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Recommend Me a Good Cooling Pad for Gaming

F

Finox831

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 28, 2010
75
0
I play WoW for around 5+ hours so I was thinking of buying myself a cooling pad, can anyone recommend me a good one for gaming? something that isn't too big and will fit well with my 13" MBP.

thanks in advance!
 
Any one will do.

None of them are worth getting over another since they're all designed for PC laptops with vents on the underside of the computer. MacBooks don't have vents on the underside... All you can hope to do with them is blow some air onto the case, which isn't going to cool much of anything.
 
deadwulfe said:
Any one will do.

None of them are worth getting over another since they're all designed for PC laptops with vents on the underside of the computer. MacBooks don't have vents on the underside... All you can hope to do with them is blow some air onto the case, which isn't going to cool much of anything.
Click to expand...

so it's not worth buying a cooling pad?
 
the best that you can do for your macbook short of placing liquid N2 inside to cool it, is to just elevate it. I have found that a cooling rack like the one used for cookies works very well. like the kind that is a grid of metal. it disipates heat well because of the heat flowing underneath and lets face it, what could be better than something designed to cool your cookies?:D
 
WoW is one of the games you can comfortably play on your lap, if you use your Mac on your lap. I'd recommend this:

http://www.logitech.com/en-us/noteb...93?WT.mc_id=p_bazvoice_srchvoice&strf=Partner

I haven't used my MBP on my lap without it since I got it. It's designed to double as both a lap cooling stand and a desk cooling stand. Lets me play games however I'd like without a problem. Cooling is decent; not heavy duty, but it is silent.
 
wywern209 said:
...I have found that a cooling rack like the one used for cookies works very well. like the kind that is a grid of metal. it disipates heat well because of the heat flowing underneath and lets face it, what could be better than something designed to cool your cookies?:D
Click to expand...

Sounds like a joke, but I think that sounds like a good idea! Personally, I use a BookArc which is a stand that holds my MBP on it's side. I have it set so the vent is at the top; hypothesis being if hot air rises then the internal fans are just pushing air flow in the natural direction. I got it, because it saves me some desk space, in addition to keeping it elevated.

I have used a laptop cooler for my MBP as well as my old white MacBook. Playing games still gets the temps up towards the higher end of normal operating temperatures, the fans still rotate at 6,000 rpms on their own.

Now I did feel a slight, yet noticeable, effect on the temperature of the case of my white MB. However, I didn't really notice any difference on internal temp. For my MBP, I didn't notice any difference internally nor externally. So, like wyvern209 said, if anything, just position your computer in a way that ensures airflow can get to all sides of your computer. They're designed to operate as is, not designed to need a laptop cooler.

If you're going to get one, just make sure it's comfortable on your lap, because any one will work for keeping airflow going on the underside of them, as if it were elevated, if it's just going to sit on your desk/table.
 
Dartcr said:
Hi i owned this

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002NU5V4A/ref=oss_product

i haven't play games yet with my macbook pro i7 but it really work great :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b83AqwF9QWY
Click to expand...

Thanks, I saw the review video and it looks awesome, but it also did mention that the 13" tend to slide off...If i can find a smaller version of this product i would have gotten it!

sinser said:
I have this http://www.macally.com/EN/Product/ipod4show.asp?ArticleID=288
looks very cool and works decently
Click to expand...

Does look awesome, but I'm not sure about paying 40$ + shipping for this ;/
 
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wywern209 said:
the best that you can do for your macbook short of placing liquid N2 inside to cool it, is to just elevate it. I have found that a cooling rack like the one used for cookies works very well. like the kind that is a grid of metal. it disipates heat well because of the heat flowing underneath and lets face it, what could be better than something designed to cool your cookies?:D
Click to expand...

Save some money and just use a rectangular cooking pan to elevate you laptop. If you offset your laptop a little such that the back of it (screen) is off the surface, it does a great job of cooling and even conducts heat away from your laptop.
 
I think the problem with cooling pads is they have most cooling effect on the bottom of the laptop, which (in Mac laptops at least) isn't the hottest part.

The bottom of my old MBP goes from low 20s celsius to about 44/45 in heavy usage; using a cooling pad (Akasa Orion) does help keep this down to 34-36 degrees). It does actually help with both stability and fan noise.

But the CPU & graphics are a LOT hotter (70-90), and the pad does little to cool them.
 
http://www.targus.com/us/productdetail.aspx?regionId=7&sku=AWE41US

'nuff said

I own it and sadly after a year, when it was already out of warranty, the port where the usb power cable is connected got loose and now the fans wont power on. However, when it worked, it was a wonder because it is designed SPECIALLY for mac, thus the bottom of the pad is of a soft mesh that really prevents heat buildup on the bottom of my 17'' MBP.

Now you would say, why is this guy even recommending something that wont power on after a year? Well the answer is simple:

CUZ THE DESIGN IS SO GREAT, AND SO MAC CONSCIOUS, THAT IT PREVENTS HEAT BUILDUP EVEN WITHOUT THE FANS TURNED ON.

So, i still use it constantly even without the fans. That's how good it is. I guess that if i really wanted the fans I could open it and DIY re-solder the contacts of the power connector ... but since it keeps it cool without the fans on I ask myself, why bother? As of now, it's better for me to have one more usb port free, a port that would otherwise be occupied by the cooling pad's usb power cable.



Hope it helps
 
Not really recommending a cooling pad, but something else to consider.

I've found that if I cap my FPS in games to 30 (for vsync) that the heat generated from the computer is considerably less. I know this isn't a option in all games, but many games do support this (Source games on STEAM).

For example, w/o capping the FPS in WoW I was getting 50-60 FPS but the heat was above 85C all the time (plus the fans were spinning very high, and loud). The heat coming out of the keyboard would almost burn my fingers at times.

I capped the FPS to 30 (for vsync) and the game still looks great and very playable. The heat is in the low 70's C with the fans running moderately (and I no longer run the risk of various degrees of burns on my fingers).

Just a thought...
 
EtherealMAC said:
http://www.targus.com/us/productdetail.aspx?regionId=7&sku=AWE41US

'nuff said

I own it and sadly after a year, when it was already out of warranty, the port where the usb power cable is connected got loose and now the fans wont power on. However, when it worked, it was a wonder because it is designed SPECIALLY for mac, thus the bottom of the pad is of a soft mesh that really prevents heat buildup on the bottom of my 17'' MBP.

Now you would say, why is this guy even recommending something that wont power on after a year? Well the answer is simple:

CUZ THE DESIGN IS SO GREAT, AND SO MAC CONSCIOUS, THAT IT PREVENTS HEAT BUILDUP EVEN WITHOUT THE FANS TURNED ON.

So, i still use it constantly even without the fans. That's how good it is. I guess that if i really wanted the fans I could open it and DIY re-solder the contacts of the power connector ... but since it keeps it cool without the fans on I ask myself, why bother? As of now, it's better for me to have one more usb port free, a port that would otherwise be occupied by the cooling pad's usb power cable.



Hope it helps
Click to expand...

I have the same Targus cooling pad and the fans stopped working, too, but I still use it mainly to keep my laptop elevated with the rear slightly off the pad so the heat can flow out. I couldn't really see much difference in the temperature while using the fans anyway. Thanks for the explanation as to why the fans would stop working. I was wondering about that!
 
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