Laptop Bed Desk

With laptops and portable computers gaining in popularity, it is important to know how to keep your laptop cool. Many laptop manufacturers actually don’t recommend that you use a laptop on your lap. As ironic and counter intuitive as this is, they are correct in being cautious about using laptops on your laps as they get extremely warm and may cause burns. Laptops have a hard time keeping cool because all of their electronics are contained in a very compact body where airflow is less than optimal. Let’s take a look at some ways to keep your laptop cool and how to avoid injuries from a scalding computer.

1. Laptop cooler: One of the easiest ways to keep your laptop cool is to buy a laptop cooler. They come in various shapes, designs, and sizes. Pick one according to your laptop’s size. Most laptop coolers will use a fans to blow cool air on the bottom of your laptop. This is the most effective method of cooling your laptop, especially your laptop has vents on the bottom.
   There are also passive laptop coolers. Some are slabs of metal like aluminum that help to increase airflow underneath the laptop. A laptop stand may be useful for elevating your laptop to eye level if you prefer to use an external keyboard, mouse, or a second monitor. There are also laptop cooling mats that claim to distribute heat through a gel-like substance. I’ve found these to be less effective and may actually warm up the laptop.
2. Cleaning your laptop: If your laptop used to be cool but is now running hotter than normal or worse, over heating, then it may be time to strip down your laptop to give it a good cleaning. It is usually a good idea to spray your laptop’s vents with compressed air every once in a while to clear it of large chunks of dust. If your laptop is easy to take apart like Apple’s MacBooks and MacBook Pros, then you should remove the bottom panel to shoot compressed air more effectively into the fans. Some smaller computers rely on one laptop cooling fan, which makes it crucial to keep your computer as dust free as possible.
3. Control your fans: If your fans are cleared of debris but you still want your laptop to run cooler, there are ways to increase the fan speed inside your computer. On Windows laptops, you can set your power settings in Vista or Windows 7 to “Power Saver,” which should help the computer throttle back its power consumption, therefore cooling the laptop. There is also a program called SpeedFan which you can download for free. It’s great for monitoring your computer’s temperature and you can increase the fan speed within the app.
   If you have a Mac, there is a program called SMC Fan Control that you can download. It allows you to set the fan speed manually or set it to have a higher minimum fan speed. I like to set it to have a higher minimum fan speed when plugged into the wall to keep it cooler while it’s charging.
4. Avoid stressing your computer: One of the easiest things to do to avoid heating up your laptop is to reduce the number of processor or graphics intensive programs running. If you’re running a game or watching a video, your computer will start to heat up to the top of its operating temperature range. Close programs you don’t need and avoid watching video or gaming if you are using your laptop on your lap. If you still want to use your laptop on your lap while doing more processor intensive things, you might want to invest in something like a laptop bed desk that creates a barrier between your laptop and your skin.
5. Keep your room cool: If the ambient room temperature is high, your laptop’s temperature will be high as well. If you want to keep your laptop cool, just put a fan in your room to cool down the air. This will have a bit of an impact on the temperature but nothing dramatic. On a hot summer day, a laptop can really heat up a room to an uncomfortable level if you don’t have air conditioning. Having an electric fan near by your laptop will do wonders for keeping you and your laptop cool.