Gaming laptops run hot, and too much heat isn’t good for performance. In order to fix this problem, I’ve wasted more money on laptop cooling pads than I’d care to admit. I’ve tried cooling pads with as many as six fans, but none seemed to make a difference.
After a decade of hunting for the perfect cooling pad, the problem was so simple that I finally solved my laptop’s CPU throttling in under an hour. It runs way cooler now, and the solution had nothing to do with a cooling pad.
Why cooling pads should work?
Blowing air at a hot laptop seems logical
The thing about cooling pads is that they seem like a good idea in theory. Your laptop runs hot, eventually slowing itself down to maintain temperature. So if you could somehow increase its cooling power, the CPU and GPU should get more wattage, and consequently improve performance.
For a cooling pad to work effectively, it needs to align well with your laptop’s air vents. Most modern laptops have tiny, strategically placed intake vents that rarely match up to the generic fan placement on cooling pads. Most of the time, a cooling pad is simply trying to keep the bottom of your laptop from turning into a frying pan. It’s better than nothing, but unless your laptop’s cooling system is working properly, you’re hardly getting any meaningful benefit.
Using a cooling pad will lower your temperature by anywhere between 35.6 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit (2-5°C). That’s it. Under max loads, we’re talking about your laptop running at 190.4°F versus 185°F (88-85°C). So sure, your laptop runs cooler, but the cooling isn’t enough to be meaningful. Your laptop was thermal throttling at 190.4°F, and guess what—it will thermal throttle at 185°F.
Ambient temperature also plays an important part in a cooling pad’s effectiveness. If you live in an already hot region, your laptop’s going to heat up more. However, this means that the extra air your cooling pad throws on your laptop is not that cool from the air already being circulated in the laptop’s built-in thermal system. A cooling pad is at its most effective when the ambient air is as cool as possible. For hotter regions. That’s just physics working against you.
The amount of cooling you get from a cooling pad, when combined with all the extra space, fan noise, and USB power you have to deal with, just doesn’t make sense. Testing this is also incredibly easy. Just fire up any demanding game, watch the temperature climb, then turn on the cooling pad, and you won’t see any noticeable performance improvement. The cooling pad just sits there looking pretty with its RGB lights, making noise, and drawing power from your already-stressed laptop.
Modern laptops don’t need cooling pads
Smarter fans and better thermal design make pads redundant
Most modern laptops are designed with thermal throttling in mind and hence, have cooling solutions that are more than enough to keep them running at a specific level of performance. Your laptop has a built-in temperature limit after which it’ll automatically limit performance to avoid thermal damage.
So as long as your laptop’s cooling system is running at full capacity, and you don’t have any blocked intakes or vents, you should be able to use your laptop at peak performance without any cooling pads or external cooling solutions.
For example, consider the PC torture test I ran using Prime95 on my HP Omen Transcend 14 gaming laptop. Under maximum load, my CPU peaked at 80W before eventually settling to around 45–50W after the temperatures crossed the 185°F (85°C) mark. The laptop continues to operate as usual under load, with the internal fans kicking in at full speed.
When put on a six-fan cooling pad that was actually much larger than the laptop itself, the results remain the same. The CPU spikes to peak wattage when the test begins, but as the temperatures climb, the cooling pad doesn’t do nearly enough to keep throttling in check. As expected, the CPU then dropped to the 45-50W power draw range again, making the cooling pad useless.
There was a minor temperature drop when tested with the cooling pad. The CPU averaged 197.6°F (92°C) when stress-tested without the cooling pad, compared to an average temperature of 192.2°F (89°C) when run on the cooling pad. So, while the cooling pad technically works? Yes. Was the cooling enough to make a meaningful difference? Not even close.
Cooling pad exceptions that work
They’re not all trash
Now, there are some situations where using a cooling pad can come in handy. The first one, of course, is when the built-in thermal system in your laptop isn’t working as expected. This could be anything from a broken fan to clogged vents.
I’ve got an annual routine that keeps my Windows laptops running like new. But if you don’t have the time to take your laptop apart and clear out the vents, or send it in for cleaning, a cooling pad can provide a quick fix.
Some cooling pads actually work. The Llano V10 and V12 are excellent examples of well-designed cooling pads. They have a rubber or foam seal around the base of the pad that forces air into the laptop, making them far more effective than generic cooling pads that simply blow air on your laptop’s back panel.
That said, these cooling pads can be anywhere from $100 to $135 on Amazon, and that’s a steep price to pay for a laptop cooler. They’re also quite big, meaning taking them along in your backpack isn’t a practical option. Finally, the huge fan spinning at well over 2,000 RPM can get pretty loud, making it a hassle to use anywhere away from your desk.
Spend that money on thermal paste instead
A proper cleaning or a dab of thermal paste goes further than a fan stand
Instead of spending over $100 on a cooling pad that only temporarily solves your heating problems at your desk, get your laptop vents cleaned, change the thermal paste, and get a laptop stand that slightly angles your device to improve airflow. This will improve overall performance, reduce thermal throttling, and make your laptop more usable in many places where a cooling pad would be impractical.
When your laptop is overheating and performance is suffering, you want a quick fix. A cooling pad seems like a natural solution, but after testing well over a dozen of them for years, I’m not convinced they work well enough.
Unless, of course, you’re spending a bomb to get one. And even then, they have limited utility. It’s one of the mistakes you should avoid when your laptop overheats.
Instead, keep your air vents clean, replace the thermal paste every couple of years, and make sure your laptop vents are blocked when you’re using it. Your wallet—and your laptop—will thank you.