Do I need a notebook Cooler

I have a new to me (but used) Inspiron 6000 (my very first laptop), simply love the thing to death. I use it for business, school, & web.

Do I need a cooler? I'm never on it more than 2 - 3 hours and most of the time I'm on less than an hour.

Thank you all for any input. I love this place everyone is so nice and helpful

agedog1

P.S. I mainly got it so I could copy the data from our two older (Windows XP) stand alone machines - we have a lot of hurricanes and nasty weather here and we are no longer young so it is hard to pack the big computers up.

 

It would help a LOT more if you could post the temperatures under load.

Download HWMonitor and post the results here. Then we could advise you properly.

Mr. Mysterious

 

All laptops come from the manufacturer able to cool themselves sufficiently, so none actually need a cooler. Ive used them off and on, but I'm not using one right now cause it doesn't seem to make any difference for my temps. It really would only help you if you are using CPU or graphics intensive programs - games, video encoding.

For business, school, & web, you wouldnt need one. Just leave it on a hard surface like a table, not your lap, so the fans can get air. Since its used, you might want to blow the fans out with a can of air though.

 

your notebook will be fine with the stock cooling system as equipped, especially if you're only on for limited amounts of time and you're not gaming or loading it heavily.

 

maybe it would help the OP, and anyone else that wants to know (like me), if people could give their recommendation for temps that would make purchasing a cooler a good idea.

i.e. i'm a big gamer and i transcode a lot of movies and i've never noticed my envy15 cpu go above 77c or my gpu over 78c and i dont use a cooler. i have no clue about my hdd, though.

 

Temps above 90C on any of the components, at any time, including load.

Mr. Mysterious

 

temps above 90C on gpu, above 80C on cpu, above ~45/50C on hdd

These are generally bad temps, and either there was a really bad job on the stock thermal paste, or something

 

O.K. I downloaded the HWmonitor and have no idea what it means there seen to be two montoring things:

Dell Value Min Max
THM 88degrees 88degrees 92

Fujitsu MHV2060 AT PL (I have no idea what this is)
Assembly 98 degrees 98 degrees 100 degrees.

My laptop is sitting on the kitchen table

 

ok so those are numbers in Fahrenheit i presume. and these are the temps while your computer is sitting idle or while your surfing the web? if so, then you have nothing to worry about.

 

Yes those are Fahrenheit and I was here on the web. Trvelbug I notice that most people here have these very fast expensive machines - is that normal here. I guess I am in the minority with my older small Inspiron 6000?

 

well this is more of an enthusiast's site, so yes you will find lots of members with very new tech.
but there are many still who try to keep their old dog running , so dont feel left out.

 

put a small book under it, it does a magnificent job of improving airflow

 

It depends, have you been having any problems with your laptop? If the answer is no then you don't need the cooler. If the laptop is getting too hot for your liking or it shuts down immediately due to overheating, then a cooler may help.

 

i dont subscribe to this line of thinking- just because there arent any issues atm doesnt mean there are arent any problems under the hood.

the op was right to ask, and he got his answer.

also just to be extra sure, try to monitor temps while doing the most cpu/gpu intensive thing you do. if your temps are below 80*c or the equivalent *f, i think your in the safe zone.