25 Feb 2022 3:16 PM +00:00 UTC

How To Keep A Gaming Laptop Cool: A Few Simple Solutions

If you've recently purchased a new gaming laptop and want to know how you can keep it cool, we've got you covered right here.

If you're a hardcore gamer maxing out your laptop's capabilities for a long period of time, your laptop may overheat or shut down.

Overheating may damage the internals which can reduce the laptop's overall performance and lifespan.

Keeping your device cool can therefore be vital, enabling you to enjoy those marathon gaming sessions without running out of steam or damaging your laptop.

In this article, we'll discuss various steps you can take to help prevent your laptop from overheating and keep your device cool.

Let's dive in!

How To Keep A Gaming Laptop Cool

Here are a few handy tips worth trying to help keep your device cool and prevent your laptop from overheating.

Step 1: Choose a suitable surface for your laptop

In order for your laptop fans to work as efficiently as possible, you should place your device on a solid, flat surface.

If you choose to place your laptop on a softer surface such as your bed or lap, the underside of the fan can become obstructed.

This can consequently lead to your laptop cooling system not working properly and the laptop overheating.

If there is no solid surface for you to place your laptop on, try elevating it using a laptop stand.

Step 2: Buy a cooling pad

If you find that your laptop still overheats when placed on a hard surface or if you're wanting to be extra careful, buying yourself a cooling pad could be an ideal solution.

A cooling pad works by providing extra external fans that cool your laptop down, they can usually be connected to your laptop via a USB.

Increased airflow to your laptop should help keep your device cool even during those intense gaming sessions.

You can check out some cooling pads here.

Step 3: Keep your laptop clean and unblock airways

You may know the importance of cleaning your monitor, but keeping your laptop clean is also necessary for it to work as effectively as possible.

Because air is constantly circulating through your laptop, dust and other debris can build up and obscure the airways.

While this build-up of dust is inevitable, regularly cleaning your device can keep the airways unobstructed and increase the cooling efficiency of your laptop.

Step 4: Check the cooling fans are working correctly

If you find that you have followed the previous steps and your laptop is still overheating, it may be that one of the fans is not working properly.

Two signs of your laptop fans not working correctly are...

Rattling - if your fan is making a rattling fan, it may be loose and therefore not performing as it should.
Complete silence - While many modern fans are extremely quiet, if your laptop is completely silent when switched on, it may mean that your fans are not working.

Replacing a broken laptop fan is no easy task and so we recommend seeking a professional repair service rather than attempting to fix it yourself.

Step 6: Reduce your gaming output or upgrade hardware

If your laptop continues to overheat while gaming, it may be that your GPU is being pushed too hard and consequently overheating.

To resolve this, you can either upgrade your internals, grab an external GPU or lower your in-game settings to reduce the strain on your current hardware.

If all this fails, it may to time for an upgrade, in which case you may want to check out our best gaming laptops list or even top budget gaming laptops if you're after something more affordable.

Do Gaming Laptops Overheat?

Overheating isn't due to the type of laptop, but rather the stress of the tasks vs the system itself.

If you're throwing too much at your gaming laptop, it may overheat. This could be a game run on setting which your laptop can't handle, or even editing massive files.

Wit the above steps, you should be all good to manage your gaming laptop's heat effectively.

Do Cooling Pads Damage Laptops

No, if they're positioned correctly and not 'taking away' from the airflow itself.

Make sure that the coast is clear underneath your cooling pad to ensure air flow isn't obstructed.

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