Why aren't laptop air intakes on the top of the computer?

[corrado33]

We all know that many of us like to use our laptops in bed, especially on vacation. And we all know that using laptops on soft surfaces (such as blankets) is a good way to block air intakes and heat the computer all to hell. 

 

So why don't companies make air intakes on the top of the device? Maybe near where the macbook pro touch bar would be? Or even through the keyboard itself? I know that heat rises but it seems that this would be a good idea? 

[Neftex]

ever thought about the gunk and dust that would all fall inside/clog it?

[Arika]

Dust and aesthetics I imagine 

[DarkEnergy]

Probably easier to get crud in there and more chance of damaging something if you spill water. 

[Eastman51]

In an ideal world, laptops would be passively cooled, or use some kind of passive radiator design for a low power, small form factor liquid cooling loop. But of course, most CPUs, GPUS, and some other components produce a lot of heat; and that heat can be quite difficult to remove quickly while using passive cooling, especially in a form factor as small as a laptop where there is minimal room for thick, meaty heatsinks.

[PlayStation 2]

Because it's very easy for dust and other random shit that sticks to get into it?

That and liquids. Oh dear.

[markr54632]

There are a few designs that do this. My gs63 has a large intake on top. Doesnt really help.

[Happycowdance]

9 minutes ago, corrado33 said:

We all know that many of us like to use our laptops in bed, especially on vacation. And we all know that using laptops on soft surfaces (such as blankets) is a good way to block air intakes and heat the computer all to hell. 

 

So why don't companies make air intakes on the top of the device? Maybe near where the macbook pro touch bar would be? Or even through the keyboard itself? I know that heat rises but it seems that this would be a good idea? 

some laptops do have the some air intakes on top

ex.

Quote

but for reasons mentioned above most laptops dont have it

[Enderman]

Dust and liquids can get in.

There are already many laptops that have the exhaust at the top.

Since heat rises it is better to have the exhaust there instead of the intake.

[GoodBytes]

13 minutes ago, corrado33 said:

We all know that many of us like to use our laptops in bed, especially on vacation. And we all know that using laptops on soft surfaces (such as blankets) is a good way to block air intakes and heat the computer all to hell. 

 

So why don't companies make air intakes on the top of the device? Maybe near where the macbook pro touch bar would be? Or even through the keyboard itself? I know that heat rises but it seems that this would be a good idea? 

Well, Apple, Microsoft, and select computers from select manufactures doe have the air intake and out on the back of the system, and the bottom is perfectly flat. Having on top, prevents cooling if the system is running and you have the lid closed. Also, where does your keyboard goes? You would need to remove the touchpad and just have the keyboard with cooling fan holes at the top.

[Boomwebsearch]

18 minutes ago, corrado33 said:

So why don't companies make air intakes on the top of the device?

Usually because they find it more optimal to use air intakes on the bottom or sides of their units as they will have to need less heat pipe length and because they would be able to put a large surface area-based heat spreader on the bottom of the unit which would typically be where the processor and GPU are located and have the surface area to their advantage to use in their cooling design. They usually design their cooling systems to be very efficient and effective with certain hardware which is usually proprietary which they are implementing into their computer units. Therefore they may use one method of cooling opposed to another for cost savings or for increased efficiency/effective than other solutions. There would need to be a lot of heat pipes to take heat from the bottom all the way to the top where the screen would be and if not insulated it would be lost from traveling; also the screen being so close to the heat pipes which if not fully or pretty well insulated could cause damage to the screen directly. These are many engineering challenges that manufacturers are constantly trying to solve and they might choose different approaches depending on the hardware which is given to cool and the rest of the general layout.configuration of their computer unit.

[Boomwebsearch]

12 minutes ago, Happycowdance said:

some laptops do have the some air intakes on top

ex.

Yes, they are presented in this format of laptop which is not traditional where they would be able to use the extra space on the keyboard area for cooling although that could make it hard for the user to type because of the heat and that is also considered by manufacturers based on the design/layout of the laptop which they are trying to make a efficient and also effective cooling system for.