How do I know? Its fan has been loudly and frequently telling me so all week long. If you’re in the same hot boat, here are 10 ways to cool your laptop down. FIND A HARD, FLAT SURFACEWhere are you placing your laptop? If it is on a soft surface like your bed or nestled in between you and a pillow, you’re doing it wrong. Find a hard, flat surface. That’ll help maintain good air flow. The floor is not ideal because it tends to collect dust particles more easily. And contrary to what its name implies, your lap is also not the most optimal place to keep your laptop. Along the same lines, don’t block the vents with decorative stickers or other paraphernalia. Also try to work in a cool room and, whatever you do, don’t place your laptop in direct sunlight or in a car. CLEAN OUT THE DUST BUNNIES One cause of an excessively hot laptop is dust. There are various ways to address this. The simplest is to purchase a can of compressed air and spray it into the vents in quick, short bursts.
Be sure your machine is powered off and unplugged before doing so. You can also use a cotton swab to clean out any visible dust or suck it out using a computer vacuum. Another option is to open your panels and access your fans directly. Just be careful of sensitive components. Opening your laptop’s panel might also void your warranty. Speaking of which, if you have one, get the manufacturer to take a look at your device. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to clean out your heatsink, card slots, CD/DVD drive and other dust-prone areas. There are many different kinds of laptop stands. Some, for example, come with fans; Some have cushions and some don’t. Do your research and get one that serves your needs. My colleagues Stephen Williams and Sonia Zjawinski have outlined a few options. If you’re on a budget or crafty (or both), there’s always the D.I.Y. route. Options run the gamut from using beverage bottle tops to refreezable ice packs to this $8 aluminum variety stand.
Books don’t work, but apparently cookie sheets do. CHECK AND ADJUST YOUR SETTINGS Make sure your laptop is set up to handle a heavy graphics load. Gamers and movie watchers, this especially applies to you. At the same time, if your software works fine as is, don’t update it unnecessarily. The goal is to reduce your machine’s work load. If your BIOS settings were recently updated, for example, and your fan starts acting up shortly thereafter, you might try restoring them. Lowering your screen’s brightness, unplugging U.S.B.-powered devices and closing idle apps that are hogging up CPU time will also help cool things down. Last, make sure your power-management settings are properly activated. You do it to gauge a fever. Same goes for your laptop. SpeedFan is one program that’ll get you going. You can set up a standing fan near your laptop to provide it with a cool breeze, but you’d be better off with additional fans and coolers, say, for your graphics card and hard drive.
Different laptops have different fans. Yours could be loud by nature so don’t assume that an active fan is indicative of an overheating problem. However, if your laptop starts to freeze or crash frequently, these could be warning signs of an impending meltdown. GIVE IT A REST If you have a desktop and a laptop, divide your time between the two. Don’t sleep/hibernate/shutdown every other minute. If you just logged on to check your e-mail, better to leave your laptop on than to turn it off soon after, especially if you may use it again later that day. Your laptop — and even more so a netbook — might not be able to take as much abuse as your desktop, so treat it with care. Have other cooling advice? Share the wealth in the comments below.It’s not easy to fall asleep when you can feel your sweat tickling your skin as it rolls off you into the fabric sauna your mattress has morphed into. Keeping your body at a comfortable temperature is one of the most important factors in getting a good night’s sleep.
Whether you’re kept awake by hot flushes, night sweats, an illness or hot weather, there are several effective ways to lower your temperature in bed. In this review, I’ll be looking at the 2 main approaches: cooling mattress pads and bed fans. Depending on your budget and the level of cooling you require, they range from simple fans and well-designed mattress pads to complex bed cooling systems. Hopefully you’ll find something here which helps make your bedroom the cool sanctuary of rest that it should be. The Bedjet is my top pick of the bed cooling systems with its sleek design, great performance and effectiveness across a range of desired temperatures. At first glance it may seem a little expensive for what’s essentially a bed fan. However, the reality is that there isn’t another similar system on the market which can so reliably keep you cool all night long. Other bed fans have a habit of either falling over in the night or just pushing warm air around the room.
