cooling fan tray for laptop

wazza

Have a compaq laptop presario v6000. The model i have had a design fault which was fixed under warranty. Basically a component overheated and damaged the wireless card.

At the moment the laptop is working fine and the base is not hot. Regulary check to see the vents are not blocked by dust etc.

Have heard of laptop cooling tray which fits under the laptop. Is this worth getting? Will it prolong the components of the motherboard by preventing them from overheating? Any recommendations of cooling tray?

Thanks

Lum

One thing to check. Some laptops like to suck in cold air through the bottom of the laptop, others like to blow the warm air out that way.

Whatever tray you get, ensure that the fans on it blow in the same direction as the laptop expects the air to be flowing, otherwise you could actually make the ventilation worse and do further damage.

Lastly, some of them get power from a USB port. Some cheapo ones draw too much current and can actually damage USB ports. Officially USB ports can only provide 500ma, though many of them (especially on laptops) can safely provide more.

Personally I wouldn't bother with a tray, just make sure it remains free of dust and that you don't block the vents on the bottom. Many people kill laptops by using them on soft surfaces such as a bed where the laptop's feet no-longer serve to lift the vents a small distance away from the desk and thus airflow is restricted.

pete80

wazza wrote: »

Have a compaq laptop presario v6000. The model i have had a design fault which was fixed under warranty. Basically a component overheated and damaged the wireless card.

At the moment the laptop is working fine and the base is not hot. Regulary check to see the vents are not blocked by dust etc.

Have heard of laptop cooling tray which fits under the laptop. Is this worth getting? Will it prolong the components of the motherboard by preventing them from overheating? Any recommendations of cooling tray?

Thanks

I had a problem with my Dell Laptop overheating as I was using it for many hours each time.

I have tried 2 laptop coolers, one plastic (not very good) then got a ridged aluminium one (Akasa) from PCW which was far better and still have it after almost 2 years. This has dual fans and extra USB connections, cost about £25 when purchased.

Strider590

Not really necessary, but they can help.

The best way is to keep the underside clear and to have air circulating around the laptop (a simple small desk fan will do). As long as the warm air is being removed, you'll be fine.

pete80

Strider590 wrote: »

Not really necessary, but they can help.

The best way is to keep the underside clear and to have air circulating around the laptop (a simple small desk fan will do). As long as the warm air is being removed, you'll be fine.

Strider590, good advice for at home or work, I use the desk fans at home with both laptop and PC (in a hot country now) but on my travels I always take the laptop cooler.