Do you use a laptop cooling pad?

Hi everyone,

Just wondering if you actually NEED a laptop cooling pad below your laptop when playing games (stock unclocked 8600mGT...) or do you only need it when you O/C and things get hot OR you don't need it at all ^_^

I'm thinking about buying one only because I'm tired of shoving books underneath when I play on my bed lol.

You comments and opinions will be much appreciated.

 

No. GPUs cannot overheat at stock settings unless they are defective or you are blocking the vents with something. It's only needed if you OC and really push the card to its limits.

 

Does laptop cooling pad really help keep temperatures low when you O/C?

If so by how much?

Everyone, feel free to post your temps

 

I don't use a laptop cooling pad right now, I may consider getting one in the future. My GPU is overclocked (475->520 atm), and my CPU is undervolted to 1.012V (might try going lower).

GPU temps range from 58C idle to 75C after gaming for ~2 hrs. The slight overclocking I applied so far didn't change the temperature at all compared to stock settings.

 

Nice! Can you give me an idea how much performance improvement this O/C makes? I'm using 169.28 drivers

 

I've OC'd my core 100mhz and my memory 50mhz, and has only MAXED at hours of CoD4 to 76 degrees. (Used to be 74, but today got up to 76) My stock was 450/600/1200, I am now at 550/650/1300, and still running cool. I use one of those Targus things that has no fans, but lets the air free... don't know if it helps, but it could. My temps are still too low for a cooler.

 

I don't have any actual numbers right now, but I have played Call of Duty 4, Hellgate London (singleplayer), and The Witcher before and after the overclock. Even without the overclock I consider all 3 of these playable at highest settings, 1280x800, 2xAA although there are some parts (particularly in The Witcher) that the framerate would drop to barely-playable levels. Now the O/C doesn't let me crank up the AA to 8x, but what it does do is pretty much eliminates slowdowns in CoD4 and Hellgate, and makes slowdowns in The Witcher fewer and much more playable.

Overall with the overclock, I am very impressed that a mid-range card can play new games maxed out with 2xAA at native resolution. Obviously Crysis is an excepton to this, but it's going to be a while before most games "catch-up" to Crysis as far as hardware requirements go.

 

No I don't need one. I have a Sager NP5791 and it's fans do a great job of keeping the computer cool. Even after an intence gaming period, parts of it are cool to the toutch!

 

I OC'd my 1520 and it still runs very cool. No need for a cooling pad.

 

i get 67C idle on my GPU...is it just a piece of garbage lol?

stock drivers and no overclock

 

Eeek! I OC'd and get 50C idle lol.

 

Am I noob for having to prop up the front of my dv8000t with my Gameboy Advance to get better airflow when I'm gaming?

 

That's probably because you still got powermizer working, if you installed laptopvideo2go drivers with their inf then powermizor will kick in, or if you are running with stock drivers.

 

Extra cooling doesnt hurt anything except for your wallet... ^^

 

So, it still DOES hurt something...

 

Well it does keep my notebook a lot cooler if I place it in an angle....else if I lie it flat my notebooks get warm......I keep a gap of about 1.5 cm at rear and o.7cm in the front

 

yes...**** ya i can p[lay cod4 at max

 

you're not a noob, but it sure is ghetto

 

haha thanks for all the interesting replies, I had a look at everyone's poll too...looks pretty even for every option XD

I guess I'll grab one so I can use laptop on my bed (my main reason lol)

 

great way to utilize outdated technology =]

SO IT CAN HELP YOUR UBER TECHNOLOGY.

 

Don't use powermizer or rivatuner to measure temperatures since I don't overclock and have my laptop on a wooden table. Might have to clean vents once I get home for the New Year, winter is really good for gaming.

 

My Sager NP5320 always ran warm without a cooling pad but it does not overheat. I have the X700 OC'ed by about 15% on the core and memory and the laptop does not feel any warmer (can't measure since my GPU does not have a temperature sensor). Lately I have not been using a cooling pad since I haven't been gaming on my laptop.

 

I don't overclock and I don't use laptop cooling pad. I don't like to carry extra stuff with my notebook. That defeats the purpose of having all in one portable computer. Portability is a biggie for me.

 

I use the Bytecc Aluminum Notebook Cooler (NC-500).

Does a fairly good job keeping my notebook cooler. The fans I can barely hear, sound kind of like a calming breeze. Something like that.

 

What exactly is powerizer? I don't remember turning it on.

 

It is enabled by default, you can turn it off using the Nvidia control panel. It basically steps down the core clock and memory clock of your GPU when it is not needed. Usually there are 3 profiles: 1 for 2D, and 2 for 3D (low and High). I believe it also reduce the amount of voltage to the card under 2D or low 3D clocks thus making it cooler, but I may be wrong.

 

So while I was playing COD4 yesterday, I had my notebook propped up with my GBA (see previous post) and gpu temps were actually 5-10C lower than without the GBA (70-75 compared to 80-85)... amazing

 

So it's nothing I should worry about or anything right? lol.

Btw thank's a ton Dragonpet, you've been a ton of help these past 2 days

 

Up to now i use stock driver and no OC... i tried to undervolt with no real success... the temp is at 70c on the video card after 22min of stress bench with atitool... and 62c proco with ortos... i think its not that bad...

im waiting new driver for my 8800m gtx so i can try to OC... and maybe ill try again to undervolt the proco...