Laptop "false base"?

I wasn't sure whether to put this here or in the cosmetics section, but seeing as I'd be looking at doing this for purely practical purposes (and it will likely look pretty terrible) I thought here may be a more sensible place.

So brief backstory: I'm potentially in the market for a new performance laptop, but need to be able to use it on my lap. Unfortunately most have very high external case temperatures. For those interested the Aero 15 is currently in the lead.

As I'm looking to keep what I have to carry as thin and light as possible, I don't want to use one of the bulky cooling pads or cushioned things. I assume the feet are set at a height by the manufacturer to enable what they consider adequate airflow to the intake, so am thinking of permanently attaching a sheet of aluminium to the bottom, with space dictated by the feet between it an the laptop, maybe increasing or tilting it a little, as a sort of permanently affixed table top. I might look at affixing copper or some other highly heat conductive material on the laptop side of it, to spread out any hotspots efficiently.

Any thoughts on the matter? Is it likely to work, or will it increase laptop temps vs being on a desk for some unforeseen reason? My main concern is that a desk could potentially act as some large heatsink, but most desks are wood (a fairly good insulator) so I'm not sure this will apply, and I'm hoping the highly conductive layer will carry some heat to the edges away from critical components where it will dissipate easier. If I go ahead I'll make sure to report back here with how it works.

 

I don't think that's a very good idea.

 

For any particular reason or just gut feeling?

 

I agree.

Sheet metal will be uncomfortable on your lap

Aluminium or copper will also heat up if connected to the case

There are also thin coolers, look for one that's a plastic shell. It'll be weak airflow as it's taking it from the rear or sides, but good enough to stop lap burn. I had a cheapo one for a hot running 14" dell years ago, for use at an expo on thick tablecloths that would otherwise block the intakes. It was only about 1 or 1.5cm thick and had clip up tabs for elevation that could be folded down.

Also a thin laptop would fit inside the lip on my U3 you'd just need a bigger bag to fit it in. This actually might protect the laptop more during movement. After wrapping the laptop in something to stop it being scratched rubbing on the aluminium cooler of course

 

Thanks for your thoughts. If I did it out of aluminium I'd consider getting it finished to match the laptop, so I'd hope it wouldn't be too uncomfortable, could perhaps curve up the edge in ribs to smooth it off a touch?

Temperature wise I'm not looking for it to be cold to the touch, just maybe drop to mid 40's or so. The airflow on the aero goes bottom to top I think, so it should just be radiated heat that will be warming it. Do you think with the fairly minimal gap that would be enough to still make it too hot?

I was also considering a slim bit of ply. With enough contact points it should be rigid enough, and will be more insulating, although that might cause more problems for the temperature of the laptop components I suppose.

I want to stay away from cooling pads and so on as this is for work in coffee shops and hostels etc. I really want to keep any extra bulk and faff to a minimum whilst travelling, and adding a few mm to the depth of my laptop doesn't seem too bad. The other option is getting one of the "full sized" 3kg+ laptops, which can still get rather hot on the outside.