Cooling MacBook Pro with ice pack, or wet tissue

Matt_Raj

Reputable
Dec 19, 2015
22
0
4,510
I have a 15 inch MacBook Pro with retina display.

I've read numerous articles and posts online about how ice packs under a laptop is a bad idea. However, every post mentions that condensation would occur, screwing up the components.

I would like to try something else. I know that the Pro draws air from the sides. For this reason, I plan on keeping the ice pack out of the way from the air vents, and directly beneath the logic board section of the MacBook.

Would this be viable? Or would this setup (which takes care not to let moisture get inside the machine) not work?

Thanks Guys!
-Matt

UPDATE: Thanks Guys! All of the replies below were helpful in shaping my understanding. I can imagine water condensing on the components inside and it ain't gon be pretty.

Thanks Again! NEVER EVER AM I GONNA TRY THIS STUPID IDEA
 
Solution
The issue isnt so much with the water condensing on the ice pack, but the water condensing elsewhere.
If you get the internal components cold enough the water vapor in there is also going to condense too.

You shouldnt be doing that.
The issue isnt so much with the water condensing on the ice pack, but the water condensing elsewhere.
If you get the internal components cold enough the water vapor in there is also going to condense too.

You shouldnt be doing that.
 
Solution

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator


There is air inside the laptop.
Air contains moisture.
When that air contacts a cold surface, moisture will condense out of the air.
Moisture all over the components inside.

Don't do this.
 
Any time you cool something below ambient air temperature, moisture in the air can/will condense on it.

While it's possible to cool electronics with a chiller colder than the air (peltier coolers did this), you're gambling that the cooler combined with the heat produced by the item being cooled will result in a net temperature higher than ambient air temperature. If you lose this gamble and the temperature ends up lower than the ambient air, then water will condense on the item being cooled.

For this reason, if you're going to do it, it's better to just cool the air in the room. That way the condensation forms in your air conditioner, which is designed to cope with this water. Condensation does not form on things in the room. (Unless you're using a swamp cooler and there are metal surfaces in contact with something cool like the ground, but that's another long story. Your wet tissue idea is a swamp cooler. It lowers the air temperature by *increasing* the moisture in the air, making condensation *more* likely if anything is cooler than the air.)