Help me buy a laptop cooler

[Irish_PXzyan]

Howdy lads,

I'm currently using a laptop for all my needs and I'd like to buy myself a laptop cooler while in bed to prevent it heating up and also if it's even possible, to reduce overall temps?

I've been browsing ebay last night for several hours and I've come across loads of nice looking cooling pads ranging from cheap to pricey coolers that seem to offer barely anything better than the cheaper options!

I will list a few that seem good enough to buy at a cheap enough price point and also a good brand option and see what yee lads think.

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/USB-LAPTOP-C...Computing_LaptopAccess_RL&hash=item3a692dd85f

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/2en1-20cm-FA...ntilateurs_Refroidisseurs&hash=item3f2dbcd677

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Thermaltake-...006?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c64e99a46

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Slim-Cooler-...pt=US_Laptop_Cooling_Pads&hash=item27e5bccf59

I've listed 4 that I like and even one of then offers a laptop bag which I don't own yet! So that would be nice ^^

Please feel free to suggest any other coolers that are worth buying at any price. But if it's over 60 euro then I'd need a good reason to buy that!

Cheers lads.

 

[flmatter]

If you are going to use it in bed then any of the ones that have the stand included or built in. But unless your laptop has vents cut into it(on the bottom) from the factory for air flow all you are doing is cooling the case and not the components. I use something like this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Student-Lap...221?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4181a6b825
What is the make and model of your laptop? The first and third options you listed above should be good though

 

[JTristam]

The first and second look fake to me. I don't know about the first link (fake Cooler Master Ergostand?) but the second one is actually a fake version (what the bloody hell is King Cool!?) of Cooler Master Notepal XL.

I have Cooler Master Notepal X3, U3 Plus (for my Macbook) and SF-19 (for my Asus G750) which I can recommend but I let you decide. X3 and U3 Plus is around 28-30 Euro, or less than 40-50 but the SF-19 is around 50-60 which is beyond your budget although you might find good reasons to buy it if you can deal with its fan noise (trust me, it cools better because its fans spin faster and louder) and bulky size. Oh, and they don't come with a bonus bag, but I think you better buy a laptop bag separately. One more thing, I never used them in bed so I don't how they'll perform on top of sheets or something.

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

My laptop is an XMG A504 " Clevo W355SS "
Are you saying that I would need to cut under the case to allow airflow? or do you mean if the case has vents under the case?

I don't mind about the bag as long as the cooler is actually worth bothering with, I'll get a seperate bag later before college hits anyway ^^
I really like the notepal X3. I found one on ebay for 40 bucks but it's from korea! ughh.

I don't care much for the loudness of a fan but I would prefer a cooler that allows me to control it, at least to lower it for casual use and up it for gaming use.

 

[flmatter]

I meant if it had vents under the case already. If it is completely smooth save for the rubber feet, all you are doing is cooling the case not components

See how mine has little slits for vents I use it mainly for gaming and have had no problems with cooling.

 

[sneekypeet]

Waste of time. Read reviews, they only cool a couple of degrees. You would be better off just using a tray or a slab of plywood unless you need the extra USB ports, lights, or another thing to draw battery life!

 

[LightningJR]

I'd have to agree with sneaky, they're not great. Get yourself a piece of wood or something to lay the laptop on while you're in bed. You would be better off taking apart your laptop and thoroughly cleaning the dust out of the heatsink/fan and repasting it with some high quality tim. Another thing you could try is undervolting your cpu. Undervolting does my laptop wonders. I decreased each pstate's voltage by 15% and now my laptop is cooler and quieter.

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

Okay I understand you now! Mine has 2 large vents under the case where external fans could easily blow air into. The laptop fan is right there and it blows the air right out of the back vent at the top left.

Yes Sneaky I understand completely, I have read many reviews of several coolers and barely any of them do anything! Which is why I'm here asking if anyone knows of any that actually work and which ones decrease temps most otherwise I will not even bother buying one and make something myself that's free.

I have Intel Extreme Tuning Utility which I use to keep the max frequency to 2.9Ghz per core which does reduce average temps by an average of 6c with no noticible reduction in performance.

I have reduced dynamic CPU voltage by -58 but I haven't noticed any reduction in temps??
Am I supposed to reduce the processor cache voltage offset too?
Or anything else?

Average temps range from 70-75c and when allowed to use 3.4ghz it'll raise to 79-84c

 

[LightningJR]

I have reduced dynamic CPU voltage by -58 but I haven't noticed any reduction in temps??
Am I supposed to reduce the processor cache voltage offset too?
Or anything else?

