Cooling Pads...Your thoughts?

So, I was in another reddit post and the topic of cooling pads came up. Some believe that they are a gimmick that don't work for gaming laptops and others swear by them. Your thoughts? Do you use them? If so, how many degrees do they drop your temps? As I'll have a high end gaming system, I want to do all I can to keep temps down...

 

You have to build your own if you want something decent.



This is my auto sensing dock with 2x Maglev 140mm fans, it helps a few degrees as it can push a LOT more air than the basic ones.

 

There's the "placebo effect" of elevation off a solid surface that helps airflow underneath even when the fan/s are off, that depends on the size of the rubber feet on the laptop.

As Meaker says the included fans are usually pretty weak and if you want some decent airflow blowing into fan intakes and helping reduce hardware core temps you need to rig up better quality fans.

That said I have still noticed a clear difference on core and surface (case) temps on every laptop I've had with a stock U3.

 

OK. Thank you both

 

Yes any basic stand that lifts it without any fans will do a decent job of setting aside a place you can always put it down and aiding the inbuilt cooling.

 

That said...a laptop stand that lifts the PC should aid somewhat in cooling the device. Results will vary as the laptop fans and most laptop cooling fans aren't that strong.
Unless u build your own...

Does that sum it up?

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According to this review looks like they can be effective

 

only slightly...

 

5 degrees under load isnt bad though yes with better fans like meaker pointed out would prob be better. I have an old cooler master pad i can barely feel any air pushing out of it. Think shes in line for an upgrade

 

Let me know what you decide on...I am waiting for the shipment of my Laptop but when i get it, I want to make sure I do all i can to keep it cool...

 

Get it propped up for now and go from there.

 

I've used NZXT Cryo LX for 10 years and renewed it's 3 120mm fans. It doesn't make a big difference on temperatures, so I use dustfilters to clean the air and reduce dust buildup inside of my laptop.
There are better mods/ways you can do to your laptop that will lower the temps.

 

I get around 4-6c drop on max temps when using my U3+ (x3) Vardar fan mod cooler. Same video as this but using 3x ek-furious vardar ff5-120mm fans.

 

Yes the custom ones can help a fair few degrees just from the sheer pressure and air volume.

 

Thanks!

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trust me, without proper pads on your components in your videocards, they will die much sooner.
this is a fact, this is also why I usually offer better pads when possible, my favorite choice is grizzly minus 8, they're good for the price and strong enough to last awhile, I use them for 1mm thermal pads on GPU VRAMs.
I usually cut them to fit myself when fitting them for a customer, and there is usually a tiny strick left over which is thin and perfect for another spot on the heatsinks of the videocards.
I supplement with Phobya when I need 1.5mm thick and I use dedicated 3M 3mm pads for the area's that need 3mm thickness.

rarely do I need 0.5mm but grizzly has that too, but I use 3M thermal pads for that thickness and usually it's only a small spot that needs it, in some cases though the VRAM needs 0.5, like older heatsink with newer pascal cards because the GPU center ide is thinner, sort of how kabylake's are thinner and slimmer then skylake CPU's are and people ahve to shim thier heatsinks to make great contact - same goes there.

I personally never found I needed 2mm or 2.5mm yet. though sometimes I might slim down a 3mm pad with a Xacto knife where needed.

Anyways, the difference is noticed right away, if you take a heatsensor, there is less build up on the card and the heat gets transferred properly.

you can buy these cheap heatsensors or gun attachments for your cell phones and they work okay.

 

He meant cooling pad, but any decent thermal pad will do (phobya/grizzly etc), you don't need the XT pads and the fit is actually more important than the type too.

 

Elevating the rear of the laptop higher than the front by an inch or two is what helps start convective cooling, and can result in a few to as much as 10c reduction in readings on full fan mode.

You can get that without a cooling pad, and I usually use rubber erasers or other office supplies when onsite at a new client if I am using their hardware to cool the laptop and reduce the fan noise (Macintosh's mostly).

If available small disposable drinking cups from drinking fountains are helpful, and I elevate all 4 corners to take the bottom of the Macintosh off the table so the whole metal bottom surface is clear for air flow, and make the rear an inch or two higher. I also do that with the erasers, one or two in front, two to four in the rear, use what you can find at the time.

If the site has laptop tray's to add to the table arms for the display's, those work well as angled surfaces to exchange heat too.

Fan's on a laptop cooler are usually those slow moving polite types that make no noise, but also hardly move any air, so I usually don't notice much of a temperature change at the CPU / GPU when those fans are on or off, but when on they can cool the laptop skin on the bottom, so I guess it's helping offload some heat.

If you need cooling over and above what the laptop air moving design can do, you can add vacuum attachments to the exhaust vents, which will pull more air through the laptop.

