[preslove]

High, I'm getting my first ever mac when a refurbed 2.0 macbook arrives at my door on friday. Given all the heat issues I've read about and my dad's hot new macbook, I think I'm going to get a usb powered labtop cooler to sit my new guy on. Do you guys have any experience with them?

I've found these:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...995167?ie=UTF8

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...e&n=172282

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...e&n=172282

Thanks in advance.

update: I went to newegg and bought the pacific breeze cooler because it elevates the notebook, blows air onto the bottom (instead of pulling warm air out, and appears to give you another usb port. It's coming in on thursday, so I'll have it before the 'book gets here (bless you newegg.com) I've I have time I'll post pics and thoughts.

[masugu]

WHoa...I have never seen these before.

I was evaluating more pedestrian things like the ilap - http://www.raindesigninc.com/store/index.php

I have no idea how these work...although the 2 Amazon reviews for the 1st one seem OK.

[Macola]

I have a CompUSA brand cooler with three fans--pretty quiet, but doesn't seem to have made much (if any) difference to the temperature as reported by CoreDuoTemp. I haven't tried taking temperature readings on the case itself, though.

[HouseSold]

Originally Posted by Macola

I have a CompUSA brand cooler with three fans--pretty quiet, but doesn't seem to have made much (if any) difference to the temperature as reported by CoreDuoTemp. I haven't tried taking temperature readings on the case itself, though.

Nothing will cool a MacBook from the outside in, except cooler ambient air temperature.

They need to be cooled from the inside out because the heat is generated from the inside out. If you observe, as you use it and it warms up, once the case gets hot, the MacBook won't cool itself until it's turned off for awhile.
The same with an auto; it's far better to keep it cool, than try to cool it off once it gets very hot, except to remove the heat source (turn off)

The cooling slit along the bottom of the LCD is where some convection works. Now I've thought of modding a vacuum cleaner tool to super blow at that point cuz it does work there; I've tested it.......But then I thought.......I spent all this money for someone else to supposedly have already done this in the design coolness.

I gave up today and bought a Toshiba CoreDuo 15" TruBrite 512mb (expandable to 4gb), 80gb HD from BestBuy* for $599 for work stuff with dual layer DVD burner and firewire and 4 USB 2.0 ports and dual PCMCIA and 5 port flash memory slots and onboard wireless that doesn't drop signal and it's boring to look at and use compared to a MacBook, to hold me over til January. It runs cold (nearly). Don't believe me, try an in store floor display that has been on all day. The prices will drop still further, I'm sure.

I still have an iMac Duo (socketed CPU) and another MacBook (daughters) if I get the urge.

*Link: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=10&loc=01

[ShaunaBlair]

Originally Posted by preslove

High, I'm getting my first ever mac when a refurbed 2.0 macbook arrives at my door on friday. Given all the heat issues I've read about and my dad's hot new macbook, I think I'm going to get a usb powered labtop cooler to sit my new guy on. Do you guys have any experience with them?

I've found these:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...995167?ie=UTF8

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...e&n=172282

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...e&n=172282

Thanks in advance.

I have been using the Targus Chill Mat for my MacBook for about 2 weeks now, and it seems to work pretty well for the money I paid for it. If I go by the CoreDuoTemp, the MacBook usually runs 10-15 degrees cooler when sitting on top of the Chill Mat. It's also VERY light weight, and you can't hear it unless you put your ear right up to it.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1074788100200

Good luck!

[HouseSold]

Originally Posted by ShaunaBlair

I have been using the Targus Chill Mat for my MacBook for about 2 weeks now, and it seems to work pretty well for the money I paid for it. If I go by the CoreDuoTemp, the MacBook usually runs 10-15 degrees cooler when sitting on top of the Chill Mat. It's also VERY light weight, and you can't hear it unless you put your ear right up to it.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1074788100200

Good luck!

If you're going to buy a Targus Chill Mat, they are $16 at Walmart ($30 at Best Buy), just FYI

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=4216991

I still contend from my post above, we should not have do do this; it should be included in the MacBook design to run cooler.

[ghporter]

I like Targus's "Mobile X" notebook stand, model # AWE09US. It takes no power, puts the laptop at a great ergonomic angle, and costs $29.99 from Targus.

