5 Best Laptop Cooling Pads for Gaming and Resource-Intensive Tasks

Laptop cooling pads are an essential accessory for anyone who uses their laptop for extended periods, especially for gaming or heavy workloads. Laptop cooling fans are designed to keep your laptop cool by providing an extra layer of airflow around the device’s bottom. The best laptop cooling pads even have additional features like built-in stands or ergonomic designs to improve your overall experience.

When shopping for a cooling pad, be sure to consider the size and compatibility with your laptop, as well as the cooling performance and any additional features that may be useful to you. Before we get to the list of some of the best laptop cooling stands,

Now, let’s show you the best cooling pads for laptops.

1. Cooler Master NotePal X-Slim

  • Weight: 1.6 lbs | Laptop Size: Up to 17 inches
  • Additional Ports: 1xUSB | Adjustable Height: Yes
The NotePal X-Slim is a lightweight and portable laptop cooling pad that’s also super affordable. It features a high-quality metal mesh surface that helps dissipate heat and a built-in fan that helps circulate cool air. The 160mm fan can run at up to 1500 rpm to provide efficient yet quiet cooling. Additionally, the pad has a slim and sleek design, making it easy to transport and store.

Despite being sleek and lightweight, this laptop cooling pad can accommodate even large-size laptops with up to 17-inch screen sizes. This makes it one of the most affordable gaming laptop cooling pads. There’s no option to adjust the fan speed here, but you get two different height settings for optimal placement.

This laptop cooling fan uses a USB port to run, but thankfully, the USB cable has a pass-through design, meaning you don’t have to sacrifice a USB port to plug in this fan. It has thousands of positive reviews on Amazon, praising this laptop cooling fan for its performance and ease of carrying around.

  • Pros: Easy to carry around in bags, can fit large laptops.
  • Cons: Can’t adjust fan speed, might not be effective for laptops with side vents.

2. OImaster Laptop Cooling Fan

  • Weight: 1.2 lbs | Laptop Size: Up to 15 inches
  • Additional Ports: No | Adjustable Height: Yes
This one’s not a traditional laptop cooling pad, but it offers great cooling performance and the versatility of being useful for products other than laptops. It’s a cylindrical turbine fan that you can place just behind your laptop, tablet, or smartphone to deliver high airflow. Thus, maximizing heat dissipation and reducing heating.

Since it’s not a cooling pad per se, you don’t have to worry about your laptop fitting onto it. On the downside, you don’t get the raised, inclined placement that most laptop cooling pads offer. This cooling fan features two stands with adjustable height settings to set your laptop on. You can also use them to prop up your tablet and smartphone.

The fan itself has three-speed settings and you can even make it stand vertically to use it as a desk fan, something no other laptop cooling fan can do. However, this fan might not be useful if you have a gaming laptop with vents on the bottom or ports at the back.

  • Pros: Can be used to cool other devices, easy to travel with.
  • Cons: Won’t work for laptops with bottom vents or ports at the back.

3. KLIM Cool + Metal Cooler Fan

  • Weight: 0.9 lbs | Laptop Size: All sizes
  • Additional Ports: No | Adjustable Height: NA
The Cool + Laptop cooler fan is a great buy for serious cooling needs. Instead of sitting under the laptop, this small cooling fan can be attached to the side or the back of the laptop, right where the vents are. It has a maximum rotation speed of 4500 RPM, and its metal structure acts as a heat sink, maximizing its effectiveness. Since it doesn’t need to fit a laptop over itself, this cooling fan can work on laptops of all sizes.

The Cool + also comes along with multiple suction cups of different sizes and shapes to ensure universal compatibility with laptops. Although, if your laptop doesn’t have any vents at the side or the back, it might need an actual cooling pad to cool it from below. Thousands of users have praised it as a great gaming laptop cooler as its high-efficiency heat dissipation maximizes sustained CPU/GPU loads.

