i GT but the H100i was on sale for only $10 more, so I figured the extra performance was worth it. Either way though, it looks much nicer than having a giant metal heatsink on my motherboard.

Heh. For me, my case doesn't support the H100i GTX, so the H80i GT is as good as it gets. Though it does seem like it's just overkill for me...

 

[Morkula]

Heh. For me, my case doesn't support the H100i GTX, so the H80i GT is as good as it gets. Though it does seem like it's just overkill for me...

I actually upgraded my case too. :P
Wanted to swap out my parents' case, so I just gave them my old one and got a new one for myself. Has a nice side window, better airflow, roomier, etc.

 

[Legendary Silke]

I actually upgraded my case too. :P
Wanted to swap out my parents' case, so I just gave them my old one and got a new one for myself. Has a nice side window, better airflow, roomier, etc.

That sounds really nice. :D

Me, I think I want to get two more case fans for intake airflow. A pair of good 140mm fans would do wonders...

Yikes, there I am again, wanting things that I probably don't need anyway...

Running all case fans at 100% seems to be a sure-fire way to make sure the air is actually flowing, but the fans do make themselves obvious. At least the fans I'm using don't make an obnoxious sound at that rate...

 

[donavannj]

Case fans? Who needs those? :P

My PC's been running without any, though that's because the case sides are open because they won't fit the case anymore, so it's getting ventilated by the room air.

 

[Legendary Silke]

Case fans? Who needs those? :P

My PC's been running without any, though that's because the case sides are open because they won't fit the case anymore, so it's getting ventilated by the room air.

Hehehehe.

I don't like going open with my cases. It's just asking for trouble with someone like me!

 

[donavannj]

Hehehehe.

I don't like going open with my cases. It's just asking for trouble with someone like me!

I generally don't like PC cases sitting open, but this case was the only case I had available when I first built this PC, and now I can't get the hard drives out because of the screws now missing threads, whoops.

 

[Legendary Silke]

I generally don't like PC cases sitting open, but this case was the only case I had available when I first built this PC, and now I can't get the hard drives out because of the screws now missing threads, whoops.

Aww...

Man, I sure am spoiled by cases that are mostly tool-free... being able to do almost everything maintenance-related without having to use a screwdriver is very nice.

 

[donavannj]

Aww...

Man, I sure am spoiled by cases that are mostly tool-free... being able to do almost everything maintenance-related without having to use a screwdriver is very nice.

I don't think I've seen a case where everything was entirely screw-free to remove/insert. Not even the OEM ones from HP.

 

[Legendary Silke]

I don't think I've seen a case where everything was entirely screw-free to remove/insert. Not even the OEM ones from HP.

Yeah. Though they're doing it really good these days - pretty much the only ones that you need a screwdriver for is the motherboard, case fans, and the power supply for certain cases. Mine is one of them (with the addition of 2.5" drives needing them).