I just answered this in detail with an example here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...ng-pad-for-gaming.810659/page-3#post-10640835

OPOLAR Laptop Fan with Temperature Display and Cooling Pads
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01E3Q7FS...1A&pd_rd_i=B01E3Q7FS6&hsa_cr_id=9546078830901

I had 2 of them attached to a Crossfire ATI GPU laptop and it really did reduce temps by a lot during long batch job runs. But, they really are noisy

I've used this Cooler Master Ergostand III for large 18" laptops and small tablets, in various situations, to hold the laptop at a high angle for viewing, and it does help reduce temperatures, but only as much as the convection cooling assist helps:
http://www.coolermaster.com/cooling/notepal-series/ergostand-III/

Cooler Master NotePal ErgoStand III - Premium Ergonomic Laptop Cooling Stand with Large 230mm Silent Fan, 4-Port USB Hub, and 6 Height Settings
https://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-NotePal-ErgoStand-III/dp/B00MY3S2OM/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

At the higher angles I use wireless and wired keyboard / trackpad / mouse. The ErgoStand III folds up small enough and light enough to carry in a backpack.

 

The responses on here have been amazing! Thank you all. I'll let you know how I make out once my laptop is delivered.

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I prefer the sleek targus one, but you really need to mod it to make it better. Its too noisey.

 

It's not a fact at all.

[Correct me if I missunderstood - you're comparing "stock" thermal pads from the factory with "proper" thermal pads installed by the user or a reseller?]

If you take into account the failure rate of mobile GPUs because of inadequate thermal pads on the vRAM (this can be done in a number of ways, but simply even by comparing the failure rate of vRAM in laptop mainboards or on MXM cards the numbers are tiny), and if you're comparing the stock thermal pads from a laptop chassis factory compared to after market installed thermal pads, then the difference in failure rate or when they die is extremely negligable. You can argue that the temperatures could be lower and that there is more overclocking room due to this, but not that the components will die much sooner unless you replace the thermal pads that the factory install.

 

I'm not sure what you are trying to say.
Are you saying, the factory thermal pads can not be beaten in terms of performance ?
If they can be beaten in terms of performance (since we're talking about after market anyways), does it not go to say, the heat that builds up around various components transferring away and dissipating into the heatsink via the thermal pads, would not be better for the life of the card ?

You might not have your card die as often because of the components like VRAM, Mosfets and vregs , with better pads. Your card might not die as often period, because there is less heat buildup if they are not holding the heat as much either, if they are even remotely 5C less, that might make the chip and the overall card istel less as well.

Saying or suggesting otherwise, I just have to call you out on it, because your essentially saying, the thermal pads do not contribute much if at all anything measurable in terms of performance, but then you go and say you have more room for overclocking - geez, I wonder why that is , hmm ?
Could it be more thermal headroom ? Wouldn't that mean less heat on the card, period ? Take a thermal imaging device and go see the difference for yourself. I've done it, there's a difference. I'm willing to bet a card that is run cooler lasts longer, over all.
If you do not believe that, then we're stand opposed (in this belief), simple as that.

 

I don't want to get into an argument here, you seem to have taken my post rather personally (based on the way you replied and the sarcasm) but it wasn't intended to "shoot you down". Please read my post again - you've almost taken the complete polar opposite of everything I said and then argued against it.

You stated that a GPU will " die much sooner" if you don't change the stock thermal pads for better performing ones ( this is objectively false), as a pre-text to go on and explain what pads you install for people, how and why even though the thread is about laptop coolers, not thermal pads. People will read the post and think that the stock pads are inadequate, that they will cause the GPU to die much sooner than if they had better pads installed - it's simply not a fact.

"I'm not sure what you are trying to say.
Are you saying, the factory thermal pads can not be beaten in terms of performance ?" - No, actually I clearly said the exact opposite.

You're saying that I don't accept that better thermal pads exist and that I should use a thermal imaging camera to check the results; I said that they do contibute to something measurable in terms of performance, please read my original post. I know the difference cooling setups, heatpipes, thermal paste, delidding, thermal pads etc make - I've spent over 13 years working in a professional capacity with Clevo chassis let alone watercooling and TEC cooling pre-production testing, manufacturing etc etc.I know the failure rates of GPUs, BGA vs MXM, die vs vRAM etc. Every chassis that goes through our R&D department as part of pre-production testing has thermal tests carried out, including c-cover and d-cover, cooling assembly, heatpipes and so on. I don't always like what I see, but I know what I'm looking at.

 

Okay I see where this went wrong.

Stock is stock, I do not recommend changing stock pads - unless your changing the component those pads are connected to.
Thats what I mean. I think we were arguing two different things here.
I used to honestly suggest people just be careful, but everyone thinks they are careful, and yet these "careful" people forget to replace thermal pads and put ones that are dirty or broken back or ones that do not match the new component/videocard etc..

So now I just say it like this. Replace your pads and check for making perfect contact.
I personally believe it's better that way, the exception is of course if your experienced and smart enough to not only know better but capable of re-using the ones that are on there, then only do as you need.
But most people changing these cards from doing an upgrade for the first time, are not so confident are not doing it everyday, some are actually not very careful. Most are careful enough and want to do it right.
Depending on the system, the thermal pads will be a certain way. Like DELL and Clevo use completely different pads. I find DELLs pads to break up and become brittle sooner, for instance,
in cases where someone's replacing a 765M in thier AW17 with a 980M after owning and using it for 4 years, I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest they change the pads, because most likely from my personal experience, they were not salvageable at that point.
So it could be my examples or argument is relative.

 

If you intend to leave the machine overclocked and loaded for extended time it can certainly help to get the pads just so more just to get the core contact as good as possible. The performance of the stock pad material is totally fine.