Guide to Cooling Down Your Notebook Computer

how does one clean dust out of a laptop? with a tower its easier to use the air can since there is so much room.

 

ummm maybe you should read page 1???

 

What i meant was that when i bought this notebook(april) the room temps were lower than what they are now.

I guess i will clean up the dust whenever i get the time

 

I have, I am NOT removing my computer cover however.

 

You could shoot the canned air through the fan grills. Try to force the air out through the vents. When no more comes out, shoot some air the opposite way through the vents and vice versa until no more dust comes out. That should help.

 

wouldn't that destroy the fans though? shooting air in the opposite direction to the fan rotation?

I was of the idea that these cooling fans were quite delicate things.

 

Ideally you want to prevent the fan blades from moving. You could take a toothpick, pin, or other slim device and stick it between the fan grill to inhibit the fan's movement. Note that I take NO responsibility from damage resulting from that or anything else in this guide. I explicitly stated that everything is at your own risk.

 

I don't know if anyone already tested this, i didn't see all the 27 pages, but anyone knows if this external exhauster cooler works? (link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834998465 )

 

Toothpick is a great suggestion. I've also used a stiff piece of wire before when I didn't have a toothpick around.

 

No one has tried that particular device to my knowledge. It's not that cheap (well, $15 . . . ) but could be effective in the right notebook. However, your PCMCIA card slot would have to be located over or in close proximity to heat-producing components.

 

Great guide Chaz. I read it once before but checked it again after I recently went from a 2GHz T2500 to a 2.33GHz T7600. We talked about this before and I really wasn't going to upgrade....but.....I got a really great deal on the T7600. I decided to treat my W2jB since I plan to keep it for a long while.

My question...all I had available was Ceramique. Is that as good as Arctic Silver 5? I hear it's much less messy. My idle temps are around 50 degrees celsius and moderate use pushes me to around 60. This seems acceptable but I was curious whether AS5 would make a radical difference.

Thanks in advance.

 

Nice job with the upgrade, congrats on the CPU. I have used the T7600 before and it is a beastly CPU.
Creamique is fine, AS5 will not do much more for you. Creamique is easier to apply and much easier to clean, so yes it is less messy. Your temperatures are more than fine. AS5 would shave off another 1 or 2 degrees but it isn't worth it.

 

Excellent!
Thanks Chaz.

 

hi everyone im new. I just got my first hp notebook for Christmas. Since the notebook is new should i still worrie about the heating? I want the life of my notebook to be long and do as little heat damage as i can. So should i worrie about the head now with a new computer or wait untill it gets some age on it?

 

Well prevention is always better

Just make sure you clean out the vents every so often (at least once a month)...us NHC to monitor your computer temperature. Undervolt if you are worried about heat...

 

have anyone tried the zalman nc-1000
it's a bit on the expense side but pretty goof reviews, but it seems to be blowing air up instead of sucking it down

 

no the NC 1000 sucks air down where as most blows up have you read my review?

 

thanks helping out man,
hmm confused.. this is from nexs' review

"Many notebook coolers use the fans to blow away warm air from under the machine. The zalman does the opposite, it sucks in air and blows it out through the small holes" i think zalman's own illustration indicates that it blows air up


so I think this would be ideal for my dv2500t since my bottom fan suck air up and blow it out the back fan, only thing is the fan is located towards the upper right portion of the laptop which according to the design of the nc1000, it would not be directly out the many vent holes but at the solid aluminum end, would this mean a no go?

 

hmmm i still thinks it sucks air away...hearing from many NC 1000 users...

If you want to cover a large area i would recommend my NotePal Infinite

 

I have the nc-1000. It blows air towards the laptop. If you want a cooler for 17+ laptops then wait for the zalman nc-2000. The nc-1000 is ok. It reduces my temps by 2C under full load. Amazingly quiet but wished the fans were stronger.

 

i am looking for a notebook cooler pad for my m9750, and i was looking at the zalman NC-1000, would the m9750 fit on it? the width may be a problem but not sure if the feet a few cm in may make that no problem.

 

just a picture to stress what I mentioned earlier
I'm not sure my laptop will be in the optimal position to be cooled by the NC-1000

 

Unfortunately you're not going to find a cooler that has a fan located all the way in the corner. The best you can do is get a cooler like the Zalman NC1000; it will blow air up into the many air ports on the bottom of your notebook.

Notebook coolers that blow air upward are better than those that suck downwared because they are more effective. If the cooler sucks down, it can create a vacuum because the notebook's fans are trying to suck air up. This can cause your temperatures to get worse. Most coolers blow air up at the notebook, which is best.

 

oh you guys have me so confused right then...note to self...''IT BLOWS UPWARDS''

But as I said the NotePal does cover most of the notebook...

 

Question for Chaz - For the Arctic Silver 5 guide, there's nothing on Duo 2 Cores, should I just use the Dual Core guide?

Also, how would you recommend cleaning a glossy screen?

 

If you look in this PDF file, those directions are the best. Apply a thin line of AS5 from the top of the CPU to the bottom directly down the middle. The 'bottom' of the CPU is the side where the little yellow arrow is pointing down and to the left. You'll see in the guide that the CPU die is rectangular and by applying AS5 like that, you cover it most completely.