I'm not sure as I have an AMD laptop and it only gives me the option to change the voltage of each pstate, nothing about cache voltage. If you don't notice any difference in temps when reducing the voltage then I would suggest using CPUZ to see if the program is actually working and if the value you chose was significant enough, -58 could mean anything, -0.058V maybe? If the voltage does change and it's too small then increase the reduction further, most CPUs desktop and laptops have a lot of wiggle room and can be underclocked by AT LEAST 5%. Like I said I have mine undervolted by 15% and I wouldn't doubt if I can get near 20%.

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

Yeah I'll do that and see how far I can push it and if it even works :L

15% seems like a big undervolt! I hope mine can get that far but I doubt it. I will try anyway and hope it works ^^

I'll still buy a cooler regardless anyway! I think the first option will be the one that I'll go for

Edit: Can anyone tell me what on earth is this? http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Mini-Vacuum-...Computing_LaptopAccess_RL&hash=item35d20c6783

 

[P4-630]

The first and second look fake to me. I don't know about the first link (fake Cooler Master Ergostand?) but the second one is actually a fake version (what the bloody hell is King Cool!?) of Cooler Master Notepal XL.

I have Cooler Master Notepal X3, U3 Plus (for my Macbook) and SF-19 (for my Asus G750) which I can recommend but I let you decide. X3 and U3 Plus is around 28-30 Euro, or less than 40-50 but the SF-19 is around 50-60 which is beyond your budget although you might find good reasons to buy it if you can deal with its fan noise (trust me, it cools better because its fans spin faster and louder) and bulky size. Oh, and they don't come with a bonus bag, but I think you better buy a laptop bag separately. One more thing, I never used them in bed so I don't how they'll perform on top of sheets or something.

I have an Asus G750JX too, it does not have air inlets on the bottom so I don't think a cooling pad for the G750 will make any difference.

 

[OneMoar]

85c is fine in fact thats pretty darn good for a i7 laptop @ 3.4Ghz
its not overheating its within operating range by a fair margin intel specs that chip up to 100c
provided it would mount the vacuum air extractor would be a decent option if you really care about temps

 

[sneekypeet]

Tried a vacuum style cooler, they fail harder than the laptop coolers with Intel based laptops. They just make a ton of noise and use up a USB port.

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

Ah good stuff! Glad that this case does the job well enough so ^^ I still want to reduce the heat if it's possible
I actually just went ahead and spent 32 bucks on the first cooler! I'll be happy that my legs don't warm up and end up with swamp arse.... But a few degrees lower on the CPU will make this a brilliant buy for me!

Okay I won't bother with one of those vacuum things!

Edit: Upon further undervolting I have noticed a reduction in temps. It averages at around 75c now under full load and won't go higher than 80c. Not too bad! I have dynamic CPU voltage at -70.3125000 mV so I think it's working now? 75c average seems really good to me??

Another Edit: Got it stable at -100 and stays around 69-74c average! seems really good to me? the fan is also lower sounding so I'm very happy with this!!
After increasing the multiplier for all cores to run at 3.4Ghz instead of only core 1. the temps are 78-83c. Not too bad either eh??

 

[LightningJR]

Edit: Upon further undervolting I have noticed a reduction in temps. It averages at around 75c now under full load and won't go higher than 80c. Not too bad! I have dynamic CPU voltage at -70.3125000 mV so I think it's working now? 75c average seems really good to me??

Another Edit: Got it stable at -100 and stays around 69-74c average! seems really good to me? the fan is also lower sounding so I'm very happy with this!!
After increasing the multiplier for all cores to run at 3.4Ghz instead of only core 1. the temps are 78-83c. Not too bad either eh??

That's awesome! No need to underclock, just undervolt! If you're stable using -100 at 3.4Ghz then imagine how much room you had left when it was at 2.9Ghz. Like overclocking, undervolting depends on the chip. CPU manufacturers give CPUs a very conservative voltage to encompass the best and the worst of their CPU's silicon. So there's usually quite a bit of room to improve.

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

Yeah that's very true! I never really bothered with messing with the chip like I usually always do with desktops. But now that I'm trying to improve things it's really worth while now! Like 10c less at the same clock is flipping great!
I'm sure there was plenty of leg room at 2.9Ghz ^^ That pleases me!

I have a question now, when I'm running under battery I have it set to 1.0ghz max. Is it possible to set a profile to lower the voltage even more?? or does it work differently than I'm thinking. I mean... if it's set to 3.0ghz, it'll always be -100mv and if it's at 1.0Ghz, it'll always be -100mv regardless of frequency?
So no matter what frequency I set it, it'll always be -100mv from default?

is this going to improve battery life also??

 

[LightningJR]

Yeah that's very true! I never really bothered with messing with the chip like I usually always do with desktops. But now that I'm trying to improve things it's really worth while now! Like 10c less at the same clock is flipping great!
I'm sure there was plenty of leg room at 2.9Ghz ^^ That pleases me!

