Should I Get a Notebook Cooler?

[lauxenburg]

I do not really know what high temperatures for notebook PCs are, but I was looking at my CPU temps, and I thought they looked high. (Are they really, for a laptop?) I am currently running a Acer 9410Z (Pentium Dual Core T2060, 2GB of RAM, and an Intel GMA 950). Idle Temps are anywhere from 42-46C, and while I am using it, they are usually around 46-53. Is this running hot for a laptop? Then I opened up Microsoft Flight Simulator X Deluxe, and flew a plane for about five minutes, and checked my temps. Results were about 64-67C, so I immediately closed it and ice packed the case on the area where the chipset and CPU are! (i know, I over protect my hardware)

I do not game much, but I do do some rendering, and 3D design, and I am wondering if laptop chips are built more for heat? Most importantly, are those temperatures too high to operated at? (They seem to be, but I know very little about this thermal stuff). In your opinions, is it worth spending a good $35 on a cooler?

Thanks. Just wondering

 

[r_manic]

Man, be careful with that ice pack! Some water might condense off it and enter your system.

In my experience, laptops usually run hotter. Especially now, when you don't see anyone placing them on their lap for fear of burning their gonads. There's less space for ventilation and cooling hardware. And like you I've rendered and played games on my old Dell Inspiron. I used to fret and worry about how hot things got, but then I realized that the manufacturer supposedly tested things out before selling them to the general public, right?

In any case, I wouldn't consider a notebook cooler a necessity. But I also think peace-of-mind is definitely $35. Just make sure you don't get something that blows dust into your portable!

Here's where you can start out: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=4025+40000319&Configurator=&Subcategory=-1&description=laptop+cooler&Ntk=&SpeTabStoreType=&srchInDesc=

 

[Marcus Yam]

When running 3D apps such as games, you can expect things to get pretty hot.

Your laptop fans are going to be going at full blast when things reach that temperature, and the underside could feel hot to the touch -- but that's what it's supposed to be doing.

I wouldn't worry about it hitting 67 degrees Celsius. That's still within operating range, and your system would throttle itself or lock up should things get too hot (to prevent further damage).

Buying a laptop cooler would provide peace of mind, but it's unnecessary. It could extend the life of your laptop slightly, but not beyond the usable life of it along the technology curve.

 

[jingcjk]

acer is not good at cooling,next time you might consider a Thinkpad or a Lenovo ideapad,which do better job in cooling than many PCs !