laptopstand/cooler for use at desk & lap

[Sossity]

I am looking for a laptop stand/cooler for my 15 inch widescreen macbook pro, I notice it gets hot around the left side near where the lid meets the bottom. I have looked at both the mstand & the ilap, but they are a bit expensive, I would like to keep it under 60.00 dollars. And I notice the ilap & mstand have solid bottoms, how would they let the hot air escape?

Another consideration is I have the macbook in a tough specks see thru satin case, would this affect ventilation and function of a stand?

I would like something made of some sort of metal, & a bonus would be portability to be folded up for travel.

I found this; http://www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-Rolodex-Ventilated-Adjustable-48626/dp/B002QA3XQA/ref=pd_sbs_op_9

would something like this work by itself at a desk and or with a keyboard & mouse?

I guess if I could not find anything, I could use an old barbecue grill with a keyboard & mouse?

 

[Pax]

I don't think much heat comes out of the bottom, there are no cooling outlets so no air movement, so laptop stands don't help much on a desk. A guy on here did a test of a fancy laptop stand with fans and everything, he found it made very, very little difference to internal temperatures. I can probably dig out a link if you are interested.

But when using your Mac on your lap a stand/pad could help keep your legs comfortable, and it might help prevent your clothes blocking the side ports where air is sucked in and the rear vent below the screen. I guess a book or magazine would do as well as anything for this.

The hot part at the rear left might be more related to charging than use. When the Mac is charging hard that bit can get quite warm, but it usually cools when the battery is fully charged.

 

[topmounter]

The bottom of my 15" MBP (C2D) gets scalding hot. I've been considering getting one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Targus-Chill-...7?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1284524435&sr=8-7



Do the new i5 and i7 MBP's run noticeably cooler than C2D MBP's?

 

[Pax]

Do you have a pre-unibody? I think the pre-unibodies had the heatsink on the lower side of the PCB whereas the unibodies have it on the upper side. Maybe that explains it.

My C2D unibody won't go above about 36 C underneath. Warm, slightly uncomfortable on thin clothing, but not scalding.

If you have a unibody I dunno!

 

[snowblader13]

http://www.amazon.com/Targus-Chill-...7?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1284524435&sr=8-7

+1 on the Targus Chill Mat. Been using one since i got my mac and it keeps it nice and cool. I mostly have been using it when i am lying in my bed, and the fan ports on the MacBook used to get blocked by the comforter all the time. Now with the Targus Chill Mat, it is up and away from it.

The only down side is that it is a bit noisy, but not all that noisy, so at least for me is no problem.

 

[Jaro65]

I use mStand. It works good and looks great, but only offers passive cooling. No issues though with my MBP.

http://www.amazon.com/mStand-Laptop...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1284590280&sr=8-2