Buy or build ? need a cooling system

[EmtHipple]

OK well I'm am having serious overheating problems with my laptop ( I know, I know get a real computer lol), well I can get in about 5 or 6 games and then system crashes and the chassis is too hot to touch. I need an effective cooling system, What would you say is the better way to go build or buy? and ideas for either 

[JoeDirt]

Cooling pad.

[EmtHipple]

any type you have had luck with? I bought a logitech one and it worked so half, till it fired that is.

[RedBaird]

The cooling fins or intake/outflow might be covered with dust, cat hair, etc.

 

Do you hear the fan speeding up when you start gaming or is it on high or low all the time?  My low-end laptop has about three fan speeds.  ET makes mine run on high.  I also have the unit propped up with a bottle lid to increase airflow.  (superstition?)

[EmtHipple]

i only hear one speed and it runs constantly. I have replaced the screen and HDD this year so I dusted it but that might be it.  Might it be worth building a cooling base out of desktop PC fans? and if so would it be better to blow air into the laptop or pull through?

 

or do you think i would be cheaper to buy a cooling pad?

Edited January 3, 2014 by EmtHipple

[Ol Smoke]

Laptops are designed for their cooling needs.  If yours is getting that hot, then the airflow is being interrupted by something.

If the fan is not speeding up during game play, then I would look for another fan.

[Antichrist]

I agree with Red and Smoke on this.

 

A laptop really shouldn't get that hot, that fast. It could be worth your while to spend a little time to have it cleaned out professionally, or do it yourself/with a friend, if you have the tools and skills available to you.

 

There might also be a setting for your fans in BIOS, that's worth a look as well.

[redy.]

what you can do is to buy a can of air [Amazon Link].

The compressed air in combination with a vacuum cleaner (on lowest power setting!) can get a lot of dirt out of your laptop.

 

Besides that you can check you windows and stop unnecessary programs:

- Open the 'MSCONFIG' under 'START' / 'search for programs and files'

- Goto the 'STARTUP' tab and uncheck unnecessary tools.

[TulsaGeoff]

A reapplication of thermal paste on the CPU could help it out tremendously. Some laptops are certainty easier to take apart than others. 

 

I'd download a program like Speedfan and see how hot the CPU is actually getting. I know a lot of chips will throttle themselves at 100C which could be the cause of the crashing.

 

I would also blow out the vents with an air compressor or can of compressed air. 

[Jacker]

if you go for air in bottles / vacuum - make sure that your fans are fixed (using a toothpick or something) and cant rotate! otherwise they might speed up (no matter in which direction) and the little motor will be like and

 

as smoke said, laptops are build to do the cooling they need - if you dont OC them, and clean them every once in a while, it should be fine!

[NoGooD]

The compressed air in combination with a vacuum cleaner (on lowest power setting!) can get a lot of dirt out of your laptop.

 

I would probably stay away from the vacuum idea. Stick with compressed air and onboard diagnostics to figure out whats going on.