How well does a laptop cooling pad work? We Amazon'd one ourselves to find out

[Alex544]

So pretty much almost every gaming laptop. Gotcha.

i'll tell you how my gaming laptop should look like.
-military or industrial or casual look, no stupid names, no stupid logos, no stupid rgb ,no stupid plastic grills or something. not black not white not these annoyingly familiar colors.
-thick enough to carry a couple of 100x10 mm low rpm coolers inside. and enough copper.
-6-core cpu, maybe 8. 45w max, geforce 55w max. both configurable by software down to 1/3-1/2 of the max power. so cpu+gpu total consumption 40-100w.
-waterproof and dustproof keyboard.
-400-500 nits screen. slightly matte. maybe -va not ips. 5ms response. 120+hz
-double m2 ssd
-included in package, designed in the same style and color: mouse, speakers, pad(not cooling pad, mouse pad), dock with some ports, case to pack all s*** above in it.
-dead silent in browsing. +3+5db louder than environment in gaming.

Why would you want a gaming laptop with a power-limited GPU & CPU?...

You realize almost every gaming laptop CPU has its tdp raised for better performance right? Those that are restricted to its tdp or lower have s*** cooling.

[Alex544]

So pretty much almost every gaming laptop. Gotcha.

i'll tell you how my gaming laptop should look like.
-military or industrial or casual look, no stupid names, no stupid logos, no stupid rgb ,no stupid plastic grills or something. not black not white not these annoyingly familiar colors.
-thick enough to carry a couple of 100x10 mm low rpm coolers inside. and enough copper.
-6-core cpu, maybe 8. 45w max, geforce 55w max. both configurable by software down to 1/3-1/2 of the max power. so cpu+gpu total consumption 40-100w.
-waterproof and dustproof keyboard.
-400-500 nits screen. slightly matte. maybe -va not ips. 5ms response. 120+hz
-double m2 ssd
-included in package, designed in the same style and color: mouse, speakers, pad(not cooling pad, mouse pad), dock with some ports, case to pack all s*** above in it.
-dead silent in browsing. +3+5db louder than environment in gaming.

Btw even VA panels on monitors with a lot more power to work with can't hit 5ms response times. Have fun looking for a laptop with 1, along with the other extremely realistic demands.

[justAguy]

"has more air intake holes than most other gaming laptops to make it the perfect test subject for a cooling pad"

on the contrary, I think this was the worst possible pick. Here is why.. Everyone who knows his ways around computer hw understands, that increased air flow increases cooling capabilities. But most of the laptops don't have such a monsterous grill in the bottom panel. Means that in your case, there is a lot of space where the extra air from cooling pad can get in, but with most of the laptops, it will not be case. You would have to take off the whole bottom panel to achieve similar results. With ordinary laptop, there is less holes and intakes, and with those, you can be sure that the temperature decrease will be just a few degrees if you are lucky, but not 6-12 for sure.

Hence the result of this test - that the cooling pad may decrease the temperature this much if you use one, is very misleading. Yeah you mention that in the end of the article, that the results may vary, but we already knew that before didn't we? A proper test would not only test more than 1 laptop, but also more than one pads. This way, you basically gave us information, that this pad with this laptot will be decrease by x/y degrees. Considering how many different laptops there are, this doesn't narrow the results much, you could have saved the article....

[MOFO]

So pretty much almost every gaming laptop. Gotcha.

i'll tell you how my gaming laptop should look like.
-military or industrial or casual look, no stupid names, no stupid logos, no stupid rgb ,no stupid plastic grills or something. not black not white not these annoyingly familiar colors.
-thick enough to carry a couple of 100x10 mm low rpm coolers inside. and enough copper.
-6-core cpu, maybe 8. 45w max, geforce 55w max. both configurable by software down to 1/3-1/2 of the max power. so cpu+gpu total consumption 40-100w.
-waterproof and dustproof keyboard.
-400-500 nits screen. slightly matte. maybe -va not ips. 5ms response. 120+hz
-double m2 ssd
-included in package, designed in the same style and color: mouse, speakers, pad(not cooling pad, mouse pad), dock with some ports, case to pack all s*** above in it.
-dead silent in browsing. +3+5db louder than environment in gaming.

Congratulations!
You just thought of the worst gaming laptop ever, a 55W GPU is not even close to a good average gaming GPU

[heffeque]

I would say that it would be more effective on laptops that have metal bottom vs plastic.

Sometimes the metal bottom acts as part of the heat sink, whereas a plastic bottom never does.

Just my two cents 8)

[S.Yu]

Wow, I just bought something similar. My 1065G7 manages to run Battletech on 1080P high(but with medium shadows and AA off) at perfectly playable frame rates but seems to border unplayable even dialed down to low(I've yet to rule out a fan defect) when the ambient temperature rises a few degrees. The weather's cool again these days but I'll find out if the pad makes a significant difference when it gets hot again, inevitably. I've got a protection film all over the aluminum chassis which is definitely bad for thermals(but good for resale value, and I'm obsessive about keeping it looking new) and it's got tiny vents in the first place, but I'll find out.

[S.Yu]

cooling pad is very helpful in determining if your laptop garbage or not.
just answer the questions:
does the cooling pad help your laptop? did you buy a cooling pad? do you use a cooling pad? do you like the cooling pad?
if one of the answers is "yes", congratulations, your laptop sucks.

