A cheap and simple way to help cool a laptop: use bakeware. My cooling rack, made by Ekco, cost $3.99 at an outlet store. With this rack and a tiny desk fan, my laptop runs 8 to 10 degrees cooler than it used to. (I use HDD Thermometer, freeware, to monitor the hard-drive temperature.)
Formulaic disclaimer: Placing a computer on a piece of bakeware might lead to scratches or other damage, so be careful.
I must point out for former students that Ekco gets its name from the Greek oikos, meaning household, home.
[Oops: As I just learned while browsing, Ekco was founded by Edward Katzinger, whose initials gave the company its name. Still, I'd like to think that EK or someone close by was aware of oikos, the source for the English prefix eco-.]
[Update, June 26, 2006: This post has received roughly 4500 visits in the past four days (I'm amazed). Thanks to lifehack.org and Lifehacker for linking to it. And thanks to the commenters who've added other useful tips for cooling laptops.]
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That's a nice piece of ingenuity. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteCooling for free. This solution was tested in Iraq. Take 4 water bottle caps and place on work surface. Place laptop on bottle caps, the 3/4" of airspace will allow the air circulation to keep the laptop cool. -Chris D
ReplyDeleteIt's a vaio isn't it ? I think I have the same model standing around, it gets terrible hot.
ReplyDeleteI like the simplicity of the bottlecap and binder clip solutions. One advantage of the cooling rack is that the computer moves with it — no danger of anything sliding out from under.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, it is a Vaio, and yes, it gets really hot.
Thanks, everyone, for the comments.
Two rubber doorstops, one on each side to the rear of the lappie. Gives plenty of room for airflow, and makes a nice angle for typing.
ReplyDeletePackage of 4 tapered/wedge shaped rubber doorstops at your local 99cents/dollar store.
A mesh letter tray like this one (turned upside down) works well to allow airflow underneath, is stable, and the increased height puts the laptop in a more comfortable position (for me, anyway).
ReplyDeleteI take two masterlocks (not the dial knobbed school stle ones) that has a blue or black rubbing coating (for weather proofing which doesn't matter for this) and I just put it in the rear corners of the laptop. It raises the keyboard up and at the same time cools down the laptop.
ReplyDeleteHi guys, I'm using this a Targus Notebook Chill Mat
ReplyDeletehttp://www.targus.com/us/product_details.asp?sku=PA248U
found in BestBuy, all fine.
Cheers
Thanks for all the suggestions, readers.
ReplyDeletei use 2 old comp fans on a variable voltage dc convertor [this way i can adjust fan speed]1 blowing in the vent at back and 1 sucking out the side where the built in fan is
ReplyDeletemy laptop never gets hot whereas just with the inbuilt fan it always felt hot
thanks almost spent £80 on a cooling system using the bottle top idea and it works sorry if i sound surprised but i was thanks alot and Merry Christmas
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas! I've used 4 small self-adhesive square bumpers - 1 on each corner of my 20" Acer laptop. The result is reduction in average running temperature from 102F to 75F. Cost of bumpers was less than $2.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the idea! Great and simple way of keeping your laptop cool.
ReplyDeletehey just something i started today. i got about 7 20 cent coins (im australian) and taped them together, then just put the under the upper corner of the notebook, so 7 for each corner. it cooled my laptop by about 5 degrees celsius for a price of $2.80. and i can even refund it! haha
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your solution.
ReplyDeleteThis is another one I found searching around the web.
It is cheap as your but more efficient thanks to the fan.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Cheap-Laptop-Holder-and-cooler/
I hope you'll like this :)