Do you use a notebook cooler?

[Illuminis]

With my 4 year old dell M1530 the running temperatures are always high (60 degrees Celsius at idle, 90 degrees under stress) so I've always left it on top of a laptop cooler that blows air under it. I think it's helped quite a bit. I will be buying a gaming laptop soon, and I'm just wondering if current laptops (that aren't dell) are generally good with temperatures, or I should continue sticking with the cooler. Anyone else always leave their notebook on a cooler? Thanks!

[DRY_ICE]

I think it'll remain a good idea to use a cooler on high-end laptops for a while. It's a precautionary measure - it may or may not help you, but it certainly can't hurt with the heat some of these bad boys produce.

I figure it's a small investment to make if you're buying a powerful machine, and if anything else it'll add peace of mind. The last thing you want is to overheat gaming and have to kick yourself.

[utiadam]

i have a 1 month old G73 and ive been using a Cooler Master SF-19 since day 1

[rastamandom]

i have a 1 month old G73 and ive been using a Cooler Master SF-19 since day 1

im interesting in buying new cooler, can you post the photo of your G73 on it, im little worry about angel

[powerpack]

A cooler is always a good idea. Lower temps are always better. That said the G73 is no DeLL and it's thermal solution is far better. I do not use one but I also do not hardcore stress either. As Dry said a small investment. But do not think it is critical and must always use.

[Keeper]

I use one and do get a 3-6 degree change when under load, depends more on what surface you're playing on but I use mine all the time, it's a nice piece of mind.

[SFxBA]

I use a NZXT CRYO LX and love it minus the no on/off switch. I just have everything plugged in a surge protector and flip the switch instead of unplugging the cooler.

[utiadam]

im interesting in buying new cooler, can you post the photo of your G73 on it, im little worry about angel

https://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=289384&id=702923965

[rastamandom]

https://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=289384&id=702923965

Thanks! now it's to much on angle for me!

[Redcrush]

I use an Xpad, it's a passive cooler, and very thin/light. I use the laptop on my lap from time to time and don't want to worry about blocking the air intakes on the bottom. It's cheap and fits easily in my laptop bag.

[CrowTech]

I think it'll remain a good idea to use a cooler on high-end laptops for a while. It's a precautionary measure - it may or may not help you, but it certainly can't hurt with the heat some of these bad boys produce.

I figure it's a small investment to make if you're buying a powerful machine, and if anything else it'll add peace of mind. The last thing you want is to overheat gaming and have to kick yourself.

That is the honest truth right there. Heat is the enemy. Anything you can do to lower temps is something you need to do. It's not optional. Laptops really have cooling problems by design even in the face of the best cooling system made for them. Having the laptop up a little bit with air moving underneath will increase the longevity of the components by a great deal.

Don't take chances. Get yourself a cooling pad. It's well worth the peace of mind. There are a lot to choose from, so you should be able to find something that works for your situation. Even the more expensive ones are absolutely worth it and while I didn't opt for one of those in my case, my lesser expensive one lowers the temps about 5 degrees C (both idle and load). It also helps expedite the transition from load to idle temps as well; the laptop doesn't stay hot once the load drops.

[Vmuse]

The G73SW-3DE is as cool or cooler than room temperature. I might end up getting a cooler, but for now I'm not that worried.

[CrowTech]

The G73SW-3DE is as cool or cooler than room temperature. I might end up getting a cooler, but for now I'm not that worried.

At idle, sure. Under heavy, heavy load - no way, no how. Run a prime generator on all four cores or run a big time 3d application. That's where your concern should be. The longer you run a laptop under extreme load, the hotter it gets. Raising it up and moving air underneath is the only way to combat that.

For the cost of the cooler, it's silly to me to have such a beastly laptop without one. It's literally about 1 or 2 percent of the cost of the laptop. It's well worth it, but that's just my opinion.

[Vmuse]

Yeah to be fair I have had a lot of stuff to do since I got it and have not gotten to seriously push it, but it's massively cooler than anything I've ever used before without gaming on it

[simprog1700]

I don't use a cooler.................

[pdesopo]

[...]That said the G73 is no DeLL and it's thermal solution is far better. [...]

I'm curious about that, what Dell uses and what's the difference?
Is the thermal solution the same adopted by Sager?

[Maverick494]

I'm curious about that, what Dell uses and what's the difference?
Is the thermal solution the same adopted by Sager?

I guess I don't understand your question, of course they are all different designs. The bottom line though is there are only so many ways to configure a laptop to suck cold air in and blow hot air out, so there are bound to be some similarities.

[singleshot71]

Quit thinking about it. A $30-50 investment can save you $1000s on buying a new laptop later. My wife's HP just up n quit on her one day, for no other reason than she didn't want to listen to me. Now she's using my old Compaq (with notebook cooler) and wishing she would've listened to me.

BTW, my Compaq is 4 years old, and her HP was just a little over 1 year old, and failed due to heat.

[Arclight]

Just purchased one--arriving tonight if UPS does not use it for a basketball.

NZXT CRYO-001Blk

[pdesopo]

I guess I don't understand your question, of course they are all different designs. The bottom line though is there are only so many ways to configure a laptop to suck cold air in and blow hot air out, so there are bound to be some similarities.

Yeah, I guess the confusion is due to the thing I don't know what the thermal paste is and what kind of other solutions do exist on the market.

From my understanding, thermal solution is a paste that is being applied over the cpu to keep the heating as low as possible, that's all I know.

My question was if Dell uses a different approach and if that may be better or not.

[Keeper]

Yeah, I guess the confusion is due to the thing I don't know what the thermal paste is and what kind of other solutions do exist on the market.

From my understanding, thermal solution is a paste that is being applied over the cpu to keep the heating as low as possible, that's all I know.

