[Splinter]

So I have myself a very satisfying Toshiba Laptop that I purchased recently. I chose this one mainly for it's graphics capabilities. Tt has a very decent ATI 46501gb which lets me run Modern Warfare 2 and Mass Effect on full resolution full texture without any lag or jerkiness. However after about a half hour (more often in Mass Effect) the computer will shut down. I'm assuming it's from overheating since the graphics card has a dedicated fan and vent that pumps out air too hot for me to put my hand in front of. So I am looking to get a good cooler. Forget the price. What is the absolute best commonly offered notebook cooler? I was peeking at the Zalman ZM-NC2000 or the Silverstone NB01... but in hunting online for comparisons I didn't find much. Any help would be appreciated.

[Thaeris]

I prop my computer up with a pair of old Arco-series aviation reference books...

 

[Nuke]

move to barrow?

[Colonol Dekker]

Take the battery out and use the cable. The battery heats everything up more.
 
Try wikipedia too. .

[Klaustrophobia]

the battery (at least mine) really only heats up appreciably when it is charging.  if it is at 100% and plugged in, it is exactly the same temp as the rest of the case.  if it is discharging, it is ever so slightly warmer.

[Retsof]

I'd probably try to fabricate something, especially since I didn't even know they made laptop cooling systems.  Of course, the attempt would probably end in disaster, water and electronics don't mix well.  On a different note, if you weren't too worried about stuff getting in it you could take off the underside cover and prop it up on something to increase airflow.  or get a bigger fan and rig a tube to suck the hot air directly away from the card.

[Galemp]

Hey, Splinter! Long time no see. How's Su-Tehp?

[mxlm]

So I have myself a very satisfying Toshiba Laptop that I purchased recently.

No you don't.

You think you do, but you don't.

I had what I thought was a very satisfying laptop from Toshiba that I purchased recently. It died after a month (I'm pretty sure as a result of overheating--gaming laptop my ****ing ass [and no I wasn't overclocking]). So I sent it in and was told it'd be back in five to ten business days.

That was January 5th. Now I'm being told the required parts will be available the 26th of this month. At best. Mother****ers won't even extend the warranty to cover the two months it'll be in the shop.

Do. Not. Buy. Toshiba.

[Klaustrophobia]

tbh, that's pretty standard from ANY manufacturer's warranty.  i purchased the accidental damage/wear and tear coverage on my ibm/lenovo.  about a year and a half in or so, the case was cracked in a couple places and the screen had a few dark spots, one rather severe.  they rejected service because it "wasn't bad enough".  omg. 

[Splinter]

I'm starting to get the sneaking suspicion that no one here uses a cooling pad... Or if they do, wouldn't recommend it.

I can't wait till I have enough to build my desktop system back up.

tbh, that's pretty standard from ANY manufacturer's warranty.  i purchased the accidental damage/wear and tear coverage on my ibm/lenovo.  about a year and a half in or so, the case was cracked in a couple places and the screen had a few dark spots, one rather severe.  they rejected service because it "wasn't bad enough".  omg. 

Why exactly didn't you just drop the computer on something hard and send it right back? 

[Klaustrophobia]

i did, eventually.  but i don't like trying those kind of things until the warranty is about out, just in case.  and i discovered that to their credit, IBM/Lenovo are remarkably resiliant 

[mxlm]

tbh, that's pretty standard from ANY manufacturer's warranty. 

When my Dell laptop needed service, I got it. Quickly. In home.

I'm starting to get the sneaking suspicion that no one here uses a cooling pad... Or if they do, wouldn't recommend it.

I'm certainly going to get one as soon as they fix my ****ing laptop, as there's no way I'm going to deal with their repair system again.

You could always use a desk fan.

[Androgeos Exeunt]

i did, eventually.  but i don't like trying those kind of things until the warranty is about out, just in case.  and i discovered that to their credit, IBM/Lenovo are remarkably resiliant 

I agree, actually. My room plays host to my MacBook and an IBM desktop (or crate), which was acquired by Lenovo. It only crashed on me once (because it can't run Winamp's AVS) during the five years it's been with my family. The warranty was long void (for all I know, there may not have been a warranty since it was a free gift), so I upgraded the RAM from 248 MB to 1.99 GB last October.

[Fenrir]

This is the cooling pad I use:
http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-F5L001-Laptop-Cooling-Pad/dp/B000NWIOM6

I don't know how it compares to other pads, but it does the job for me.

The build quality isn't spectacular, though. The USB thing in the back became loose for me and I've had to open it up to put it back in place a few times.