I have a question now, when I'm running under battery I have it set to 1.0ghz max. Is it possible to set a profile to lower the voltage even more?? or does it work differently than I'm thinking. I mean... if it's set to 3.0ghz, it'll always be -100mv and if it's at 1.0Ghz, it'll always be -100mv regardless of frequency?
So no matter what frequency I set it, it'll always be -100mv from default?

is this going to improve battery life also??

That is a good question and it's something I am unsure of since I have a much different laptop and use a different program to undervolt with. I am able to change the voltage of each pstate. I calculate 15% of each state and remove it from the default so that when I am on battery and the CPU downclocks it has the same improvements on temps/noise and power usage. So yes it will help with power usage if you undervolt the CPU while on battery.

If your laptop, on battery, clocks to 1Ghz and leaves the voltage unchanged then -100mV is very conservative and has the ability to be much more aggressively undervolted. But if the laptop, like my pstates, has a predefined voltage already set lower for 1Ghz then -100mV could be too aggressive and may result in instability.

Are there other options available in the program? It would be quite restricted if you only have the ability to change the voltage at it's default clock.

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

Nah there isn't much else that I can change, just to lower cache voltage which I'm currently testing ^^

I'm going to set a 1.0Ghz profile and see how far I can lower the voltage and hopefully it'll help to lower the temps! even at 1Ghz the temps can reach 63c?! seems a bit crazy for such a low frequency.

Edit: I have it set at it's lowest now which is 800mhz. I have gotten dynamic voltage at -200mv as -213 causes a crash. seems stable enough at the moment, I've also set the cache voltage to -90mv at the moment and the temps stay at 40-42c now ^^ That's much better temps while under load while on battery!

 

[LightningJR]

Nah there isn't much else that I can change, just to lower cache voltage which I'm currently testing ^^

I'm going to set a 1.0Ghz profile and see how far I can lower the voltage and hopefully it'll help to lower the temps! even at 1Ghz the temps can reach 63c?! seems a bit crazy for such a low frequency.

Edit: I have it set at it's lowest now which is 800mhz. I have gotten dynamic voltage at -200mv as -213 causes a crash. seems stable enough at the moment, I've also set the cache voltage to -90mv at the moment and the temps stay at 40-42c now ^^ That's much better temps while under load while on battery!

Wow yeah that's huge. Keep testing i'm very interested what values you get. At 800Mhz and -200mV battery life will be much better. Now to disable half the cores and you'll be running 6hrs on 1 full charge.

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

Jayziz you're right! how do I disable cores???? didn't even think of this :L 6hrs would be flipping brilliant! I get roughly 4hrs as is so if I get even more I'd be laughing!

Edit: Okay just done it :L running 1 core with 2 threads. will see how long this lappy will last on a single charge! already noticing a hit on performance though :L

 

[LightningJR]

Jayziz you're right! how do I disable cores???? didn't even think of this :L 6hrs would be flipping brilliant! I get roughly 4hrs as is so if I get even more I'd be laughing!

Edit: Okay just done it :L running 1 core with 2 threads. will see how long this lappy will last on a single charge! already noticing a hit on performance though :L

haha! You actually managed to do it! NICE! xD i just RNG'd my brain to get 6hrs! idk if going with 1 core will improve it THAT much, the biggest power drain after you downclocked to 800Mhz and undervolted would probably be the screen. It's pretty awesome that you can do all the to your cpu, if your power ever goes out you know how to maximize life of your battery. Wont be able to do much on it other than SD video, typing or windows games but it's possibe!

 

[Irish_PXzyan]

Even 5 hours would be great ^^
Yeah that's true, I usually have brightness at 40% while using battery and watch HD videos usually and battery survives for 3 and a half hours at the very least! Not too bad
I hope I can get a bit more time out of it now! Would be great!

 

[JTristam]

I have an Asus G750JX too, it does not have air inlets on the bottom so I don't think a cooling pad for the G750 will make any difference.

Too? Mine is JZ, not JX. I don't know about yours but mine has ventilations around the SODIMM and storage area.

 

[P4-630]

Too? Mine is JZ, not JX. I don't know about yours but mine has ventilations around the SODIMM and storage area.

Yes but thats not an air inlet for the 2 fans.
You don't need a cooling pad on Asus ROG laptops, they come with a great cooling design.

 

[P4-630]

Too? Mine is JZ, not JX. I don't know about yours but mine has ventilations around the SODIMM and storage area.

My Asus laptop stays always cool around those ventilation areas under the laptop and I don't see the need for a laptop cooler for this laptop, it would not make a difference temperature wise.