My question was if Dell uses a different approach and if that may be better or not.

Everyone uses thermal paste on the machines, whether it be dell, hp, alienware, w/e it is, they use it. There are different brands of thermal paste that are better than others such as arctic silver, etc. Dells, HP's, and many other of the main stream laptops are not as cool as brands like Sager and Asus.

Sager and Asus are gaming machines, and as such take cooling very seriously, and for the most part are substantially better than other machines. If you want to know more about how Asus cools, read the Asus info on their website, it explains it. I am not sure what other information you're looking for.

[Keeper]

Also those of you that are getting an Asus, yes the cooling is great, but that is not all there is to it. I keep mine on a cooler and do notice a couple degrees difference under load, but the main thing is surface. If you're propping it on your lap with no cooler and the vents on the bottom are sucking at your pants, well it will heat up more than it will while sitting on a cooler.

I have done 12 hour game sessions with temps never going above 70 degrees, and have had short sessions while sitting on my lap for an hour and it hitting 80 until I put it back on my cooler and back to 60's.

[singleshot71]

The biggest difference in "name brand" laptops and gaming laptops, is the colling and hardware in them. MOST laptops come with 1 fan to blow the hot air out, while most gaming rigs have 2 fans, 1 for cpu n 1 for gpu. As most laptops have integrated gpu's, they use 1 to cool the whole board. Thermal GREASE is used to transfer the heat from the cpu/gpu to the copper heatsink, then the fan kicks in to cool the heat sink down, in turn pulling more heat out of the cpu/gpu.

[SmogHog]

Yeah, I guess the confusion is due to the thing I don't know what the thermal paste is and what kind of other solutions do exist on the market.

From my understanding, thermal solution is a paste that is being applied over the cpu to keep the heating as low as possible, that's all I know.

My question was if Dell uses a different approach and if that may be better or not.

Thermal Paste is best applied by the tinting method.

In the tinting method a small dot of TC is placed on the CPU,GPU and heatsinks.Then with a straight edge,like that of an old credit card,it's spread across the entite surface of the CPU and GPU.This fills in the pores in the metal with the TC and forces out the air that is a poor thermal conductor.Just enough TC to fill the pores should be used.

Many heatsinks have machining marks in the surface where it makes contact with the CPU and GPU.Here more TC may need to be applied to fill the machining marks but only in the area that makes contact with the processor.

Don't over apply TC.

I used Artic Silver 5 for years but switched to MX3 about a year ago.It's easier to apply and offers equal or better heat transfer.

Most claims about a thermal compound's ability to cool better than another brand/type is mostly marketing hype.The best way to insure good cooling is to correctly apply the TC.

In theory,the IC Diamond TC should be better than stock because of manufacturing quality and heat conducting properties but most of all because of the custom skilled application of the TC by XOTIC PC technicians or yourself.

There's 2 types of IC Diamond,7 carat and 24 carat.I don't know which is used in the thermal compound upgrade

TC should be replaced every time you disassemble your units cooling system to clean the vents,fans and heatsinks.;anywhere between 6 mos and a year is normal.

[Maverick494]

Thermal Paste is best applied by the tinting method.

In the tinting method a small dot of TC is placed on the CPU,GPU and heatsinks.Then with a straight edge,like that of an old credit card,it's spread across the entite surface of the CPU and GPU.This fills in the pores in the metal with the TC and forces out the air that is a poor thermal conductor.Just enough TC to fill the pores should be used.

Many heatsinks have machining marks in the surface where it makes contact with the CPU and GPU.Here more TC may need to be applied to fill the machining marks but only in the area that makes contact with the processor.

Don't over apply TC.

I used Artic Silver 5 for years but switched to MX3 about a year ago.It's easier to apply and offers equal or better heat transfer.

Most claims about a thermal compound's ability to cool better than another brand/type is mostly marketing hype.The best way to insure good cooling is to correctly apply the TC.

In theory,the IC Diamond TC should be better than stock because of manufacturing quality and heat conducting properties but most of all because of the custom skilled application of the TC by XOTIC PC technicians or yourself.

There's 2 types of IC Diamond,7 carat and 24 carat.I don't know which is used in the thermal compound upgrade

TC should be replaced every time you disassemble your units cooling system to clean the vents,fans and heatsinks.;anywhere between 6 mos and a year is normal.

actually you do NOT want to put it on both the surface of the heat sink and the die. You want it on one or the other, not both. You can apply thermal coupound in more than just the tinting way too and have it work ok if you aren't comfortable spreading it.

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=170&Itemid=1&limit=1&limitstart=4

[Wrexhavok]

I would check your grease manufacturers web site for their recommendations, as IC Diamond is different than Arctic Silver in how they say their product should be applied. Arctic Silver also recommends different applications for different processor types.

[pdesopo]

Thank you for all the explanations, now is much more clear to me.
At the end it seems that, generically speaking, gaming machine are built to last more than other laptops.

The Nvidia Quadro FX1500M on my Dell M90 stopped to work 99% to over heating and now it's useless. Next machine will most probably be a Sager.

[SmogHog]

If you search the Internet you will find many articals and recommendations about thermal compound and it's application.

One thing that you will notice is that many of the articles are quite old.

Surface Spread/Tinting is not even in the older articles.Also absent is newer TCs.

You need to test different TCs and application methods yourself to get a feel for it and see what works for you.

Just don't overapply TC.

Artic Silver 5 application:
http://www.arcticsilver.com/intel_application_method.html#

IC Diamond application:
http://www.innovationcooling.com/applicationinstructions.htm

Remember to thoroughly remove the old paste before appling the new TC.

I can only tell you what works for me from 30 years of experience and experimenting.

Naturally your mileage may vary.

[scar]

They made thermal paste 30 years ago? Lol