[neptune]

I hear you...the left leg is always nice and warm....

[Dazzler]

I hear you...the left leg is always nice and warm....

I got a little Logitec cooling table because mine was running really hot (I have an 8800 Mwh battery and usually run mine on high performance) but they plug into USB and do use a bit of battery life.

Since I swapped the HDD to a SSD I can run it on balanced performance and still get the same performance. It runs cooler and the battery is lasting twice as long 

I still use the little cooling pad as a lap table but don't need to plug it in any more 

[Surferdude]

^^

I've always been paranoid about lap tops ....... on laps
Or on a bed..........

I hate that the fan(s) might be blocked off.

If I do use it on a bed I usually put a book or a cutting board under it.

But, having said that, my daughter often uses hers on her bed and it's still going four years down the track and has been around the world with her.

[Phil №❶]

I think most lapt ops now have their vents on the sides, no underneath. Ventilation is better, but the big problem is catching fibers in the cooling fins. They are a bugger to undo, just to clean them. I had a Z80 computer, (pre 486, yes I'm that old) that used the whole smooth base as a heat sink, no fins etc, it was great.
mind you, the processor was 8 bit @ 2 Mhz, yes that's Mhz, so not much heat to dissipate by today's standards. 

[AlanHo]

In the last 12 months I have had to repair two of my grand-childrens laptops which had failed due to over-heating. One had a fried hard drive - the other a cremated mother board.

The reason was that they insist on using them either propped on the arm of a sofa - or on their lap - the soft upholstery or clothing blocks off the louvres in the base of the laptop - thus preventing cooling air from being circulated.

Having a nice warm lap in winter may be a comfort - but beware that it sometimes comes at a heavy price.

[Surferdude]

I think most lapt ops now have their vents on the sides, no underneath. Ventilation is better, but the big problem is catching fibers in the cooling fins. They are a bugger to undo, just to clean them. I had a Z80 computer, (pre 486, yes I'm that old) that used the whole smooth base as a heat sink, no fins etc, it was great.
mind you, the processor was 8 bit @ 2 Mhz, yes that's Mhz, so not much heat to dissipate by today's standards. 

Might well be the case. I haven't looked.
My Compaq Presario (old, I know) has it's vents underneath. My Samsung N130 which is only a year old has several sets of vents underneath and one on the side but low down so a blanket or comforter would probably cover it. My daughter's Acer has one on the side and several on the bottom. I suspect some are inlets and some are exhausts, but blocking either wouldn't be good.

And a good point about the fibers.

[neptune]

I see what you all mean...on my Satellite on the bottom, I have a 40mm circular vent and on the side next to it is a long 55mm exhaust.
I have mine sitting on a piece of 5 plyboard and I just noticed that there is dust stuck to the inlet side. So thanks for the reminder...cleaning time...

[Surferdude]

^^^^^^^^^
I found the same thing on two of ours.

Which at least helped me identify the "inlets".

[rustynutz]

has anyone got info on a wireless set-up as i hate having wires everywhere, they also get in the way when cleaning.

Lakes, I bought a new modem a couple of months ago and I would certainly recommend it. It's a TP-Link TD-W8960N.....
I got mine for around the $69 mark but with the dollar the way it is, it has gone up to around $75 or so on eBay, still a bargain though.
Oh, and It was very easy to setup......

My previous modem was a "Billion" and speed wise there is no comparison, the TP eats it......