Cooling a black macbook on a desk

[macker75]

Hello,

I've done some searching on this forum and on google for some ideas on cooling my black macbook on my desk. It sits on a wooden desk (not in my lap) and gets a little too hot... right now the CPU is 145F on really light usage. It gets much much worse as soon as I start heavily using applications.

So far I've looked at Lapinator and Xpad and both look pretty solid. I am looking for a passive device... no USB plugin. Also, I keep an external monitor positioned above my macbook, so I don't want a laptop stand or one that raises it in the air. I just want to keep it level on the desk but cool it down a bit.

Does anyone have any experience with cooling their macbooks on their desk? Can anyone offer any advice or other product suggestions?

Thanks

 

[NewMacbookPlz]

145F isn't that hot, it's ~62C.

My Unibody tends to idle around 50-52C and with light use (browsing, music, chat) will go to 54-56C.

 

[J&JPolangin]

...I have an Elcom unit similar to this and it cools very well moving a lot of air (with two fan settings)... it also puts all my laptops at good angles for typing position and its very portable.

I paid about $20 USD when I got it for Y2,000.

...even using it "unplugged", the laptops run cooler as they are up off the desk...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...396&cm_re=antec_cooler-_-34-997-396-_-Product

 

[pellets007]

I took two pieces or cork from a wine bottle and cut them on a slope. It fits perfectly and elevates the laptop from the desk. The only minor problem is that it's a bit wobbly when your typing. It may or may not work for you, but it's a nice DIY freebie that you might like.

 

[macker75]

Thanks for the replies so far. Seems like everyone is leaning towards either not doing anything or a home made approach.

I really like the wine cork suggestion, I'll try that out. Right now I have the laptop propped up with two thin CD jewel cases. That seems to help a bit, but the fans are constantly running all the time. I was hoping to get the cooling to a point where the fans didn't always have to run. I remember it was like that back when I was at school and had a desk with a different material.

Does anyone have any other suggestions or ideas? Thanks!

 

[Kat King123]

Thanks for the replies so far. Seems like everyone is leaning towards either not doing anything or a home made approach.

I really like the wine cork suggestion, I'll try that out. Right now I have the laptop propped up with two thin CD jewel cases. That seems to help a bit, but the fans are constantly running all the time. I was hoping to get the cooling to a point where the fans didn't always have to run. I remember it was like that back when I was at school and had a desk with a different material.

Does anyone have any other suggestions or ideas? Thanks!

there rly is no reason for even doin a DIY project 145 degrees is normal infact mine is 147 right now with just safari open this is a cpu it can handle these temperatures easily there no reason to get paranoid about it trust me, if u didnt have istat installed would you still care then?

 

[macker75]

there rly is no reason for even doin a DIY project 145 degrees is normal infact mine is 147 right now with just safari open this is a cpu it can handle these temperatures easily there no reason to get paranoid about it trust me, if u didnt have istat installed would you still care then?

I probably should not have mentioned that number. It was a poor example to take. Right now its in the 170s... note this with my homemade CD jewel case cooling. And I only have firefox/itunes open. Once I open logic and another application it'll jump much much higher.

Basically I want to do this for two reasons. The first obviously being that the cooler it is, the longer the hardware will last. Second, I'd like to cut down on this fan noise if possible. The laptop is being used in a music studio and it'd be nice to not have these fans blowing at full speed all the time. I know it's possible because on the desk in my old apartment they would rarely turn on (and the laptop seemed much cooler). I don't know what material the desk was, but whatever it was it kept the laptop much cooler than this new desk. Now on my new desk they seem to never turn off.

 

[Kat King123]

I probably should not have mentioned that number. It was a poor example to take. Right now its in the 170s... note this with my homemade CD jewel case cooling. And I only have firefox/itunes open. Once I open logic and another application it'll jump much much higher.

Basically I want to do this for two reasons. The first obviously being that the cooler it is, the longer the hardware will last. Second, I'd like to cut down on this fan noise if possible. The laptop is being used in a music studio and it'd be nice to not have these fans blowing at full speed all the time. I know it's possible because on the desk in my old apartment they would rarely turn on (and the laptop seemed much cooler). I don't know what material the desk was, but whatever it was it kept the laptop much cooler than this new desk. Now on my new desk they seem to never turn off.

ok i see where your coming from i use my macbook in the studio as well. what i thinking what may cause the heat is the dust being build up from the years of usage or maybe just the environment it has been in. if your not afraid to take apart your machine follow this guide except for the last steps about the airport card. once you get your case open you can blow some pressurized air into the fan and it should help. Also desks usally have nothin to do with the cooling

 

[GfulDedFan]

Can anyone offer any advice or other product suggestions?

What are your specs? Do you have sufficient RAM and swap space? Have you checked your startup/Activity Monitor for runaway applications running in the background?

There may be a cause for your heat/fan problem that can be alleviated.

btw.... I use an Elevator with an external keyboard and mouse.

 

[fuxing]

Hello,

I've done some searching on this forum and on google for some ideas on cooling my black macbook on my desk. It sits on a wooden desk (not in my lap) and gets a little too hot... right now the CPU is 145F on really light usage. It gets much much worse as soon as I start heavily using applications.

So far I've looked at Lapinator and Xpad and both look pretty solid. I am looking for a passive device... no USB plugin. Also, I keep an external monitor positioned above my macbook, so I don't want a laptop stand or one that raises it in the air. I just want to keep it level on the desk but cool it down a bit.

Does anyone have any experience with cooling their macbooks on their desk? Can anyone offer any advice or other product suggestions?

Thanks

Check website: www.goodusbdisk.com