<p>anyone use them? just wondering, i'm thinking of getting one because my laptop is constantly on...since its my main computer...i dont overclock, play games, or do anything tooo demanding...i dont think...i use it mostly for the web, word processing, and music, and occasional dvd movies.</p>
<p>Probably a good investment. Even with a warranty/service agreement a computer down is still a computer down. And, murphy's law of computers tells us that a computer will never go down during a time period you don't really need it. </p>
<p>It isn't the processing that eats up a laptop. Math calcs are more taxing then websurfing :) It's being on all the time, handling alot, small tiny mb without alot of room for airflow to reduce heat build up.</p>
<p>I have one, but I only need it when playing video games. If you're concerned about the heat, you should get the disassembly guide from your manufacturer and clean it out every once in a while. I had mine for less than a year and there was an INSANE amount of dust when I checked it out.</p>
<p>i use one for my laptop... regardless of what you are doing on your laptop, it will get warm after awhile.. so i'd def. recommend a laptop cooler. I had a Targus however it broke and now i have some generic version.. however it has built in USB ports so it actually is great for me.</p>
<p>Wuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut?! </p>
<p>Sorry about that, but that was my reaction when I saw the subject. Since you don't seem to be a mass downloader/burner or use it for CPU consuming operations.. and if your laptop doesn't get hot enough to cook an egg every five minutes, and if your room is airconditioned/has a fan.. you really wouldn't need it. =)</p>
<p>My son likes his "Chill Mat" and it works very well.
<a href="http://www.officedepot.com/textSearch.do?uniqueSearchFlag=true&Ntt=chill+mat%5B/url%5D">http://www.officedepot.com/textSearch.do?uniqueSearchFlag=true&Ntt=chill+mat</a></p>
<p>melli, you're wrong. most laptops get warm after awhile - esp. if you're using it at college when its on for long periods of time.. Plus it's better to be safe than sorry , it's def. not going to hurt your laptop.. if anything it will make your laptop fans not work as hard and last longer..</p>
<p>and that chill mat is the same one i had by targus, it broke in less than a year. first a fan stopped working then the on off switch broke off.</p>
<p>In case my son's Chill Mat ever breaks (works fine after one year), does anybody know of any other brands of the same device?</p>
<p>I'm not sure what my brand is - my mom got it on e-bay, but it has 3 fans as opposed to the Targus 2. the On-off switch is built into the actual device itself - on the targus it was an on off switch that was just on the cord that connects them, which was very flimsy and ended up breaking (maybe I just got a bad one). Mine also has an LED light on the front that tells you when it is on or off. There also are four USB spots on the side so you can plug things into them.. sort of like a USB hub. I don't see a brand name on it anywhere though.</p>
<p>Heat is always bad when it comes to electrical devices. Anything that can cool them down will prolong their "life". It wouldn't hurt to get some kind of cooling device.</p>
<p>There is zero need for this. Waste of Of Money.</p>
<p>I use a Targus Travler CoolPad. It doesn't have any fans or anything in it, but it rases the laptop about an inch to allow airflow under it.
It work well with my 14-inch laptop, and seem to keep it a bit cooler. It was pretty cheap, too.</p>
<p>"There is zero need for this. Waste of Of Money."</p>
<p>I agree with you on this one, even though I think your list of laptop vendors based on reliability is total ********.</p>
<p>fendergirl - Seriously now. This is the first time I've heard of people using laptop coolers and that's a major eye opener. I'm not at college yet but I leave my laptop on generally all day and it's fine.. will all that heat really do something to my laptop? Now I'm getting a bit worried haha.</p>
<p>Check out this link for stories of fires caused by overheated laptops:</p>
<p>But this is a really short report with minimum facts and no listed models. My laptop has a good cooling system and never feels more than pleasantly warm. Wouldn't the case be different?</p>
<p>Watch the video clip on the right of the screen by clicking the "play" arrow.! They absolutely list a few manufacturers, show a laptop fire and building fires started by laptops.</p>
<p>Ah my bad, I'd missed that. Now you've really gotten me worried. What other ways can we keep a laptop cool other than turning it off?</p>
<p>melli, seriously, i'd say at least 50 percent of my friends at school with laptops have the cooler pads.. it just keeps them cooler in general and less heat is always a good thing esp. with electronics.</p>
<p>i use a podium pad (<a href="http://www.roadtools.com%5B/url%5D">www.roadtools.com</a>) and do not experience heat issues w/ my ibook. they work well, you can buy them locally at apple stores and compusa.</p>