A dumb idea or not?

**DemonArchangel** · 02-27-2009, 20:49

So I'm getting a new laptop. I want to improve airflow around it, so I got the (potentially) dumb idea of taping/gluing the caps of waterbottles to the bottom of the laptop to improve airflow for the vents on the bottom.

Like so.

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o======= <---- Air
(before)

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o======= (after)
5 5 55

^ air can get through from the bottom.

Will this work, or will it just destroy my laptop?

**Haudegen** · 02-27-2009, 22:23

Might help a little bit. But I´d suggest instead that you put a piece of sheet metal under your laptop, if you want additional cooling. Sheet metal´s thermal conductivity is far better than that of air. Ideally the sheet metal should be significantly larger than your laptop because the heat, that the sheet metal absorbs, has to go somewhere.

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o======= <---- Air
MMMMMMMMMMMM<--- sheet metal

**Whacker** · 02-28-2009, 01:03

Originally Posted by Haudegen

Might help a little bit. But I´d suggest instead that you put a piece of sheet metal under your laptop, if you want additional cooling. Sheet metal´s thermal conductivity is far better than that of air. Ideally the sheet metal should be significantly larger than your laptop because the heat, that the sheet metal absorbs, has to go somewhere.

| |
| |
| |
o======= <---- Air
MMMMMMMMMMMM<--- sheet metal

Erm... I hope this is a joke. If it is then "ha ha!"

If it's not, then do NOT do this. The sheet metal would actually do the opposite and cause worse heat problems, because it would absorb and retain the heat. A liquid is actually the best method for heat transfer.

Putting the bottle caps on your laptop won't hurt anything, and it'll make a negligible impact on the airflow, but it definitely wouldn't hurt it.

**Xiahou** · 02-28-2009, 01:16

There are alot of laptop cooling products out there in the $20-$30 range, bit I never bothered with any of them. I think the easiest thing to do is just make sure your laptop is on a hard, flat surface whenever you're operating it in a hot environment or doing something that would be taxing on the hardware (or just all the time). Most laptops are designed to get enough airflow underneath via just the little rubber nubs they come with. Just be sure you're not blocking the vents with anything.