Why the hell do laptops have to be so hot?

I love sitting here in the big cumfy chair....cold haus ale at side and a box of herb triscuits nearby...HBT'ing.

But...DAMN...this laptop is making my nads feel like steamed mussels.

Why do laptops have to run so damn hot?

I bought some big kick ass pots at a cafeteria auction this spring. At the same auction SWMBO bought a huge stack of old cafeteria trays. I set the laptop on one of those and it keeps the exhaust and intake port free and insulates my lap a bit.

Both the disk & the processor eat power and the battery heats up supplying it. It's like having a 40 watt light bulb in your crotch. Try altering your disk's standby time and see if your CPU has an idle timer. A few systems will drop the clock speed if nothing much is happening.

Not all laptops run as hot and eat as much power. I've got a 1.6 GHz Centrino that's a few years old. It runs cool enough that the fan rarely comes on from just surfing or word processing. Now if you peg the CPU for very long, sure it's going to generate more heat and the fan will start running. I've seen some P4 laptops that are HOT, the fan never stops running, and the battery doesn't last for $#@!.

Fingers said:

I bought some big kick ass pots at a cafeteria auction this spring. At the same auction SWMBO bought a huge stack of old cafeteria trays. I set the laptop on one of those and it keeps the exhaust and intake port free and insulates my lap a bit.

Click to expand...

They also have cool plates for laptops, but I've never used one. I don't know if they would help if you're trying to use it in your lap.

Hope you don't have one off the batterys that were being recalled. Hate to see your crotch go up in flames.:cross:

Now, is it really a 'laptop?' I bet it is a 'notebook' not meant to be used on your lap. I think mine came with that warning...don't want to get sued if it makes some guy sterile.

Beerrific said:

Now, is it really a 'laptop?' I bet it is a 'notebook' not meant to be used on your lap. I think mine came with that warning...don't want to get sued if it makes some guy sterile.

Click to expand...

With four daughters, maybe that's not such a bad thing.

how'd you get 4 daughters with junk so ugly?

Lil' Sparky said:

They also have cool plates for laptops, but I've never used one. I don't know if they would help if you're trying to use it in your lap.

Click to expand...

Those things actually do work, the added ventilation really cools the thing down a lot. They just plug into your USB port for power. They have one at Amazon that looks pretty solid http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009WPSEC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

DeathBrewer said:

how'd you get 4 daughters with junk so ugly?

Click to expand...

Just like 98EXL said, function over form. :fro:

Beerrific said:

Now, is it really a 'laptop?' I bet it is a 'notebook' not meant to be used on your lap. I think mine came with that warning...don't want to get sued if it makes some guy sterile.

Click to expand...

I think most Computer company's are calling them notebooks now for that very reason.

Check where the air vents are on the bottom of your lappy... make sure your not covering them up with your legs. Ive found my lappy heats up if i cover the vents, but cools down really quickly once i move it and let air get back in there...

Maybe even get something like this

Or this: http://www.raindesigninc.com/ilap.html

Computer stuff is another hobby of mine. As it is, the brewing hobby takes all of my hobby money so maybe I will get one of these for my birthday.

Like Chrus, I find that if I hold the laptop in such a way as that the vents are free, it stays a lot cooler. Resting the laptop on a flat surface with clearance for ventilation is an excellent way to accomplish this, but it can be managed with creative balancing (at least mine can). Those laptop pads do work wonders to keep it--and more importantly you--cool, but I've always been such a cheap mofo that I just put up with it .