So, I have a Dell XPS 15 laptop, roughly 4 years old now, which has a problem with overheating. It's not a problem when using it for day-to-day tasks, like internet browsing, working, writing, etc. The problem is when I try to use it for gaming. I can usually get a couple of hours of The Secret World in with no problem before the noise from the fans is too loud and the game starts to lag. A lot.
I realise the first thing most will say is that I should get a proper desktop for gaming, but that's not exactly feasible right now due to lack of space, lack of money, and the fact that my laptop is perfectly suited to gaming normally. Plus, I'll be upgrading within the year anyway, if I can save the cash to do so.
No, my solution for now is fairly simple - I want to buy a cooling pad to help keep my laptop nice and ready for a long gaming session. As I plan to buy a new laptop anyway soon enough, I don't want anything too expensive (although something I can use on my next laptop would be beneficial too, size permitting). What would you guys recommend that's affordable and will help my laptop stay cool, as much as possible?
I realise the first thing most will say is that I should get a proper desktop for gaming, but that's not exactly feasible right now due to lack of space, lack of money, and the fact that my laptop is perfectly suited to gaming normally. Plus, I'll be upgrading within the year anyway, if I can save the cash to do so.
No, my solution for now is fairly simple - I want to buy a cooling pad to help keep my laptop nice and ready for a long gaming session. As I plan to buy a new laptop anyway soon enough, I don't want anything too expensive (although something I can use on my next laptop would be beneficial too, size permitting). What would you guys recommend that's affordable and will help my laptop stay cool, as much as possible?
. However, I'm not going to buy one after all now, as I ended up stripping the laptop down completely on Saturday and cleaning out the fan and vents which were caked in dust. After I put everything back together it worked a lot better and a lot faster, no performance issues any more. Of course, I may have ended up with a loose connection somewhere when putting it together again as the laptop worked perfectly for a day and a half, then died when I turned it around on my bed when watching Netflix, but I've sent it to Knowhow (PC World's tech guys in the UK) who are having a look at it. If anything does need replacing it's likely the heat sink, or the motherboard's been damaged separately, but at least the fan runs cooler now!