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    Glass vs. Metal vs. Wood vs. Plastic table and heat absorption

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by PopRoxMimo3, Oct 29, 2009.

  1. PopRoxMimo3

    PopRoxMimo3 Notebook Deity

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    Picked up a glass table for the study room. It feels cool to the touch. I was wondering if my laptop is running cooler cause of the glass or am i just imagining things?
     
    PopRoxMimo3, Oct 29, 2009
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  2. Gophn

    Gophn NBR Resident Assistant

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    ambient temp and the surface's temp are going to be the most important factors on how your system's temps are going to be.

    but another thing to realize is the surface's insulation of heat... if the surface heats up, then then the air pulled into your notebook will be warmer as well.

    thats why a number of people usually get a good notebook cooler to guarantee the most consistent temps with active cooling under the notebook.
     
    Gophn, Oct 29, 2009
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  3. tianxia

    tianxia kitty!!!

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    it feels cold because it transfers internal energy from your hand faster than say wood. but it would not help with cooling your laptop, efficient cooling requires contact surface.
    to answer your question, any solid flat surface would do.
     
    tianxia, Oct 29, 2009
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  4. PopRoxMimo3

    PopRoxMimo3 Notebook Deity

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    thanks fellas.
    I cant think normal for the past month. time to reconnect with myself.
     
    PopRoxMimo3, Oct 29, 2009
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  5. grbac

    grbac Notebook Deity

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    It actually has to do with thermal conductivity. Glass is a "good" thermal conductor therefore your NB casing and probably HDD is cooler. Well not as good as aluminium, copper and silver sometimes(Artic Silver). You can check that and test it with any temp. monitor software. That is why cooling fans for GPUs and CPUs are mainly made of Al and Cu. And some notebook cooling pads. In my experience, it doesn't have too much effect on CPU, maybe by a small amount on GPU, but only in high temps. Here's few examples.

    Glass 1.1
    Aluminium 237
    Gold 318
    Copper 401
    Silver 429
    Wood 0.04 - 0.4
    Plastic 0.17-0.4
     
    grbac, Oct 30, 2009
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