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MacBooks have the most efficient cooling system. Apple designs their laptops with such accuracy that they manage to provide the best performance on their laptops.
But the question is, do MacBooks need a cooling pad to control thermal throttling? Do cooling pads really work? Before answering these questions, I would like to tell you that no matter how inefficient the cooling pad is, they are still worth buying, let’s learn why.
Does a cooling pad truly make a difference in laptops?
There are many theories on this, you will find so many reviews saying positives and negatives about cooling pads, and I totally agree with all those reviews. But the thing is, you need to know what’s the reason behind those reviews.
Cooling pads provide proper inclination to maintain the flow of air, hence reduces the temperature of laptops. But, again there is a twist in this statement. They can only reduce temperature up to 2-3 degrees. This seems very insignificant, hence people suggest not to buy a cooling pad.
But if you look at it from another angle, 2-3 degrees is actually significant. You should always try to reduce the temperature as much as possible. That is how to will be able to improve the lifespan and performance of your laptop.
Even a reduction of 1 degree will play a significant role in the longevity of the laptop. If you look at the long run, you will be able to understand what I am trying to tell you. Even a small drop will keep the internal components running for a longer duration.
Do I need a cooling pad for a MacBook Pro?
It’s always good to have one, even if your laptop doesn’t get hot too often. MacBook Pros dissipate heat through the aluminum body (as well as small fan openings hidden in the display hinge), including the bottom.
That’s what makes the laptop so hot—the heat you feel is actually the heat leaving through the aluminum body frame of the laptop.
Laptops that have internal fans for cooling have a better cooling system, but in some models of MacBooks, there is no fan for cooling. These laptops are designed in such a way that they never reach their max performance and hence prevent heating issues.
In technical terms, you do not need any cooling pad for MacBooks, as they never let you extract maximum performance.
But practically you should have a cooling pad, as it can help you to improve longevity and reliability. If you frequently use your MacBook for intensive tasks like 3D-Molding, Video Editing, or any other CPU/GPU intensive tasks in such cases even a 1-degree reduction in temperature will provide a big relief to the processor to work more efficiently.
This might also help you if you love to use laptops on your laps. Using a laptop on your laps for longer durations will block the flow of air which raises the temperature as you have blocked the way for the air to flow. Resulting, the laptop starts throttling.
So, considering all these facts I personally think that you must use a cooling pad which helps the laptop to maintain the proper airflow and hence the better performance.
Best 3 cooling pads for macbook 2021
As you know there are so many cooling pads available in the market, and you may choose any one of them. But here I am sharing my best 3 cooling pads which I recommend as they are best in their tasks. They are best in design, strong build, durable and portable. To know more must check them on AMAZON.
1. Lamicall Laptop Cooling Pad:
- Check Out this new cooling pad. The unique mesh design with the big fan spinning at adjustable speed from 700 – 1400 RPM. It dissipates the heat from the laptop, enables it in good working condition, and prolongs the lifespan of your laptop.
- There are various angles to adjust the height of laptop with your comfort. It helps you fixing posture and relieves neck, shoulder, and spinal pain. It’s Not just a laptop Cooling Pad, but also a perfect laptop stand holder.
- Slim and lightweight design makes it portable, you can take it anywhere in your bag.
- This adjustable notebook stand holder fits all tablets and laptops up to 17” such as Mac MacBook Air Pro 13′ 15‘ Microsoft Surface Google Pixelbook Dell XPS HP Acer Chromebook, etc.
2. TopMate Laptop Cooling Pad:
- TopMate is producing the best cooling laptops in the market for years. Here is TopMate C11 cooling pad with RGB lighting.
- The laptop cooling pad is composed of four small fans and two large fans. Provide strong wind to reduce the temperature of your laptop effectively.
- The base and shell made of thermosetting plastic have better texture and are stronger at the same time.
- The computer cooling pad is compatible with 11-17.3 inch laptops.
- Tips: Use a 5V / 8V USB charging plug for the power supply, the fan speed will be stronger!
3. Thermaltake Massive TM:
- A premium designed cooling pad from Thermaltake.
- The first-ever adjustable temperature sensor, display control panel, aluminum design, and dual 120mm temperature regulated fans to suit the user’s preference.
- The excellent ergonomic design makes the most comfortable viewing angle and hand position.
- Adjustable temperature sensor monitoring up to four different areas pinpoint the hottest part of your notebook. (0℃~99 ℃)
- Dual 120mm temperature regulated fans allowing to manual/automatic adjust the fan speed with a click of a button.
DONT TRY THIS AT HOME! 🙂
Water cooling for the MacBook
If you just want to know how water cooling works in MacBook and are curious to know about the results then you must watch this video.
This guy sealed all the ports and put his MacBook in the ice water, the performance test showed significant results. But this is not what he recommends and I also won’t recommend you to do so.
Yes, if you wanna test and can risk your MacBook, you may test this out but again “do at your own risk”. This purpose of doing and mentioning here was just for fun, along with that just wanted to tell you guys that Macbooks are much more powerful than they actually appear. Must watch this video.
Final Thoughts
Don’t expect anything great from cooling pads, as they are intended to maintain the proper airflow that helps in the dissipation of heat hence reduces the temperature of your laptop.
The temperature of your laptop also depends on the temperature of your surroundings. If your room is well ventilated and the temperature is controlled with an air-conditioner to around 20 degrees you will get good results from the cooling pads, as they will circulate the cool air with some force around the laptop.
I will definitely recommend you to have a cooling pad for any laptop not just for MacBooks. You might be knowing by now that why I am saying this. I believe, even a smaller drop in temperature will make a significant impact on the longevity of a laptop.
The life of components of laptops depends on the temperature they live in throughout their lifespan. Battery, RAM, Hard Disk, CPU, GPU all get adversely affected by heat if not properly dissipate from the laptop.
Cooling pads help to maintain the proper flow of air and also provide various height adjustments which will help you to use your laptop in various positions comfortably.
Thank you for reading it all the way through, I hope, I was able to provide you the answers which you were looking for. If still there is anything you wanna ask, don’t hesitate to use the comment section, we’ll try to reply to as many as possible. See you lads in the next one. Cheers 🙂
