How To Keep Laptop Cool | Comprehensive Guide

How To Keep Laptop Cool | Comprehensive Guide

If you're a die-hard gamer or even a big-time graphics designer, the laptop will probably overheat or shut down. Having trouble figuring out why? You've come to the right place! Overheating can reduce a laptop's performance and lifespan, so it is important to keep it cool. The question is how to keep laptop cool. Fortunately, several things can be done to ensure that the laptop cooling system is functioning properly, and that is exactly what we will cover in this article.

Why Do Laptops Overheat?

Learning why laptops overheat is essential before moving forward with the main subject. The heat generated by computer hardware is unavoidable, but too much heat can result in performance issues. In many cases, overheating causes computer systems to slow down. Whenever the Central Processing Unit (CPU) temperature gets too high, a mechanism kicks in that reduces computer performance. Several reasons could explain why laptops overheat, but we will discuss the most significant ones below.

Placement of The Gaming Laptop

It is extremely important to consider the physical position of a gaming laptop. It is also crucial to place the laptop in a way that provides maximum airflow. In other words, the laptop position needs to ensure that warm air is constantly being released and cooler air is being sucked in.

Using a laptop on a surface such as a bed is not recommended. Whenever possible, place the laptop on a solid surface, especially with high-performance applications. Cooling is significantly reduced when ventilation is blocked with soft surfaces such as blankets, pillows, or even legs. Therefore, it's always a good idea to check out our collection of laptop stands that ensure free airflow at all times for your laptop.

If the laptop is placed on a hard surface, such as a tabletop, the rubber feet raise it high enough that the ventilation slots on the floor can still draw enough air in. Therefore, before starting to worry, make sure to test the temperature on a suitable surface.

Laptop Fans

When talking about laptop heating, fans are probably one of the most important factors to consider. Laptop fans are critical to ventilation and airflow. There are many factors that determine the effectiveness of fans, including their size, speed, pressure, etc. Faster fans circulate air much better for cooling but are usually louder. Slower fans are usually quieter but do not have as much cooling power.

Dust Accumulation

It is very important to keep the gaming laptop's system clean. It is easier to remove heat more effectively when the airways are clean and clear. Additionally, dust particles can act as heat insulators. This means dust particles may cause overheating of the gaming laptop's electrical components. Therefore dust accumulation can play a significant role in overheating and slowing down a laptop.

How To Know If Laptop Is Overheating?

The more powerful and busy laptop is, the more likely it is to overheat. While checking vents will assist in identifying surface-level airflow issues, monitoring the laptop's temperature will allow us to pinpoint which components are overheating and where the problem lies.

Temperature monitoring apps are the easiest and fastest way to check laptop temperatures. The temperature should not exceed 90 degrees Celsius, which is the upper limit of most CPUs and GPUs. However, these are clear signs that the laptop is overheating:

First Sign: There is a high probability that the laptop is overheating if it is getting noticeably warmer and its fans are spinning faster than usual, even when browsing the web or watching videos.

Second Sign: Another indication is a significant drop in performance when computing-intensive applications, such as games, are used. FPS drops and frequent device hangs are also bad signs. CPUs and GPUs automatically slow themselves down when the temperatures are too high.

Third Sign: A high temperature can even result in an increase in power consumption since hardware components that have run hot automatically consume more electricity.

How to Keep a Gaming Laptop Cool?

Having discussed nearly every possible cause of laptop overheating, now is the time to explain how to actually cool it down. Fortunately, there are a few things we can do to ensure the laptop's cooling system is working properly, and we'll discuss them below.

Get a Laptop Cooling Stand

How to Keep Gaming Laptop Cool

Due to their compact design, laptops are prone to overheating—the compact design of laptops limits their cooling capacity. As mentioned before, we can keep the laptop cooler by adding more airflow space.

Fortunately, at MOFT, we offer a variety of laptop stands and cooling stands that can work just perfectly to create enough airflow to cool the laptop down. Generally, the fans are located at the bottom of the laptop, and laptop stands allow the air to flow freely, thus, cooling the laptop. Place the pad on whatever surface is used for the laptop, then place the laptop on top of the pad and enjoy your favorite games.

MOFT creates portable, compact, easy-to-use productivity accessories, enabling people to be more efficient with less equipment via unique smart design.

