Best Laptop Cooling Pads

Most electrical and electronic devices die of old age - and the most common cause is thermal ageing. By keeping your devices cooler, you can prolong their working life, save money on hardware and safeguard your precious data.

As laptops become more powerful, using faster and more powerful processors, they tend to produce more heat. That can make them uncomfortable to use when they are balanced on your lap. It can also make them age faster and reduce their useful operational life.

Laptop cooling pads, most of which can be found for no more than a few dollars these days, will keep your laptop cooler, provide a stable working platform, increase your personal comfort and save you money.

There is a wide variety of different designs available, most of which will help to extend your laptop's life to some considerable extent. Be aware of the different options on offer and choose the right one for your needs.

Given the numerous different models on offer, there's bound to be on available that suits your needs. Those needs will vary from person to person. It will depend upon what type and size of laptop you have and how you usually use it, for example.

Here are a few suggestions as to what you might want to look for in a laptop cooling pad:

1. Effective Cooling Performance.
   Somewhat obvious perhaps, but your laptop cooler should provide good additional cooling for your laptop, thereby extending its life and making it more comfortable for you to use and operate. Some of the more simple cooling pads are nothing more than raised surface which allows air to circulate freely underneath your laptop. You would probably do better to choose one which has a fan, or fans, to provide a cooling breeze.
   
   
2. A Flat Surface To Balance On Your Lap.
   Some laptop cooling pads have legs and others have a flat base. If you intend to use your laptop on your knee, then a flat surface will be both more stable and more comfortable in use.
   
   
3. A Stable, Secure Base For Your Laptop.
   The upper surface of your cooling pad, upon which your laptop will rest, should also be flat and stable. Some cooling pads have rubberized mounts to keep your laptop firmly in position and allow you to work safely and securely.
   
   
4. The Correct Size For Your Laptop.
   Another obvious one perhaps - but just as laptops vary in size, so do the cooling pads to go with them. Make sure that you pick a cooling pad that is matched to the size of your laptop.
   
   
5. Low Noise Operation.
   If you go with a cooling pad that is equipped with a fan or fans, make sure to get one that isn't excessively noisy. Fortunately, there are plenty available that are quieter than the average laptop (which will have at least one cooling fan of its own).
   
   
6. Use Of USB Power Source.
   If you tend to move around with your laptop and use it in a variety of different locations (which is one of the attractive things about a laptop after all), choose a cooling pad which is powered by plugging it into one of the USB ports on the laptop itself. That way you won't have any extra trailing wires and power supplies, so you'll be able to move around and relocate at will.