The bedjet overcomes both of those issues with its advanced design and range of options. Made in a way which can fasten to any bed, you can either have cold air blowing gently over your body, or in between your mattress and under-sheet. So it will cool both you and your bedding, helping wick away the heat which gets trapped under your covers. In the winter you also have a heating system which is just as effective. And if you and your partner have different opinions, you can get dual fans to have your own temperatures. The motor runs smoothly and quietly, and won’t disturb you at all. And you have the option of either remote controls or syncing it with your phone or tablet with the Bluetooth app. You can then conveniently change the auto-off timer and temperature settings from your own device. The main downside is that it’s quite an expensive piece of kit, especially the version with dual zones. So if you just need a little extra cooling at night, maybe a gel mat or cooler bedding might do the trick.
But if you need something which will reliably keep you cool and comfortable at night, you won’t find a more effective option than the Bed Jet. Ideal full-size cooling mattress pad The Iso Cool mattress pad is an effective and unique cooling option because of the high-tech material it’s made from. The cover is made from a luxurious 300-thread count cotton, but the interesting part is the internal cooling material made by the company Outlast. When I looked into this I discovered that the material was originally designed for NASA. The Outlast website explains that their fiber works differently from material which wicks heat. Instead, the material contains ‘Thermocules’ which absorb your body heat. Then when your body cools down in the night, they release the stored heat. The idea being that it keeps your body temperature stable throughout the night. This works great, especially if you only have mild over-heating problems. And it will continue to work during the night because you tend to move in your sleep, helping the fiber do its job.
However, if you have extreme heating problems it might not quite provide the serious cooling you’re hoping for. Overall, this is a comfortable mattress pad which adds some padding to your mattress and helps regulate your temperature. Many people will find that this is exactly what they’re looking for. But if you have serious heat issues, you may need to go one step further with one of the more high-end cooling systems. Effective mattress pad water cooling system which lasts all night The Chilipad takes the concept of bed cooling to a whole new level. Like the Bedfan, it’s not cheap, but it’s one of the few pieces of bed cooling technology which can handle serious heat problems. The most important point is that it can effectively keep you cool all night long, unlike more basic options like gel pads and fabric toppers which are only good for a few hours maximum. It works by what’s essentially a water cooling system, with semi-conductor technology adjusting the temperature of the water as it flows through the base unit.
You place the mat on your bed, set the temperature you want, and cooled water will flow through the tubes buried inside the mat. The mat and tubes are well-designed so that you don’t feel them underneath you, and are durable enough to last the test of time. The temperature range means you can use it for cooling or heating, with a range of 60° – 110° Fahrenheit (15.5° – 43° Celsius). And with dual remote-controlled units for larger bed sizes, if you sleep with a partner, you can both have the exact temperature you need. One criticism is that although the new models have quieter fans, they do still put out some noise. So if you’re easily disturbed by sound, you might find that an issue. Overall, the Chilipad is a great piece of kit and definitely worth considering if you need something to keep you cool throughout the whole night. It’s very much up to the job of helping you sleep in the hottest of environments. Transportable cooling mat you can place anywhere
Rather than being a full-size mattress topper or pad, the Gel’O Cool is a transportable mat which you can place on any part of your bed. It works by dissipating your body heat to the parts of the mat which aren’t in contact with your body. This does mean that for children and smaller adults the smaller version is adequate, but larger adults may need the bigger mat. It doesn’t need any special preparation, so you simply place it either under or on top of your sheet and leave it there. You can also place it in the fridge before bedtime to boost how long it’ll last for. I found that it did a good job of keeping me cool, but the reality is that it only lasts for a few hours. After that, it struggles to dissipate your heat at the rate your body produces it. But during those few hours it’s very effective and can help you cope with hot flushes, night sweats and the problem of falling asleep in hot weather. It’s very easy to use, can fold up neatly, and has a sturdy and safe design.
Even your dog or cat can use it if they’re suffering in the heat too! Overall, the Gel’O Cool is a great cooling pad you can use for a few hours on any bed. But if it’s essential that you have cooling in place for the whole night, you might need to consider one of the more complex bed cooling systems. If your Budget doesn’t stretch to the Bedjet, then a more affordable alternative is the Bedfan. If you find that having air fanned at you under the covers is all it takes to keep your temperature lower, then it’s a reasonable alternative to the more high-end bed cooling systems or mattress pads. There are two different models available, depending on the range the height of your bed falls into, so you should be able to find one which fits your bed. There’s a nice design touch with the ‘breeze bar’ which lifts up the sheet above the fan, allowing even more air circulation. And there’s a good range of speeds to choose from so you can find a comfortable level of air flow.