About cleaning the screen - personally, the only thing I would ever use on a glossy screen is a microfiber cloth and a few drops of water. Make a small section of the cloth damp with some water (just moist, not dripping - you do not want water running down your screen) and go over the screen with that, then use the dry part of the cloth to dry the screen. Don't apply much pressure, let the cloth do the work. You might have to go over the screen a few times to get it completely clean and streak-free.

 

Many thanks to you Chaz!

 

wow, excellent guide. I first read this on tablet pcreview as soon as it came up. I bought a Pacific Breeze online because this review said it was so good. after using it for a year, I'll buy no other cooler - EVER. (Unless spire decides to scale the cooler size up, for use on larger notebooks).

The LEDs are VERY annoying, but I fixed it:

Use a phillips head screwdriver to get the fan grills off. Take the screwdriver, and SMASH!!!! the LEDs, 4 per fan. LED problem solved. I'd be happy to take a picture (when I get home) of this fan in action without the LEDs for proof. The fan works flawlessly, and I'd buy another in a heartbeat.

 

LMAO! ''SMASH'' hahaha i might have a look at the Spire actually

 

Hi, on the lappy in my sig I'm running 18kfanGUI to monitor the temps and this is what Im seeing.
CPU-90
GPU-87
These are while gaming but the idle temps average 50 to 58. I did blow out the fans with canned air and I did get out a little dust. The GPU fan sounds like a aquarium pump; I will have it or maybe both of the fans replaced under warranty, but it is still functional for the time being. What do you guys think? Are these temps off the scale or do you think its safe to keep using my laptop?

 

Those are temperatures in Celsius? Ouch. It sounds like a) your fans are not working at all, or b) the heatsinks got knocked around. Either way, that's not good.

Download and install Notebook Hardware Control and see what temperatures that reports.
http://www.pbus-167.com/

 

Hi Chaz, yes those are in Celsius, while gaming...I'll take you up on your recommendation for that download and get back to ya. Thanks for the response.

 

Ok, ...Notebook Hardware Control reports 84 degrees for the CPU while gaming and I can't figure out how to get the GPU temp. However, after I stop gaming and return to browsing, it quickly cools off to about 50 to 53 degrees. I can here both fans running and I feel air movement by the vents but not as much as I think I should judging it by a E1705 that I also have. The fans may be worn out, what do you think?

 

That's way too high for a Pentium M, mine tops out at 59*C while gaming and doesn't stay there long. Your idle temperatures are not bad, right now I am at 47*C with a Pentium M 1.86GHz undervolted (idle).

Since you cleaned out all the dust, you should call Dell and get it fixed under warranty. I don't know what temperatures other I9300 owners have but I can tell you that your CPU temp is high, regardless of what machine it's in.

 

Ok, will do, thanks for the advice.

 

what would be the best cooling pad for a small laptop like my Thinkpad X61?

 

The Spire pacific breeze is an option

 

I do think there is a big difference between Caps reports 84 degrees for the CPU and what your thinking... reports 84*C for the CPU.
Cap is actually running 84 DEGREES or 28.8 C
Which is quite cool.... Unless Cap really meant C, then it is waaaay too hot!

 

Read ..............

 

Anyone have any idea, other than using a cooling pad, as to how to cool a hard drive? My hard drive is coming in around 52C idle. Thanks.

 

Try usign NHC and enable hard drive spin down...

 

Yessss, but he said Degrees again after that post...

 

Hi, yes I did say degrees...my mistake...all the temps I reported where in Celsius. I am happy to report today that I took my lappy apart (I hate to give up) and what I found was TONS OF DUST! Yep, jammed in-between the fans and the radiator fins (dont know if that is the correct terminology) of the exit vents for the CPU and the GPU. So I took out the fans, cleaned them gently with canned air and q-tips, cleaned out the fins and vents, put it all back together and ta da, my temperature problem is GONE!

NEW TEMPS (Celsius)

Idle
CPU-45
GPU-50 and up to 54 while browsing.

Gaming
CPU-59
GPU-53

Im happy!
Cap

 

I love happy endings like that!
Yay!

 

Very nice! Make sure from now on you clean out your laptop every few months to make sure this does not happen again.

A cooling pad that blows upwards would be most effective.

You're also going to want an upward blowing cooling pad, they are the most effective. The Targus Chillmat would be a good fit for your machine I think . . . even though it is advertised to suck downward, it blows some air up. It makes a great platform to put the machine on in your lap too.

 

I apologize for not responding to your post earlier. If you want a cooler that covers the entire bottom of your notebook, the the Spire Pacific Breeze cooler is a great choice, a review of it is on the front page of this thread.

 

I have a probably dumb question, but I recently bought a notebook Acer Aspire 9410Z and was wondering how long if plugged in to power source can you leave the notebook on without hurting it. I find myself powering off and on often and would like to leave it on during the day. Thanks

 

You won't ever do damage to it by plugging it in, in older batteries if it was plugged in all the time the battery would "forget" how to hold a charge, not sure if that still happens though.

 

But will it overheat or something like that? Can I leave it on all day?