Buying a Notebook Cooler Pad | Essential Laptop Accessories
A notebook cooler pad, or chill mat, may seem redundant at first look. The purpose of the cooler pad is to prevent the notebook or laptop from overheating. It seems like a no-brainer. The solution to prevent your notebook from overheating is to get a well designer laptop that doesn't!
But sadly that isn't often a case. For a variety of reasons may it be the price or it's a company issued laptop, some of us would find ourselves with a laptop that isn't that great in terms of heat performance. Even the lovely and sleek apple powerbooks have a major heat issue. Thus, what we all need is a good laptop cooler to dissipate all that waste heat!
Why do you need it?
Imagine this. You have been slaving away for days on end on your project or school assignment. And suddenly, your laptop goes blank. Dead. You frantically try to restart it, but it doesn't switch on. You start to panic and wonder if it's a virus or hardware failure.
But it isn't. What actually happened is that the notebook has overheated and has auto shutdown.This has personally happened to me before and I quickly learnt my lesson and got myself a cooler pad.
The heat is no longer just an issue of comfort while using the computer. There is a possibility that when the notebook overheats, there is damage done to the harddisk and also to other components of the notebook. At risk is your important data stored within and the damage to the laptop.
Hence, a cooler is a small price to pay to have an improved user experience and greater ease of mind while using your laptop!
Features of the coolers
There are various common features of coolers on the market. Most would have 2 or sometimes even 3 fans under the frame to increase air movement under the laptop where heat tends to buildup. These fans would be likely to be USB powered. As a result of the design, the laptop coolers also function like a notebook stand for better wrist comfort as it elevates the keyboard. Some coolers even can be placed on the lap while being used!
Look out for all these features when you are buying one!
- USB Powered
- Increased air movement to remove waste heat
- Silent operation
- Can be placed on lap
- Elevates your keyboard for better wrist comfort.
- Portable and easy to transport
- Plastic or metal body, your choice. Personally i prefer metal frames
