What is the best cooling pad for a 15.6 gaming laptop?

Buying a new gaming laptop that gets really hot on the bottom side. I was wondering what is the most efficient cooling pad today?

 

You'd probably achieve better results with some carefully placed thermal pads and basic common-sense thermo-dynamic based mods. Depends what model of laptop you're talking though I suppose.

 

I am buying a MSI GS65. It will come with Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut on CPU + GPU, and Fujipoly Extreme Thermal Pads on heat sensitive surfaces. I read people are having thermal issues with this laptop but I am not sure if it's just people that want to justify returning it. So I am making my research about what I can do to lower the temp on my GS65 already.

 

If you can manage a -0.120V or more undervolt, that will help boat loads.

Additionally, you can see an outside-the-box approach of passive cooling I am experimenting with on my Dell 7577 right now that I just posted tonight (even though it really doesn't need any additional cooling for any sane, normal use case scenario):

http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...methods-on-metal-laptop-bodies-frames.816451/

 

Cooler Master NotePal U3 - Laptop Cooling Pad with 3 Movable Fans

 

I've had a lot of luck with my thermaltake masive with 2 120mm fans. It helps a reasonable amount on my P650rs-g

https://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-Aluminum-Adjustable-Temperature-CL-N002-PL12BL/dp/B00J0NZYOK

 

I couldn't agree with this more. I have one for my laptop and it greatly helps the temps stay cool by pumping air into the open ducts. Now grant it, it does depend on how many air slots your laptop has on the bottom of it as once that has next to none won't benefit as much as some that are much more open. Are you able to see what the bottom cover of the laptop looks like? If you have a dremel you can modify it and hot glue some mesh covers over where you cut to help improve airflow, just depends on what you're willing to do!

 

Hey there,

From what I can see, the MSI GS65 has most of it's ventilation in the back. It's great to target this area as it keeps airflow moving inside the laptop, but keep in mind if you can hit the bottom where it's not vented, you'll still get an effect.

Take a look at the Coolermaster Notepal U3 since you could target a couple spots on the back and one on the front. Alternatively, checkout the Coolermaster Notepal X3. I've tested the X1 and X2 and it always seemed to give good numbers with a few different gaming laptops.

Anyways good luck!

 

I used to lug around a Targus Chill Mat because I liked the neoprene, and it worked well enough. I never even bothered with the fans because simply the elevation made enough of a difference. Recently I picked up the Targus AWE83 because it's essentially the same thing and my GT60 0NE-403US fits on it nicely. Don't really use the fans much but again, it's mostly elevation. And when I do use them it doesn't seem to cause any negative effects. The fans are quiet but move air. I guess it depends on how much air flow you want, how loud you're willing to go, etc. From my anecdotal experience it seems like as long as you keep the intakes free and not blocked, any active airflow is just a plus.

 

Just buy any stand that will keep the laptop raised above your desk or lap. You don't need fans on the pad. If you still have thermal issues even when putting a fanless stand underneath or fanless pad - your laptop is defective (there is a bad thermal paste application or uneven heatsink surface) in which case you should return it. Nobody should rely on band-aid fixes like pad fans to deal with defects.

 

^^^ that's a valid point. I'd imagine manufacturers design their stuff to work on a table. The whole reason I have the one I mentioned is because I use it on my lap. If it can't work right when sitting on a flat surface where the feet can keep the intake open that's either a manufacturing issue or a design flaw.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

Most laptops seem to be relying more on "Side Vents" for their notebooks now so not to block the airflow with laps, tables, beds etc. Still, any touching surface will be transferred heat, so just keeping it a little lifted from a surface should help. If a notebook has D-panel/bottom side vents, then a fan to set the notebook on would be recommended.

 

I chose the Cooler Master X3 for my 17.3" MSI GS75 Stealth. The fan is silent even while it's set to max RPM and the materials aren't going to scratch the underside of my laptop. There is a wide variety between different laptop manufacturers and their included hardware and some do require additional cooling due to overheating such as the 6-core i9 versions of Mac Book Pro or Alienware m15/m17. However, even with proper internal cooling, having the additional cooling pad will still provide benefit to the hardware inside the device. By keeping thermals lower the cooling pad will prolong the life of the internal hardware so at the very least you're investing to extend the life of your laptop. I look at people without cases on their $1000+ phones the same as people running a workstation setup without a cooling pad. It's an obvious choice to protect what's important to us, especially if you can do it properly for under $40 USD.

 

to cool down your temps you could try artic mx-4 thermal paste and a cooling pad stand like klim cyclone, they works for me

 

This is the best solution.

