[tomdkat]

Does anyone have any opinions on external laptop coolers, whether they be standalone fans or "pads" the laptop sits on? I'm looking at getting a cooler for a Toshiba Satellite laptop that's been running a bit warm and I was looking at some cooling 'pads', like these:

Cooler Master NotePal
Thermaltake Massive23 ST
Vantec Lapcool 4
Antec USB-Powered

Do these cooling "pads" tend to work ok? Online reviews I read indicate they do but I haven't had much personal experience with them.

Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated!

Peace...

[Megabite]

Yes they do work as when I had my laptop I had it jacked up with a household fan blowing full on the underneath. I finally got a laptop cooler and it did work better but I think they stole my idea.

Have you also tried cleaning the Heatsink out of any dust with a can of compressed air

[tomdkat]

Originally Posted by Megabite

Have you also tried cleaning the Heatsink out of any dust with a can of compressed air

I didn't use compressed air but I did blow through the vents and some dust came out when I powered the system back on. I confirmed the CPU fan was spinning.

Thanks for the feedback!

Peace...

[Megabite]

When I was trying to keep the heat down on my laptop I took the heatsink out and cleaned it and re placed the thermal paste.....before I did that the fan was going high a lot. It certainly made a big difference but was very fiddly.

With most laptops your fighting the heat battle.

[managed]

You may find a dismantling guide here if you decide to get inside to clean it :- http://www.irisvista.com/

What model Toshiba Satellite is it ?

[Elvandil]

I have a pad for home, but for outside, I use this fan.




It really pumps out the heat and is a bit easier to carry around.

[tomdkat]

Originally Posted by managed

You may find a dismantling guide here if you decide to get inside to clean it :- http://www.irisvista.com/

What model Toshiba Satellite is it ?

I want to say it's a Satellite Pro L505D-S(something) but I forget. It's not that I'm not able or willing to dismantle the laptop, it's just I wasn't wanting to do it that night. I find when I embark on those kinds of projects, Murphy shows up and that would have meant I would have been there until 3am getting it back together and running again. lol

So far, the blowing I did seems to have helped since the system is running at normal warmth now. One of these days, I'll crack it open and do a more thorough inspection and cleaning, if necessary. Thanks for the link.

Originally Posted by Elvandil

I have a pad for home, but for outside, I use this fan.




It really pumps out the heat and is a bit easier to carry around.

Awesome! Thanks!

Peace...

[managed]

Originally Posted by tomdkat

I want to say it's a Satellite Pro L505D-S(something) but I forget. It's not that I'm not able or willing to dismantle the laptop, it's just I wasn't wanting to do it that night. I find when I embark on those kinds of projects, Murphy shows up and that would have meant I would have been there until 3am getting it back together and running again. lol

So far, the blowing I did seems to have helped since the system is running at normal warmth now. One of these days, I'll crack it open and do a more thorough inspection and cleaning, if necessary. Thanks for the link.

Peace...

I am all too familiar with that Murphy !

I always intend to stop those sort of jobs when I'm getting tired but I never seem to actually do it. Too stubborn I suppose and it does increase the spare screws collection nicely.

Just like to add that Elvandil's little fan looks kind of, well, cool.

[Elvandil]

The "little fan" actually connects to the output vent (it is actually located as pictured on most Satellites), so it helps the internal fan, possibly even taking over its functions if the internal fan failed. But the advantage is that it cools the area that the manufacturer thought needed cooling the most when they designed to cooling system, and just adds to that. I use it on a Toshiba Satellite, as a matter of fact. It has 2 speeds, but I always run it on high. It's silent. Why would someone ever think that their machine needed less cooling? (I better turn that down. I'm getting frost on the screen!)