Sometimes you need more speed, less heat, and a better performing laptop, but it all comes at a cost, so you start thinking about other affordable solutions that could reduce the laptop’s heat output resulting in more game time or even use it so your laptop doesn’t shut down every 5 minutes, let’s face it, laptops are a necessary commodity, having a slim and beautiful laptop can disregard the ventilation or cooling process, which is a necessary thing to keep your laptop running smoothly.
So in this article, we’re going to compare two popular solutions to face this kind of issue, the first solution would be a cooling pad, the next one would be a laptop stand.
So, what is it going to be? A Laptop Stand or A Cooling Pad?
Laptop Stand
Check Laptop Recommended Stands on Amazon
What is a laptop stand?
A laptop stand is basically a computer or a laptop riser, it elevates your laptop from the ground so you can use it easily and efficiently, it should be made of aluminum, wood, or any sturdy material to withstand the weight of the laptop, you can use it on your bed, on the ground, your desk…etc wherever you like as long as it’s suitable.
Putting a laptop on a soft surface like a bed or a pillow might clog its vents, so some people might use something like books or an egg carton to fix this issue, but other people might want to take it to the next level and get something fancy like a laptop stand with adjustable height and more options or features.
Is a laptop stand worth it?
Laptop stands are worth it when it comes to taking care of your health, take it from me, someone who suffered from back pain for years because of bad sitting posture or sitting for long periods, hunching or slouching could really hurt your back, neck, and shoulders and eventually, your productivity will decrease over time.
Getting a laptop stand with adjustable height could really help fix this issue by setting its height to a reasonable height that suits how tall you are and helps you maintain a healthy posture if you intend to use your laptop for a long time.
Search for computer ergonomics or laptop ergonomics for more information about this.
Does having a laptop stand help with cooling?
As mentioned above, you must place your laptop on a hard surface where your laptop can breathe through its vents, which could help a bit cool your laptop.
You might save yourself up a few degrees by just doing this.
Are laptop stands good for typing?
If you could maintain a posture or a configuration where you could simulate working on a regular computer with a keyboard then maybe, there are other factors other than just having a laptop stand, are you a fast typer?
I know how difficult it is to type comfortably using a laptop but a good solution for this is to attach a keyboard to it, that way you get the best of both worlds.
Cooling Pad
What is a cooling pad?
A laptop cooling pad is an electric pad with 2 fans or more that is placed under your laptop, it has the same features as a basic laptop stand but with extra powers, it’s lightweight, durable, and slim, it’s mainly used to provide extra air or cooling to the laptop using its fans.
All you have to do is plug it into your laptop using the USB cable that comes with it and you’re good to go.
Does the cooling pad increase FPS?
FPS or the number of frames per second is managed or governed by two or three components, the CPU, GPU, or RAM, if you want to get more FPS then you should upgrade one of those, getting a cooling pad won’t increase FPS but let’s just say it’ll help your laptop maintain its rated FPS or in other words by keeping it cool the internal parts won’t suffer to provide you with the sufficient frames to run your games smoothly.
Is a laptop cooler necessary for gaming?
If your laptop struggles and the fan inside spins like crazy, if your laptop feels so hot when you touch it and you start experiencing lags or stutters or an overall bad gaming experience then yeah it’s a very good solution to get a laptop cooler, which could help decrease the temperature by a few degrees.
Is a cooling pad bad for a laptop?
I don’t think so, its main job is to cool down your laptop, the only downside from my point of view is it’s connected all the time to your laptop so the battery will pay the price if the cooling pad draws too much power, and if you’re a gamer then you won’t enjoy playing as many hours as before.
Cooling pad vs no cooling pad
It’s affordable, it’s useful, I see no reason for not getting one for your laptop, you might want to try a laptop stand first but they’re almost the same price so why pay the same price twice when you can just get a cooling pad and have a better gaming experience.
Laptop Stand vs Cooling Pad
Laptop Stand
Advantages
- Helps you maintain a good posture by adjusting the height to suit your need which is really good for your health especially if you work for long hours.
- The price is slightly cheaper compared to cooling pads because it doesn’t contain any electric or electronic parts.
- Doesn’t consume any power, unlike cooling pads.
- Doesn’t produce any noise whatsoever.
Disadvantages
- It doesn’t directly cool down the laptop, it doesn’t supply it or blow air into the vents, or even sucks hot air.
Cooling Pad
Advantages
- It helps decrease the temperature or heat output of the laptop using its fans, obviously the more fans the better.
- Some cooling pads come with RGB, so I guess you’re going to like this if you’re already a gamer who’s into RGB lighting.
Disadvantages
- The height isn’t adjustable and is relatively low thus leading to a bad posture, of course, this may vary from one brand to another, some pads might come with height adjustability but it’s still limited and can’t be compared to laptop stands.
- The price is slightly higher than laptop stands because of all the technology and electric parts it contains.
- Cooling pads consume power while laptop stands don’t.
- Some cooling pads may produce more noise than others, so you should be careful when ordering these pads online and look carefully for the noise level a certain pad produces.
Which is better: laptop cooler or stand?
You won’t notice a big difference when it comes to pricing, I mean I thought cooling pads would be more expensive than laptop stands but I was wrong, they’re both being sold for approximately the same price, of course, it would vary from one type to another depending on the brand, features, material…etc.
If you ask me I’d prefer a cooling pad over a laptop stand because of its cooling capabilities, if you don’t care much about cooling your laptop and your laptop doesn’t get that hot while using it then don’t bother getting a cooling pad because a laptop stand would be just fine unless you’re game then a cooling pad is a must-have peripheral.