By the way, it's "due in" not "do in." The former says you're expecting something, while the latter means you're going to kill something. Kind of an important difference.

[HouseSold]

Originally Posted by ghporter

I like Targus's "Mobile X" notebook stand, model # AWE09US. It takes no power, puts the laptop at a great ergonomic angle, and costs $29.99 from Targus.

By the way, it's "due in" not "do in." The former says you're expecting something, while the latter means you're going to kill something. Kind of an important difference.

I saw this blog comment from a user on the Targus : http://www.devdaily.com/blog/Content/2/12/544/

[amazing]

I've got a Targus cooler for my 12" PB, and it didn't seem to make much of a difference to the temperature. It pulls air away from the laptop and vents it out the top edge. For maximum cooling it really should grab air from the top and blow it directly at the hot spots on the bottom, forcing the air out the sides and back. I don't even use it anymore.

What really works is a small, quiet desk fan that you position to blow at yourself and the laptop, with the rear of the laptop elevated with an eraser or something. The laptop cools right down.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by HouseSold

I saw this blog comment from a user on the Targus : http://www.devdaily.com/blog/Content/2/12/544/

That's a different product, though I can't find "Chill Pad" on Targus' site.

This is what I'm talking about. It's lightweight, yet very well made.

[ShaunaBlair]

Originally Posted by HouseSold

If you're going to buy a Targus Chill Mat, they are $16 at Walmart ($30 at Best Buy), just FYI

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=4216991

I still contend from my post above, we should not have do do this; it should be included in the MacBook design to run cooler.

I got mine on sale for $20 at Best Buy, but you're certainly right...who really ever beats Wal-Mart's prices anyway?

[ShaunaBlair]

Originally Posted by ghporter

That's a different product, though I can't find "Chill Pad" on Targus' site.

This is what I'm talking about. It's lightweight, yet very well made.

I think the real name is the Chill Mat- which is on the site.
http://www.targus.com/us/CategorySea...erms=Chill+Mat

[debohun]

Excuse me people! But have we all forgotten why these things are called laptops. They are supposed to be cool enough to use on your lap. Something is very wrong with this picture.

[Markarian421]

When I first got my iBook, it spent a long time (like up to 12 hours at a time) compiling code with the CPU near 100% . . . I figured this was beyond what most users did to their poor iBooks, so I started looking for ways to help it cool itself.

I tried the Targus coolmats, but they mostly helped with my comfort -- the impact on core temps was noticeable but not large. Better was any fan blowing across the keyboard -- for the iBooks that really helps, the base of the keyboard is metal and moving air across the keyboard is quite effective at cooling the internals. For a while I just used one of those USB fans with a flexible neck. But it got in the way a lot, and was loud, and I didn't always like all the wind on my hands. And I suspect with the new keyboards that won't be effective for MacBooks.

So this was try number three:


flickr page

On the ibook, the air intake is on the side. This small 12V fan has an exit that almost exactly fits it, so I glued the AC adapter plug from a dead USB hub to the side. At 12V it whines, but at 5V (as in USB) it's nearly silent, and I can use the USB cable from the Targus coolpad. Now my solution for legs is not the prettiest, but it works. My iBook is currently running at about 60-70% CPU use, and you can see on this plot where I turned on the fan:


flickr page

From top to bottom, CPU, Graphics, and Memory. It wasn't running all that hot when I started the fan, and it hasn't hit bottom quite yet.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by debohun

Excuse me people! But have we all forgotten why these things are called laptops. They are supposed to be cool enough to use on your lap. Something is very wrong with this picture.

Actually they're called laptops because you're supposed to be able to FIT them on your lap. Laptops of ALL makes have typically been warm to hot on an actual lap. I seldom use any laptop actually on my lap, but I still worry about how hot the thing gets.

You have a valid point, but it's something for Apple to address-and for the using public to deal with.

[Hobeaux]

manufacturers don't call these mobile devices 'laptops' any longer--they're "notebooks" or "mobile computers" or other euphemism because they get way too hot to keep in your lap.

I have a 1 year old PowerBook G4 and this sucker gets so hot I couldn't keep it in my lap if I wanted to. I couldn't imagine how hot the new devices (see, there I go) can be.