Why are laptop cooling systems set up in such a poor way?

I was just reading a post by someone who was complaining that their laptop was turning off after about five hours of use, and many people were questioning his laptop's airflow. If you want to see this post, then click here.

So, I don't know about you, but I have often wondered what goes through computer designer's and computer engineer's heads when it comes to designing the cooling system of a laptop. Firstly, I should emphasize that they are called LAPtops. The biggest problem I see with laptop cooling is that the intake vents are ALWAYS on the BOTTOM (with the exception of Macbooks and laptops whose designers have the brains to incorporate the vents into the hinge) of the computer. As a result of this you aren't supposed to put the LAPtop on your LAP otherwise it will overheat or even cause personal injury if one isn't careful. I have only seen one laptop with a side input vent and a side output vent. It was my Dell Inspiron 7500, but of course, it had only one fan, and below is a picture of that one fan:

alt text

Size comparison with a standard US quarter.

That clear stuff is superglue by the way. It does look like snot. And yes, my laptop did get very hot when it was in one piece (I'll spare you that story) But anyway, is there a deeper reasoning for these crappy cooling systems found in laptops? Or will we as general consumers never know? Maybe it's set up like that to make them fail faster so the company can make more money or something. I don't know. Anyhow, thanks for reading and I'm interested in hearing your responses.

junk of laptop seriously pieces cooling are pizzscn systems

asked Jul 16 '11 at 22:44

Pizzscn
1.5k●62●72●88

edited Jul 16 '11 at 22:45

8 Answers:

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1	they need to make a build you own pc market, just like ordinary people can build desktops answered Jul 16 '11 at 23:23 cal920c 221●2●3●7 What? Explain further because I thought that was what newegg and zipzoomfly were supposed to be. (Jul 16 '11 at 23:27) Pizzscn

Are you SERIOUS? That small of a fan? I'm pretty sure someone can shoehorn a blower style one in there... A BIGGER one... Anyway, maybe you're right with your theory.

answered Jul 16 '11 at 23:24

HerpDerp
2.1k●15●21●48

Yeah. And that little sucker (no pun intended) is LOUD. You could hear it all the way across the room. Pretty crazy stuff

(Jul 16 '11 at 23:28) Pizzscn

Wow. I know blower style fans can be loud too, but they cool things off a lot more...

(Jul 17 '11 at 02:34) HerpDerp

That is probably also why they put them on the bottom. The fan can be bigger, because of this it doesn't have to spin as fast. Spinning less fast does 2 things, it doesn't wear the fan out as much and it makes less noise.

(Jul 17 '11 at 07:02) NoSTaBoNN

That would make sense.

(Jul 17 '11 at 15:52) Pizzscn

And if a blower style one DOES go fast, you know you either have a problem or know that it won't overheat... I think that if Apple can put them in their laptops (I THINK they do) I'm sure that others can... I wonder why they don't.

(Jul 17 '11 at 15:56) HerpDerp

So you can also purchase their cooling pads...

answered Jul 16 '11 at 23:36

catchatyou
20.7k●89●165●383

Yeah but it would be GREAT if we didn't have to do that because we already spend hundreds of dollars on a laptop that overheats when sat on a lap like it should be. Maybe they should just include those or give laptops little pop out feet to raise it and give more airflow.

(Jul 16 '11 at 23:41) Pizzscn

Or buy a MacBook and install SMC Fan Control...

(Jul 16 '11 at 23:42) catchatyou

or that :)

(Jul 17 '11 at 00:06) Pizzscn

my laptop was working great til last month then it overheats and i get no work done it drives me insane hp stinks, i want to build a desktop now with a real cooling system

answered Jul 17 '11 at 00:10

pjob797
2.6k●38●49●82

Well a company with "HP" as their name can't be good. That stands for two things: Horrible Printers and Horrible Products. Oh and it also stands for Hewlett Packard for some reason. Yeah basically I agree with you. I have NEVER had luck with HP. If I fall in love with a laptop at a store, I HAVE to check to make sure it is NOT HP. If it is, then I look at the nearest Asus model for a breath of fresh air.

(Jul 17 '11 at 00:20) Pizzscn

its a compaq it WAS great couldnt be happier i even use to brag bout it now its utter crud and i would say worse but i dont want to be banned or something

(Jul 17 '11 at 00:30) pjob797

ah ok......

(Jul 17 '11 at 15:53) Pizzscn

Let me explain why the intake is below, and not at the sides.

It's all in the nature of hot air, it rises. Hence having the intake below the laptop helps it intake more air.

Also, having it at the side or rear might be a little dangerous. During intensive work when the fans kick up a few notches, the intakes at the side might accidentally suck up some small debris and even bugs as well. These will clog up the intake faster and one will have to clear up the intake more often. Those idiots who know next to nothing to proper PC maintenance won't clear up this exhaust and end up complaining to other people about how hot their laptops can get. Having it at the underside where space is pretty restricted, the debris being sucked in would be minimized.

answered Jul 17 '11 at 06:04

Billy Aoki
3.7k●27●37●78

Well, that is true. But being at the bottom, it can also suck up a table cloth, which will COMPLETELY block the fans, and then there will be no airflow at all, or very, very little. Maybe if there were some sort of grill put on side vents so that wouldn't happen so much. But then there's an issue with dust maybe clogging the grill. So then I don't know...

(Jul 17 '11 at 15:56) Pizzscn

It seems pretty hard to make an air intake on the side. Even with a fan that small, I wouldn't want a laptop that think. With the intake on the bottom, the fans can fit horizontally. I have an HP Tablet that has a horizontal fan, attached to heat pipes and there are 2 vents positioned in the corner. I'm not sure what is wrong with it, but on around 80%-90% load, the temperatures can reach up to 90 degrees C. My CR-48 uses a low-power processor, and an SSD drive, resulting in very energy consumption, and in return a small amount of heat. The fan will almost never turn on, but the Chromebook has never gotten hot enough to hurt my legs.

answered Jul 17 '11 at 01:36

KylePolansky
2.0k●4●8●39

I have borrowed a CR-48 from a friend and I agree with that. I liked that little computer. Wish I was lucky enough to receive one :(

(Jul 17 '11 at 15:58) Pizzscn

i think it's alot to do with convinience, with the CPU facing down, it's the easiest way to keep the laptop as thin as possible by just creating a vent in the casing where the CPU is located and put the fan directly there.

creating channels would bulk up the laptop.

the laptop i have is incredibly idiotic, it doesn't even have a vent or holes under where the fan is! in there wisdom they have created vents elsewhere on the laptop at the bottom, directly over the RAM and Wifi card, this results in passive cooling for these components, but they still run very hot, and makes the CPU overheat incredibly.

another reason for placing the vent at the bottom is sound suppression, you wouldn't be able to hear the fan or airflow as much at the bottom.

answered Jul 17 '11 at 14:44

roguekiller23231
4.2k●72●104●142

That is a little strange... huh

(Jul 17 '11 at 15:59) Pizzscn

-1

That's Why We All Should Have Mac's Not Pc's.......

answered Jul 16 '11 at 23:10

Irvin Dominuez
66●3●4●8

amen bro. But I'm certain that there are PCs out there with intakes in their hinges as well. Like, the Macbook for instance. And the CR-48, but that's not available on the market yet :(

(Jul 16 '11 at 23:12) Pizzscn

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Asked: Jul 16 '11 at 22:44

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Last updated: Jul 17 '11 at 15:59

Why are laptop cooling systems set up in such a poor way?

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