Tips for cooling my laptop...

I have a Vostro 1500 (15') with a Nvidia Geforce 8600 (512 mb of dedicated video memory)... I'm quite a gamer and play power-hungry games like Medieval 2: Total War, Oblivion, and even Crysis... My laptop heats up so much that the bottom gets too hot to touch... I have a feeling that this isn't normal... and if you guys can give me some tips on keeping my laptop cool during playing games and running other graphic intense programs I'd appriciate it.

I'm also looking for a good, inexpensive laptop cooler for my 15' vostro... There is a fan on the bottom of the laptop that sucks air in so I think I want a cooler that blows air up... Thanks in advance to those that reply.

 

Yes, you can get a laptop cooler with 1-4 fans in it, but chances are dust accumulation will speed up as a result unless you add some dust filters in the cooler.

IMO, the best way to cool a laptop is to use a passive cooler that is basically a stool and a table fan nearby.

 

I would get a laptop cooling pad with at least 2 fans. I have one for mine that also has a powered USB hub built in. Very handy. You can alway go ghetto and use 4 bottle caps to raise it up 1/8" for better circulation...

E

 

Thanks, I'll use the bottlecap idea for now...

but I'm also worried about dust... there is no noticable filter built into the suction fan, and I have noticed that my laptop heats up faster and gets much hotter than before, even when running the same programs... is this because of the dust build up inside? If so is there a way cleaning it out safely?

And also... when do I know when my laptop is too hot? Is there a program that I can download that can monitor internal tempreture? Thanks again in advance.

 

everest: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html

CoreTemp: http://www.majorgeeks.com/Core_Temp_d5665.html

I clean mine with a can of air. It may be advisable to use a pen or something to hold the fans still while you blow out the cobwebs. Laptops are made to run pretty hot though. Keep it clean and it should be ok.

E

 

Yup, you can also buy a can of compressed air at walmart's stationery section and blow the venting holes in the laptop. Do not blow the screen. Wipe it with a damp soft cloth while it's off. Keep your work area clean.

 

try not to blow more than you need too though, just enough to move the crud

 

alright, I downloaded core temps and I love it... thanks for the link... I've attached the core temp log. The first session shows the tempreture when the laptop is idle, and the second when gaming... as you can see the tempreture when gaming peaks at 81 degrees Celcius... and that's with the bottlecaps lol... is that normal?

And one more question... I know core temps measures CPU tempreture, but what about the GPU? Should I be worried about that too? I assume that would also be pretty hot when gaming...