My cheap laptop cooling solution

[GerbilPlays]

So my laptop gets about 80 degrees + when gaming and crashes at 90 frequently. It's about 50-60 when browsing or in general use cases.

I tried to open it to clean it but it turns out there's a good risk of breaking it and about 2 tbjkillion screws, so I was thinking, how can I fix this issue at a minimum cost? (seeing as i'm buying a PC in about 2-3 months anyway)

Some people suggested a fan cooling pad which might've helped a bit but the fan is fine and I always give it clearence.

Instead, I got 2 of those flasks of water that you use to keep food cool on a picnic (see attached) and froze them. Now that my laptop sits on them, I get about 35 degrees when browsing and about 50-60 when gaming which is great because it means my hands don't burn anymore. Only downside is that I have to keep freezing them everytime I stop using it but I have four so I can keep them on rotation. 

 

I'd also like to know if the condensation and pool of water they form when they melt is dangerous to the computer and if people would also do this? I don't see why it's not more popular.

[Crunchy Dragon]

The condensation isn't gonna seep upwards into the circuits inside your laptop, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

I would personally only do this if I didn't have an alternative that was cheap.

 

Have you considered repasting and/or going the liquid metal route?

[xDanielxOossiex]

The cooling pad with a fan would probably be the best option. Maybe you can build something yourself with a PC case fan that you can later use in the pc you're going to build!

[GerbilPlays]

Just now, Crunchy Dragon said:

The condensation isn't gonna seep upwards into the circuits inside your laptop, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

 

Have you considered repasting and/or going the liquid metal route?

I don't want to open it, I already made the fan make a high pitch noise by blowing into it with a bike pump. And this is cheaper.

[Crunchy Dragon]

Just now, GerbilPlays said:

I don't want to open it, I already made the fan make a high pitch noise by blowing into it with a bike pump. And this is cheaper.

Why don't you want to open it? Aside from the obvious pain of doing hardware maintenance on laptops.

[GerbilPlays]

1 minute ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Why don't you want to open it? Aside from the obvious pain of doing hardware maintenance on laptops.

I've been playing shooters and reaction based games for over 10 years and now my hands shake really bad, when trying to remove it I nearly broke the hard drive connection to the motherboard, I know nothing about fixing computers and don't have any tools. My family can barely use smartphones btw so there's no hope there.

[Christophe Corazza]

17 minutes ago, GerbilPlays said:

I already made the fan make a high pitch noise by blowing into it with a bike pump

 

You should never blow straight into a laptop fan. This can cause irreversible damage and you will hear the beforementioned "high pitch noise".

 

I don't expect condensation to be a problem with your DIY setup. However, it is a far from ideal solution to the problem of your laptop overheating.

If you don't/never clean the internals of the laptop, your situation is only expected to get worse over time.

[GerbilPlays]

7 minutes ago, Christophe Corazza said:

 

You should never blow straight into a laptop fan. This can cause irreversible damage and you will hear the beforementioned "high pitch noise".

 

I don't expect condensation to be a problem with your DIY setup. However, it is a far from ideal solution to the problem of your laptop overheating.

If you don't/never clean the internals of the laptop, your situation is only expected to get worse over time.

It's still alive after 5 years of exposure to dust, hopefully it lasts the next few months PS that's what my noise cancelling headphones are for