Leaving back panel off for more cooling?

This might be a stupid question, but what are the disadvantages to leaving the back panel (underside) of my laptop off (especially while gaming)? It would be sitting on my notebook cooler and would not be moved. This would allow more air circulation on the heat sink/chips, not to mention allowing my cooler to constantly blow on the heated parts.

I would of course keep anything from rubbing up on the inside components, but this isn't a problem since my computer has small pegs that keep it a few cm off of the cooler.

I'm thinking about just leaving the panel off all the time unless I have to actually move the laptop or transport it in my backpack. What would be any risks? Dust?

Curious to hear your thoughts.

 

Dust is going to be a problem with or without the backplate. I don't forsee any problems if it is sitting on a cooler.

 

Ya that makes sense, but will having it open just result in more dust which will result in... nothing?

I guess I'm trying to figure out a reason why keeping the panel off is a bad idea. Has anyone else done this for an extended period of time?

I did a search, but doesn't seem like this question was answered anywhere.

 

Dust will get in fans and in and under components. Not a good idea if you plan on taking it anywhere as well. I mean, I guess the Skeleton Desktop Case is pretty much the same thing, look at the reviews on that.

 

That's the thing, the only negative I can think of is dust. But as surfasb pointed out, there will be dust collecting in there with or without the panel. The only difference is that there might be more of it.

If there's a fairly constant air flow from the cooler, won't this prevent large amounts of dust collecting? And even if more dust does collect, what's the possible damage if I regularly clean it with compressed air?

Thanks

 

I'd think ESD would be the biggest worry (albeit it's about as small a one as getting too much dust in). An open case of any kind invites stuff bigger than dust/hair to fly in, and some of that could be metal particles from who knows where.

Physical damage actually might be the biggest worry. Pick it up absentmindedly and you'll crunch something with your fingers, or there'll be something on the cooling pad and you'll set it on it without even thinking.

Dust is really the least of your worries if you remove the bottom panel, imo. The reason everybody says "ZOMG DUST" is because it can block vent holes and clog fans, which is kind of a non-issue if you remove the vent holes from the equation.

 

OC @ 710/1000
OC Temp:57C - 73C

You don't really neede more cooling.. Why would you want to remove the backplate? You just push the laptop by mistake on the side and it falls half off the cooler and you risk damaging a bunch of stuff lol. Unless a component is in the danger zone you really have absolutely nothing to worry about as far as cooling goes. And dust is really not a concern, because you just clean it once every 3months and you're good.

 

The moisture in the air causes the dust to stick to your components. That's how the dust eventually builds up. The more air flow, the more chances dust have to start clinging to your components and to each other. It's a positive feedback loop.

 

Sorry, whats ESD?

All very good arguments, thanks everyone! The main reason I guess to do this now is to keep the idle/common usage temps down. The frustrating thing with this laptop is that it wont turn on the fans until the GPU gets to 65C. When it hits 65C, the fans will turn on and drop it back to 55C, but then will turn off again. So it will keep bouncing from 55C to 65C and back and forth every 2 minutes. This can get annoying :\

So I figured if I keep the panel open, it would significantly reduce this bouncing, and might also lower the load temps (which aren't a huge issue right now for me, but may be for some).

After searching the net for a while, it seems this might be the only place on the net where this issue is discussed (at least for laptops).

Thanks for the input!

 

ESD: Electro-static discharge.

Fair point given the increased exposure to environmental debris without a protective casing.

 

This is a possibility. Does anyone know the amount of dust necessary to build up to produce a static discharge that could damage electronic components in a laptop?

 

So I thought I would try to get some actual data for comparison. The results were hard to believe.

The temps for both the panel on and off were done with the CPU undervolted, the GPU forced to a constant downclock of 120/100, and with my crappy cooler on (Targus chill mat).

The "panel on" temps were taken on complete idle for 20 min, while the "panel off" temps were done with 10 min idle and 1 hour 40% load (watching video).



What is immediately evident is the large drop in temp for the max (15-25C!!). There was a reasonable drop in the min temps (0-6C). The main reason I think this occurred is because there was little fluctuation in the temps with the panel off. Thus the min and max temps were nearly the same (the cpu temps didn't move at all). Keep in mind that the panel off test was much longer and at increased load.

Also those parts of the laptop that receive the least cooling from the heat sink saw the greatest drop.

 

Nothing wrong with taking the back cover off as long as it's stationary.

 

Go for it!!



Connect four!

 

i play with mine off sometimes. Ive had no problems with doing that so far. The reason is because my laptop overheats and sounds like a jet engine spooling up when i play games.

so idk it should be ok but be mindful of all the exposed components.

 

dust?
blow with air duster more often
simple

 

these days laptop survive a screw falling into them while they are runing so esd is about no consern whent the laptop run (you really don't wan to know how i know this)

it might be bit more of a concern when it's of or about accidental dmg when moving it but simple logic state that you just put the pannel back after usage

dust it will get in there anyway so better enjoy lower temps

 

Say hello to compressed air cans all the time