An ignorant comment by blake? Wow what a surprise.

Literally every gaming laptop would benefit from a cooling pad, at least for the elevation it provides for the laptop that actually allows for airflow. The ones that wouldn't benefit are the ones that are tdp-limited by the manufacturer aka craptops.

lol I agree with that, when NBC showed that the MBP wouldn't throttle, I immediately pointed out that it means the peak performance is artificially limited.

[william blake]

An ignorant comment by blake? Wow what a surprise.
Literally every gaming laptop would benefit from a cooling pad, at least for the elevation it provides for the laptop that actually allows for airflow. The ones that wouldn't benefit are the ones that are tdp-limited by the manufacturer aka craptops.

i am the most reasonable person here and i know what am i talking about. my logic is flawless and i always win against any noob or fanatic. still not sure who you are between these two, i am pretty bad at remembering opponents names.
(btw, why you even wrote about airflow? )
ok, lets look at this "cooling pad" question.
1. if a laptop requires a cooling pad, or cooling pad is recommended for some reason, or just someone bought it, without requirements and reccomendations, and uses it all the time,
should we still measure all the laptop parameters and make all the ratings and conclusions without counting a cooling pad?
if some youtuber told me this laptop is light and slim and its a plus, but cooling pad is recommended or it will make this laptop even better, i see some problem in his logic and conclusions. laptop is not so light and slim with cooling pad, right? we should proceed from this point and remake all the tests and revised all pros and cons.
2. so, we did all this, laptop+cooling pad(lets call it laptopad) turns out to be heavier, uglier but cooler or even faster than the original laptop. all are happy. laptopad is not light&thin but we all agree its a bit better than just laptop.
3. so why even build these two parts separately? we just said we want them both attached to each other. and if we dont, there are plenty of people who want. and our tests shows all the benefits also. we can go even further, how about 2 versions of our initial laptop, one with attached cooling pad and one without. people are different, there are still some who does not know about "airflow" and prefer no pad at all.
laptopad should be even better than laptop+pad, engineering, you know.
at the end we have a laptop and a laptopad, both of them are in demand.
4. why zero laptopads on the market?

[william blake]

Congratulations!
You just thought of the worst gaming laptop ever, a 55W GPU is not even close to a good average gaming GPU

55w is kinda 2060 max-q. its a good average gaming gpu. much closer to the top than to the bottom.
i recommend you to lower you video settings next time you need more fps. its not difficult. ah, hardware unboxed told you ultra settings is the best? this changes things. well, you need more money then and headphones and cooling pad.

[Monk]

I just bought a 200mm Noctua Fan with a fan-to-USB power cable.

Found a sturdy piece of cardboard that was roughly the size of my laptop and cut a hole for the Noctua to blow through. Was able to use the fan mounting screws to secure it to the cardboard.

I'm out... $30? Plus what ever it cost me to buy what ever the cardboard came from... still... not too shabby.

Looks Ghetto... but I'm running low 30's on my MSI GS65 2018.  So it works.

Arts and crafts hour turned into a win for me this weekend.

[rmt.putty]

Not to forget :

1. Cooling-Pad size matches Laptop size; pad's mesh/grill is not a hindrance for fan air-flow.
2. Single large cooler fan may do just fine as opposed to 2 or 3 fans
3. Laptop with sufficient intake-vents at the bottom : IMPORTANT requirement
4. These vents(point #3) will let in fine dust in; so cooling-pad entails frequent laptop internal dusting.
5. Also in Hot & Dry climate, placing a pan(2cm height) of clean water will further reduce CPU/GPU/HDD/Battery temps; laptops tolerate humidity very well.

And, if laptop doesn't have intake-vents in the bottom then perhaps vacuum-coolers which latch on to exhaust-fan outlet will help.

[_MT_]

Looking at the graph, you can see that the internal fan was running significantly harder with the pad on. Significantly contributing to the higher recorded noise. Any explanation for that? Have you tried repeating it? If anything, you'd expect it run slower and quieter since temperatures were lower. Have you tried monitoring fan speed? Was it actually higher? Why isn't there any mention of it in the article?

[Riady]

Well, for me when playing my dh0105tx hp omen, while not using the coolpad does makes the temp down around 5 dgree and for laptop is a big thing. I tried the coolpad with fan on and of it makes small diffrent is only aroun 1-2 degree... So yes elevetung the laptop is very importent if you are traveling and dont want to carry coolpad just buy some small emax for elevating your laptop.

[A]

55w is kinda 2060 max-q. its a good average gaming gpu. much closer to the top than to the bottom.
i recommend you to lower you video settings next time you need more fps. its not difficult. ah, hardware unboxed told you ultra settings is the best? this changes things. well, you need more money then and headphones and cooling pad.

The 2060 max-q is 80 watt, the closest you can to decent gpu and close to 55W is a 1660 ti max-q, but it is still 60 watt.

That said, cooling pads are useful for gaming laptops because they all run hot. There is little you can do about that. A cheap cooling pad extends the lifespan of the laptop quite a bit.

Of course that is for gaming.

Not to mention fans have a lifespan as well, much cheaper to buy a $10 cooling pad then replace components for a laptop.

[Alex544]

i am the most reasonable person here and i know what am i talking about. my logic is flawless and i always win against any noob or fanatic.

lol if I didn't know better I would think you're being sarcastic.