7 Ways to Cool down an Overheating Laptop

A Laptop, no doubt is one of the most essential gadgets as it is light weight and portable in nature. Everyone loves to have a Laptop because of their compact design and portability. Like most of the gadgets, Laptops also have some drawbacks and problems as well, Overheating being the major one of them. Almost all Laptops overheat on continuous usage of 4-5 hours and playing high res games heats the Laptop even faster. The main cause of the overheating problems in Laptops are components like the Hard Drive, Graphics Card, Processor, etc… and you may ask, “These components are also found in Desktops, then why don’t they overheat as quickly as Laptops do?”

The answer is simple in fact.  Components in Laptops are jam packed and there is very little space left for proper air circulation where as desktops have enough space for these components and space is sufficient for proper air circulation (as well as desktops typically have bigger fans and vents). I have a Laptop (Dell Inspiron N5050) which normally does not overheat for daily work which involves blogging and browsing but overheats within an hour when I play high res games like Dead Space, Dead Island, Max Payne, Spiderman 3 etc. as they require extensive use of the graphics card and processor. Using a hot Laptop can be very uncomfortable and the system can start running sluggish from the components heating up as well.

Here are Some Methods Which I Use to Cool my Laptop:

Don’t go on the name

Though it is called a Laptop, the worst place for a Laptop is on the lap. Keeping it on the lap blocks the air vents in the Laptop, causing the air to circulate less freely and reports say that if a pregnant woman keeps Laptop on her lap, she is endangering her self and possibly the fetus,  and for men it can lead to reduction of sperm count due to the heat spreading into the bodies reproductive areas.

Avoid using Laptop on Carpets, Beds and Pillows

Keeping Laptop on soft surfaces like Cushions, Carpets, Beds and Pillows block the air vents in the Laptop. If you want to use it on Beds and Carpets, prefer to use a Hardboard and keep the Laptop on it.

Consider buying a Cooling Pad or Chill Mat

Cooling Pads or Chill Mats are introduced to avoid extensive damage to internal parts of Laptop due to over heating. A typical Cooling Pad consists of one or two fans and a rubber support for elevation. By using a Cooling pad, Laptop users can reduce the problems caused by overheating to a large extent.

Maintenance

Make a habit of cleaning the Laptop at least once in a week to remove clogged dirt and dust particles inside the air vents of the Laptop. Purchasing a can of compressed air can be really useful to clean the air vent and other internal parts of the Laptop.

Monitor the Temperature

Programs like Speed Fan can help to monitor voltages, temperatures and fan speeds in Laptops.

Let the Laptop rest

As you feel tired and exhausted after working for a couple of hours, the same goes for your Laptop. Allow it to cool down by giving it some rest. It is better to keep the Laptop in front of Cooler or Table Fan.

Use the Laptop on Power Saver Mode

The Power Saving Mode in Laptop manages sets the brightness and other settings to save power as well as to reduce the processes, there by preventing the Laptop from Overheating.

What do you think about these methods? Do you use any of them? Did I miss any other methods to cool a Laptop? If yes, then I would love to hear from you :)