Always Keep Your Laptop Clean

As obvious as it is, laptop exhaust fans can't do their job if they are clogged with dust. In case the owner of the laptop is not a diligent home cleaner, especially if they have pets, the laptop is destined to be filled with dust. The dust accumulates in the different parts of the laptop after entering through the vents. The best way to fix this issue is to either clean the laptop's fans manually or use compressed air to clean them. In comparison to the first option, compressed air is the best choice since it does not require disassembling the whole laptop.

Check Laptop Fans

If there is an overheating issue, the first step should always be to check the fans. Modern gaming systems rely on multiple fans to provide effective cooling and airflow.

In the event that one of these fans fails, the cooling performance of the entire system can be affected. It is also very smart to use different online tools to check if the laptop fans are still working. 

If the fans aren't performing as they should during a load, then it is best to look for two other signs. Pay attention to these two things:

1. Loud Rattling Noise- When a fan is defective, it will make a rattling or grinding noise before it completely ceases to function. This type of noise is usually caused by malfunctioning fans.

2. Absolute Silence- Obviously, no fan is stopped while a laptop is overheating or under load. If a fan does not make any noise while the laptop is under heavy load, it is most likely defective and should be replaced.

Choose a Suitable Surface for Gaming

How to Cool Down your LaptopIt's all about the placement of the laptop. While lying on the side of the bed can be incredibly relaxing, keeping the laptop positioned atop of the blankets or mattress is not recommended. It's best to set the laptop on a hard, flat surface and avoid any softer surfaces like carpenter blocks or padded surfaces.

The floor, even hardwood, is not an ideal location for placing a laptop, mainly due to dust particles that can easily enter the laptop. The best place to use the laptop is on a desk or table, especially in a nice, cool room. One of the best things about owning a laptop is the freedom to take it wherever we want. However, if we are gaming or performing CPU-intensive tasks, these things must be taken into consideration.

Stop Running Too Many Programs

Because the hardware's temperature directly relates to its load, it is recommended to shut down programs that run continuously rather than simply putting them in the background. It is especially important to quit other programs when we are starting high-performance applications such as games.

There is no doubt that classic browsers like "Google Chrome" or "Opera" consume a lot of resources. But we can always use “Windows Task Manager” to find out which programs are causing the most problems on our laptops.

Also, ensure that the system is regularly checked for malware, including Bitcoin miners, since they can consume a lot of system resources.

Reduce Graphics Settings in Games

It is sometimes better to keep things simple. We can lower the temperature of the system while gaming by reducing the load that games place on it. It is possible to achieve this by reducing the quality of high-performance features like anti-aliasing and shadow calculation.

Setting a frame limit might also help, especially if the system exceeds 60 frames per second in older games. If the game does not offer a direct option for this, we can also use VSync (VSync synchronizes the refresh rate and frame rate between the monitor and the laptop) since the frame rate of the laptop is limited by the monitor's frame rate.

In addition to reducing power usage, this also greatly reduces the laptop’s temperature. With this option, we can create a stable and fluid gameplay experience through constant frame rates if there are frequent frame drops caused by temperature-related downclocking.

Best Laptop Stand for Cooling by MOFT

Adhesive Laptop Stand

How to Cool Laptop

Introducing the MOFT Laptop Stand, the ultimate companion for your favorite laptop. In addition to serving as a laptop stand, this innovative stand enhances your laptop's performance by improving airflow. With its seamless attachment to the back of your laptop, it transforms any workspace into a functional workstation while allowing for optimal airflow for your laptop. So, even during demanding tasks, your laptop stays cool and performs well. Crafted from durable materials, the MOFT Laptop Stand offers sturdy support for laptops of all sizes. Its foldable design ensures easy portability for people who are always on the go. Upgrade your laptop experience today and enjoy the benefits of improved airflow and performance with the MOFT Laptop Stand. Stay cool, and stay productive.

Warp Up!

In addition to ensuring good performance and reducing overheating on gaming laptops, we can extend the internal components' longevity by considering the tips given above. As a result of the laptop's design, its internal components are usually placed very close together. Consequently, if one part overheats, it may also affect nearby components as well. Therefore, we should keep our laptop cool at all times!

Hopefully, by using these tips, you should be able to reduce your gaming laptop's overheating significantly. We recommend to seek professional assistance if you are unable to stop overheating even after trying these tips.

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