How to Choose a Good Notebook / Laptop Cooler

Learn how to effectively choose a good cooler for your laptop or notebook.

A laptop/notebook cooler or cooling pad is a device which is supposed to help cool your laptop when you are using it. This would prevent damage done by excessive heat and thus prolong your laptop’s lifespan.

Most coolers have fans which are powered through the USB of the laptop. Some do not have fans and just elevate the laptop to allow air to circulate. There are also coolers which act as mats which absorb the heat away from the laptop.

If you just pick any cooling pad thinking they’re all the same, then it might not cool your laptop at all. You might even think that laptop coolers are just a waste of money and should not be bought at all.

DSCN1827 by raybdbomb

 

It’s also wrong to assume that there’s an ultimate laptop cooler that can cool any laptop or notebook available in the market. Why? Because there are different types of laptop ventilation and you should at least know what type your laptop has before buying a cooler.

 

Check the Ventilation of your Laptop or Notebook

The position of the vents and their ventilation method is the most important information you will need in choosing a good laptop cooler. It’s because your laptop’s ventilation is its primary cooling system and the cooler you choose should be complimenting or helping it.

1. The most common ventilation method is that there are one or two air intakes in the bottom of the laptop (air is being sucked in), and there are one or two air exhaust vents at the back side of the laptop – as shown in the illustration below. 

 

Since we already know where the air intakes and exhaust are, the laptop cooler we should buy should complement the already existing ventilation of the laptop.

An effective laptop cooler would push air up to the intake vents of the laptop. If a mat like the ThermaPack or a laptop stand is to be used, it should at least allow air to the intake vents.

Taking a closer look at the vents…

 

Other laptops or notebooks have more vents (usually those with a graphics card).

 

Make sure the cooler you choose to buy takes advantage of the multiple air intakes of the laptop. The laptop cooler should push air to most if not all air intakes.

 

2. A less common ventilation method is the exact opposite of what I’ve recently shown. The air intakes are at the side or at the back, and the exhaust is at the bottom.

 

If this is the case, there should be enough space between the laptop and the surface from where it’s placed. A laptop cooler which pushes air up to the bottom of the laptop shouldn’t be used as this would conflict with the ventilation of the laptop (It might push the hot air back to the laptop). You could however, place a small USB powered fan at the air intakes located at the bottom or side of the laptop.

 

3. Another ventilation method is where there are no air intakes but there is an exhaust located at the back or the side. These are mostly seen in Mac notebooks.

Laptop coolers which suck or pull air at the bottom of the laptop and release it at the side or back of the cooler are appropriate for laptops with this kind of ventilation. Mats with some kind of special gel which act as heat absorbers and distributors (like ThermaPak) can be used as well. They work extremely well for these kinds of notebooks.

 

Check your Laptop’s Heat Spots

Heat spots are the areas at the bottom of your laptop (except the vents) which run hot when the laptop is turned on. Be sure to check for heat spots so that the laptop cooler you buy are able to reach them as well.

Heat spots are non-existent on some laptops.

 

We already mentioned above that if your laptop has a ventilation method where the air intakes are at the bottom, and the air exhaust are at the side or back, a laptop cooler which push air up to the bottom of the laptop should be chosen. We also mentioned that air should be specifically pushed up to the air intake vents.

However, if heat spots at the bottom of the laptop are present, air should not just be pushed up to the air intakes but to the heat spots as well.

If your laptop however has no air intake vent and just an exhaust at the back or side (like Mac notebooks), the fans which suck air at the bottom should be at the position of the heat spots for greater effectiveness. That’s why cooling mats with special heat absorbing gels like the ThermaPak are most effective in laptops like these – it just absorbs the heat at the bottom of the laptop and doesn’t need to worry about air flow.

 

Design and Build

Lastly, the design and build of the laptop cooler should also be considered. Laptop coolers with fans are either made of plastic or metal. If you prefer a cheap solution then plastic laptop coolers can be for you. Plastic laptop coolers also have the advantage of being lighter and easier to carry around.

Although metal laptop coolers are heavier and pricier, they conduct heat better and are thus able to disperse it better. There are also plastic coolers with metal or aluminum fans. This is good as well as metal fans release cooler air than fans made of plastic.

Mats with special gels like the ThermaPak are the easiest to carry. Mats also do not require that you put it in a flat surface unlike laptop coolers with fans.

 

That’s it! Laptop coolers aren’t really complicated but it requires that you at least know the ventilation of your laptop, the heat spots (if any) of your laptop, and the design and build that you prefer. I hope I’ve helped you how to choose a good laptop or notebook cooler.