Laptop Heat

Professor Snugglesworth

The other day I purchased this laptop from CompUSA. It fit my budget and had enough features to keep me satisfied, and so far it's been a worthwhile investment.

The only minor issue I have is that the bottom left (where the HDD sits) is pretty hot. It isn't scalding hot, but after a while it gets rather uncomfortable having it on my lap (which is why I guess they're called notebooks nowadays).

Anyway, I've used other laptops in the past, so I know that they tend to get hot in the bottom, but I just wanted to make sure that this is the norm for current notebooks, or if there are actually models out there that have some sort of cooling feature.

I just wanted to know if this model that I purchased is no worse heat-wise than other notebooks. If that's the case it's no big deal, but I like to keep on top of these things in case there's a better option out there.

Pirusu

I'd say it's pretty standard. Both my fiancee's and my own AlBook get hot on the bottom.

I'd personally recommend getting a lap desk of some kind, if only so there's an even surface for the laptop to rest on.

Fishdert

Yeah, most laptops get hot, especially Apple ones, as the poster above me is facing. If you care to, you could open it up and place a new fan in, but that's a lot of work. You could get one of those laptop fans that sit underneath the laptop, as well, I've heard those work quite well.

Professor Snugglesworth

How do those work? Is it an external fan that you attach? If so, would it make the laptop base unbalanced?

Either way, I adjusted to it already. In fact, it doesn't feel as hot anymore. Maybe it was just a startup thing, or the fact that I was installing a large amount of programs. Still, I'm curious about this extra fan, so if there are pics, please link them.

Pirusu

I'm pretty sure Fish is referring to something like these.

They're bases with a fan that blows against the bottom of the laptop.

Professor Snugglesworth

Interesting. What's the word on these? Is there a particular brand that's recommended? Does it lengthen or shorten the battery life?

underdonk

The key is to build up enough scar tissue from 3rd degree burns so you can't feel it anymore.

KalTorak

underdonk wrote: »

The key is to build up enough scar tissue from 3rd degree burns so you can't feel it anymore.

Alternately: silicone pants.

Artreus

Yeah I get heat rashes like whoa if I ever dare to play a video game with the laptop in my lap.

underdonk

KalTorak wrote: »

underdonk wrote: »

The key is to build up enough scar tissue from 3rd degree burns so you can't feel it anymore.

Alternately: silicone pants.

Combine a hot laptop and silicone pants and you have yourself a pretty good Friday night.

mg78

Well my laptop tends to get quite hot under load as well, but as long as it's not so hat that you burn yourself and you can hear the fan humming, you should be ok.

That being said, the fans from cheapo-laptops tend to break quite quickly, so you should keep that in the back of your mind just to be safe. Of course they should shutdown before becoming TOO hot, but who knows.....

Professor Snugglesworth

Just so I don't make a new thread, I'm now inquiring about laptop batteries.

Mine seems to last about two and a half hours. How much would a battery with an extending charge cost?

Improvolone

It depends. How long do you want the battery to last? Cause googling should give you the answer pretty fast.

Professor Snugglesworth

Do I have to get a specific size or make, or are laptop batteries one size fit all?

4-6 hours would be reasonable, but I don't know how much they pay by the hour.

Houndx

You really don't get to pay by the hour. Your choices are generally limited to 6 cell or 9 cell. You may find that some third party batteries are rated for more mah than the oem batteries and, if you can trust the third party manufacturer, that would mean that it will last longer. Overall you'll most likely find that you're limited to only a few choices.

edit: Also, the 9 cell batteries are usually larger than the 6 cell. Sometimes this means the battery sticks out the back. More often it projects downward, lifting the rear of the laptop slightly.

Professor Snugglesworth

I haven't figured out how to search for extended batteries according to my model. Since it's up on the OP, could you link to a couple so I know what to look for in the future?

Also, I got another small concern: The left click button on the laptop is now a bit more springy than the right click. I would expect this since the left click is used more, but I'm worried this will turn into one of those things that'll drive me crazy. Since I've got 14 days, should I just exchange it for another laptop? Would they let me transfer hard drives? Or should I just deal with it?

Improvolone

I don't believe extended batteries are sold for every laptop. If the manufacturer doesn't sell one, would you even trust a third party?

Professor Snugglesworth

If it's a reputable third party, yeah.

Improvolone

Madcats and nyko don't make computer batteries.

What I mean by that is I don't know of any third party battery companies I'd use on my laptop. If you wanted more battery life you should have taken that into consideration when you bought the damned thing.

Professor Snugglesworth

Well now you're just confusing me. Do they or don't they sell batteries for laptops like my Gateway that run for more than 3 hours and so forth?

Improvolone

I don't know. If Gateway doesn't, then I wouldn't trust a 3rd party if it even exists.