You might have heard that hype about cooling pads in the market and that’s why now you are thinking of buying one. Well before that, you make any decision, I’ll recommend you hear me out first to make sure does that actually worth it?
Although cooling pads are a great heating solution for laptops and work great in preventing all sorts of heat damage, these aren’t as good as it looks. The cooling pads can easily damage the laptop’s hardware by taking in a lot of dust.
Well, that’s not all about it and there is a lot to unveil so that’s why I want you to know every bit of these Cooling pads? Should you buy it or not? which ones are the best? and under what circumstances one should buy these? Wanna know about it all? So what about giving this article a quick read?
Are Cooling Pads Worth it?
Cooling pads could make the use of a laptop extra comfortable if you’re sitting and using your laptop in your lap, they reduce your laptop temperature while using it on your lap when they heat up, and increase its performance too. However, these are not effective if your laptop fan is not working or has dust in the fan.
Make sure your laptop fan is working correctly. Just place your hand next to the vent and you will feel the air which means your fan is working correctly.
If you use a laptop for heavy work and the cooling fan is working correctly, then the cooling pad is worth it.
Cooling Pads Types
Cooling pads are not necessary for all laptops. They should mainly be used with laptops that have overheating issues. There are two main types of cooling pads. Active cooling pads and Passive cooling pads.
Active And Passive Cooling Pads
The active cooling pads have a rotating fan in them, and the passive ones only have some salt in them, which absorbs heat generated by the laptop.
The active cooling pads are the most popular ones, and not many use passive coolers as they are not as effective. Now, the active coolers are nothing but a raised platform housing a big rotating fan in it.
Some of the coolers may even have two small fans in them. The cooler has to be chosen all upon the user’s preference, and the decision should be taken depending upon the placement of the exhaust vents on the laptop. If the fan is right below the exhaust vent, then it will be much more effective.
Now, the active coolers can be further divided into two more types, the ones that blow cool air into the heat vents of the laptop and the others that pull hot air out from the heat vents.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Using Cooling Pads
- Using a cooling pad keeps your laptop cool for long hours of working.
- Prolongs the laptop’s life as the internal parts are less hot.
- These don’t take up much additional space as it is placed beneath your laptop.
- After some time, the fan will start making a little noise when it runs.
- Some of the coolers tend to take up two USB slots on the laptop.
- Most of the pads have an extra USB port, so the ports may be compromised.
Who Needs A Cooling Pad?
Laptops are designed with great airflow as the manufacturer’s concern and work very well at the start. However, these heat up after some time and this issue will be more prominent with time.
Even the most recent, expensive gaming laptops will not be essentially immune from overheating. As soon as you open up a laptop to examine the issue, the quickest solution you’ll figure out is often using a cooling pad.
If you use your laptop in your lap or on a mattress set of pillows due to low airflow and heat dissipation, your laptop performance starts slowing down. Hot laptops create skin and leg problems for you, which is not good.
The cooling pad provides continuous airflow to your laptop and space from the surface, which increases its performance. A laptop cooling pad is a short-term solution to long-term heating problems.
Most laptop coolers are designed for the desk when you are buying pads, making sure you can use them on your lap and on a table or desk.
Overheating could cause unusual issues that you instantly look up with the heat. For instance, Sony VAIO laptops would lose Wi-Fi connectivity as they overheat. If an issue solely seems after a specific utilization, you may try a cooling pad as a solution.
Choosing The Best Cooling Pad For your Laptop
Choosing a cooling pad is not a difficult task. The most expensive cooling pads will always be active cooling pads because these have more features and are more comfortable than the inexpensive pads.
Multiple fans
More fans will provide more cooling to your laptop so always opt for a multiple fan cooling pad.
LED Lights For Gamers
Cooling pads also come with Led light. You may like cooling pads with Led lights if you are a gaming geek.
Large Elevation
There should be a good distance between the surface and the cooling pad. Choose a pad with a large elevation from the surface.
Similar Direction
Ensure your cooling pad fan direction matches your laptop vent. It provides more airflow to your laptop.
Non-Slip Baffle
Look for a nonslip baffle if you use your laptop on your lap or sitting on the bed, it prevents your laptop from slipping towards you.
Conclusion
If your laptop has a heating problem, then laptop cooling pads are a good and effective way to maintain your laptop temperature. If you don’t like using a laptop cooling pad, then you can check this article on How to stop your laptop from overheating. Try to place it on a proper surface, don’t use it on the blanket or your lap. Don’t load your laptop if you want to keep your laptop cool for a long time.
Frequently Asked Question (FAQs)
Do laptop cooling pads drain the battery?
Yes, the cooling pads can easily drain battery life up to 5 to 10% faster. However, the loss of battery is negligible because of the increase in the performance of the laptop.
Is a cooling pad necessary?
To put it simply, not really. If your laptop is heating up occasionally just because of too much use then you may not really need a cooling pad. However, if the issue is persistent and the laptop is quite old so it’s okay to use a good-quality cooling pad.
