A cool way to keep a laptop from breaking a sweat

Overheating can be a big problem for laptop PCs. It prevents the computer from operating at optimal efficiency and, in some cases, will cause the laptop to crash.

In fact, heat is the No. 1 enemy of most electronics. And it is even more dangerous in small devices, such as netbooks, because so little space can be devoted to dissipating that heat. And, of course, there is the discomfort of having a really hot laptop sitting on your legs, which might even get to dangerous levels.

Every laptop user has likely seen at least one ad for a laptop cooling pad. The question that immediately comes to mind is: Does it really work? Will this little $20 or $30 device actually help my laptop run better, or is it just another peripheral gizmo that is all show and no go, the equivalent of computer snake oil? It’s questions like those that keep those of us in the lab up at night. So, to help us sleep, we decided to test one.

Laptop cooling pads come in two varieties. Active pads have fans that aid cooling by producing extra airflow on the bottom of a laptop. These have a few disadvantages. First, they require power through a USB connection or separate power cord. And if they are pulling power from your battery, that means less runtime. Second, more moving parts means more chances of something breaking.

In contrast, most passive coolers use substances that draw heat away from a computer by being physically in contact with it, a method of heat transfer called conduction. These coolers require no power, but sometimes the heat transfer can be less effective if the heat source is not evenly dispersed across its surface.

We decided to test the second type of cooler because they are generally less expensive and you can toss one into a laptop bag without regard for the safety of the unit, which is mostly just cloth around a heat-absorbing substance. And it probably won’t give your friendly Transportation Security Administration folks any cause for alarm either.

Other Business News:

Toshiba pa3536u-1brs Battery

Toshiba pa3399u-2brs battery

sony vgp-bps2a battery

Oil Cooled Computer