Do I Need A Laptop Cooling Pad?

Dear Computer Lady,

Are laptop cooling pads necessary if one uses the laptop on a hard,flat surface.

Thank you for your outstanding site, Abby

Dear Abby,

There are a lot of factors to take into consideration when trying to decide if you need a laptop cooling pad. You need to think about the temperature of the environment you are using the laptop in, you need to think about which laptop brand and type you are using, the age of the laptop, and how hot the laptop gets when you are running it.

Lets take a look at some of these factors.

First, where do you use your laptop? Are you using it in a nice cool, air conditioned area where the temperature never gets above 75 degrees? If so, you would not need a laptop cooling pad as much as if you were using it in a hot environment.

Now, lets look at the laptop itself. Some brands tend to run hotter than others, and some processors tend to run hotter as well. I don’t have a list of laptops that will tell you which laptop runs hotter than others, but you can probably tell if your laptop is getting too warm when it runs, and you can also search for your laptop model online for comments from others who use the same model as you.

The age of your laptop matters as well. The older a computer gets, the less efficient the hardware will be, and the warmer it will get when it runs. If your older laptop is getting hot when you run it, you might be able to extend the life of the computer a little bit by running it on a laptop cooling pad every time you use it.

Next time you turn your laptop on, pay attention to how hot it gets. If there are places on the laptop that feel hot to your touch, or the air blowing out through the vents feels hot to you, a cooling pad would probably be a good idea, and it will probably extend the life of your laptop.

Elizabeth

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