Laptop stand

[4little1s]

Is there a product that allows your laptop better ventilation underneath it while its sitting on my lap (well a cushion). It heats up something rotten and I know I shouldn't do it but that aside...any ideas.

[Christine Hough]

I saw a good knee tray for a lap top in a Motorway service centre recently for about £10.

It was a solid tray on knee cusshion and place for a pen and mouse and drink.

Otherwise just use a knee tray with a tray top, at least the laptop will not be on your knee.

It is not good to let them overheat and they do need ventilation around them

[edmondscommerce]

:) my cat is always trying to kill my laptop

it vents heat via the side (preventing what you are talking about) but she cosies up to it and if you dont notice the machine reaches sweltering temparatures..

shes not killed it yet though

[Steve_D]

I use one of these

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=griffin+laptop+stand&hl=en&cid=10625319598285608379&sa=title#p

Surprisingly it sits quite well on my lap and lets a decent amount of air underneath the laptop. There are probably better alternatives though :cool:

[sm1]

Have a look at this from Logitech :)

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/notebook_products/stands/devices/4841&cl=gb,en

[Christine Hough]

I think this was the one I saw in the service station

http://www.deals-4-you-uk.com/Gifts_Gadgets/Laptop_Craft_Knee_Tray_Table_Desk__Portable_Comput er_bed_Tray

[Comspec]

Lots of little fan-assisted trays available nowadays, though most people here simply buy one of those little cheap trays with the cushion attached underneath.

Using a laptop on your knee, on a cushion, or even worse directly on a bed, will reduce its life and force it to overheat. 50% of overheated machines need replacement motherboards, the rest trundle along but need more maintenance than usual. Using them on a tray (or one of these fan-coolers) will lengthen its lifespan considerably.

[computer storm]

Using a laptop on your knee, on a cushion, or even worse directly on a bed, will reduce its life and force it to overheat.

See now I cant see how you came up with this as the thing is called a laptop so was designed to sit on your lap to use. So the bit about it sitting on your knee and over heating would stay that they are wrong to call it a laptop. I have used laptops on my lap for years and not overheated. And the life of it has not changed, infact I still have an old compaq that works as good now as the day i brought it.

[Comspec]

Every laptop (well the vast majority of them) have a main cooling fan underneath, and they all have small rubber feet to keep them up off a table or whatever surface you set them onto.

The term 'laptop' is actually something that is a hang-up from when they came out originally, and a lot now actually refer to their machines as 'notebooks' now, given the size of them. they are even classed as 'desktop replacements' too.

How many people who own a 'laptop', set it directly onto their knee, and feel their leg warming up quite a bit? This is usually the side where this main fan is located, and definitely it blocks its airflow, which can become a problem.

Obviously using the 'laptop' on a bed is the worst of all, since the cover can creep up the sides, and block all fans, but directly onto your knee can have detrimental effects also.

Using it on your knee will not cause overheating on all models, but it certainly will reduce the cooling effects, and this will shorten the lifespan of a laptop. Not on all models, but on some.

Using it on a tray or table is the way to use a 'laptop', as then it gets raised up that little bit by the built-in feet, and it gets the airflow it as designed to have.

The newer the laptop, the more likely it is to have a higher spec, so the more the internal cooling becomes a problem, and so the more you reduce its cooling potential the more you are likely to cause the components failure. Stands to reason, regardless of what the manufacturers refer to when they call their machine a laptop or a notebook.

I actually think the term 'laptop' is misleading, and these machines are not really designed for use directly on your lap anymore.

I'd even hazard a guess that the 'warming of your leg' is not particularly good for you either.

But hey, why should I care... I repair them daily, so the more that die the merrier :D

[coxadmin]

This one (http://www.rockdirect.com/viewAccessory.php?pName=STAND-ZALMAN) was recommended to me by someone on here and it's very good.

[Christiane]

CPC have got a few stands (http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/search/browse.jsp?N=411+500001+1000095&Ntk=gensearch_003&Ntt=laptop+stand&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial), reasonably priced.