Cooling pads worsen ergonomics by further raising the laptop. The added fans help a little, at best. But just raising the back of your laptop and clearing the way for the device's own fans to do their job is a way cheaper solution.
You can use two bottle caps, or whatever you have around. I usually have 2 SNES cartridges in my backpack I use just for that, they're the perfect thickness

 

A large rubber eraser works too, and is anti-slip.

 

I just got the Enhance gaming laptop cooler stand for use with my Maingear Element. It's definitely works, as before on a synthetic stress test the CPU would throttle at 3.25GHz, now with the cooler on max it throttles at 3.45GHz. Not bad for $28. Also I actually prefer the raised ergonomics that this cooling pad exhibits, IMO.

 

You know all I do these days is put my wallet under the laptop near the back so it props it up and doesn’t block any vents. Since you always have it on you it gives it another purpose then just spending money.

 

I just picked up the maingear as well. Been looking for pads. Will give this a go

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

The IETS GT300 is definitely capable of moving air. It's pricey (at $65), but it does work. It also has dust filters on the intakes to prevent dust from getting into your laptop.

 

That looks pretty well designed and crafted. The plastic apron is an interesting idea to force the desired vacuum

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Something like this i did:

(Notepal U3 with movable fans but custom fans)

Album pre-cut:

Spoiler

Fans with metal cut around for better air-flow:

Spoiler

3x12mm fans from desktop with a 230v to 12v converter basically

you already have a thread for the best coolers for laptops btw. Use search next time:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/notebook-coolers-a-buyers-guide.304671/

 

https://www.amazon.com/IETS-Cooling-Flexible-Colorful-Adjustable/dp/B07WVK2ZZ9

My Asus G14 [14" 4900HS/2060mq] on highest [turbo] factory setting. No mods, repaste or undervolt. Fan set on medium.

https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/56495224?

Clock frequency
1,920 MHz (975 MHz)
Average clock frequency
1,554 MHz
Memory clock frequency
1,405 MHz (1,375 MHz)
Average memory clock frequency
1,405 MHz
Average temperature
49 °C

 

there have been disussions here over the years, and fans can cause turbulence leading to less efficient airflow. the last time i used i used a cooling pad almost a decade ago, it did lead to lesser cooling on my sager laptop. ive just propped up my laptop since then.

 

I attached 2 USB powered 12mm fans to a notepal u3. Running Cinebench 23 on my heavily undervolted system for 30 mins each, the laptop (nh58AF1/apex 15) sustained 64.8C with the fans compared to 67.0 without. Idle is hard to measure due to windows crap, but I would guess the fans are shaving off at most 1C off the idle temps. Pretty marginal gains which is kinda expected given that the laptop's cooling was decent to begin with, and I was using off the shelf 5V fans.

 

I'm sceptical of this insulated design. I did an experiment with a 4 fan cooler, where I put an insulating tape around the edges of the laptop to direct the airflow to the bottom vents. Terrible temps resulted.

 

FWIW, I have tried the notepal U3 with 2 sets of fans:

AC Infinity Quiet Dual USB 120mm fan
(104 CFM, 19 dbA, 1mm H2O, 2.9W)

2x Noctua NF P-12 redux-1300 + random usb to dual 3-pin 12V cable off Aliexpress
(108 CFM, 19.8 dbA (single), 1.68mm H2O, 0.6W (single) ).
I chose this particularly for its static pressure and airflow balance, while maintaining a decent volume (without a way to control power, the fans will always run at full)

I got the Noctuas on a discount making the two pretty even on cost, but prices will depend on your availability and region.
Both were silent enough but the AC Infinity could be heard humming/vibrating at max speed.

Performance wise, the AC Infinity reduced load temps by 2C and idle by about 1C. I have only just installed the Noctua, but my (placebo?) first impression is that it is a little better, but not by much. Possibly more powerful case fans can be used (I wasn't expecting the Noctua to actually be that quiet), but as far as USB powered fans go I don't think there is very much more improvement out there to be had.

Mileage as always will depend on your laptop, and louder and much more expensive options include the NF-A12x25 5V and NF-F12

Edit: Having tested with the Noctua (as with the AC Infinity, Cinebench23 30 mins). Results (as compared to naked notepal U3)

AC Infinity: 2.2C load / ~1C idle
Noctua: 3.6C load / ~2.5C idle

The relative gap between the two (and as a percentage of delta from ambient temperature), actually narrows slightly on load, probably because the laptop fans are themselves working much harder, meaning they don't benefit as much from the external fans pushing air in.

It does mean that I can run my fans much more silently for light workloads, which is very nice. Total cost (excluding the AC Infinity) was roughly 50USD, but really fun