If you’re using a gaming laptop like Alienware, their heavy design and sideways venting are something most regular laptop cooling pads might struggle with. But this fan is also one of the best coolers for Alienware laptops. Remember that it’s meant to be used only on flat surfaces and you can’t carry it around attached to your laptop.

  • Pros: Efficient cooling, works on heavy laptops.
  • Cons: Won’t work for laptops with bottom vents, meant for flat surfaces only.

4. KeiBn RGB Lights Laptop Cooler

  • Weight: 2.57 lbs | Laptop Size: Up to 17 inches
  • Additional Ports: 2xUSB | Adjustable Height: Yes
If you prefer everything RGB, this laptop cooler from KeiBn is what you’re looking for. It features six cooling fans placed beneath a metal mesh to deliver an optimal cooling experience. But what’s even cooler is the LED light strip that runs around the pad, giving you the option of 10 different light modes, from flowing colors to breathing lights.

Along with the LED strips, the fans also have lights, and you can choose from either red, blue, or purple colors. While you can turn off the LED strips when needed, the fan lights stay on when the cooler is working, so keep that in mind. This cooling pad also comes with a small LCD screen that you can use to adjust light modes and fan speeds.

Most users find this pad’s cooling capabilities adequate even while playing heavy games. You can even choose from seven different height settings, raising your laptop between 4.3 – to 7.5 inches high for a comfortable posture. It also features additional USB ports and a hidden mobile phone holder. All of these features make it our pick for the best laptop cooling pad you can buy.

  • Pros: RGB lights, multi-fan design.
  • Cons: Fan lights stay on while working, might be difficult to carry in a bag.

5. Moclever Laptop Table

  • Weight: 4.2 lbs | Laptop Size: Up to 15 inches
  • Additional Ports: 4xUSB | Adjustable Height: Yes
This one’s a multi-functional laptop table, providing you with a comfortable bed table with a laptop tray, a mouse pad, and a built-in night lamp. On top (technically, bottom) of all this, it has a USB cooling fan that can work for laptops with up to 15.6-inch screen sizes. It also features a 4-port USB hub that connects multiple USB devices to your laptop, making for an efficient productivity setup.

At 4.2 pounds, it’s not something you would want to carry around, but its folding table design means you can use it on various surfaces. The table top is only big enough to accommodate small to medium laptops if you want ample space for your mouse as well. Most reviews praise its stable leg design, which can be valuable to people who like to use their laptops in bed.

Along with folding legs, the laptop tray also has different incline settings for a comfortable experience. The cooling performance from the fan is satisfactory, although there have been complaints about the included USB cable being too flimsy. So, treat it with caution. Its versatile features still make it one of the best laptop cooling stands.

  • Pros: Folding table design, four extra ports.
  • Cons: Included USB cable is flimsy, not meant for big laptops.

FAQs About Laptop Cooling Pads

1. Do laptops need a cooling pad?

Using a laptop cooling pad is not necessary, especially if you are using your laptop in a room that is already cool. However, if you are using your laptop in a hot environment or if you are using it for resource-intensive tasks that generate a lot of heat, a cooling pad can help to prevent overheating and extend the lifespan of your laptop.

2. What’s the best laptop cooling pad?

When choosing a laptop cooling pad, it’s important to consider the size and weight of your laptop and the type of cooling system it has. Most cooling pads provide airflow near the bottom, while some laptops might have air vents exclusively on the sides or at the back. Also, not all cooling pads can accommodate larger laptops with 15-inch screens or higher.

3. Are laptop cooling pads loud?

The noise level of a laptop cooling pad will depend on the specific model and the number and size of the fans it has. Some cooling pads may be relatively quiet, while others may produce more noise. However, it’s better to check the noise level of a cooling pad before buying it.

Keeping It Cool

Laptop cooling pads are a valuable investment for anyone who uses their laptop frequently or for resource-intensive tasks. With the right cooling pad, you can extend the lifespan of your laptop and avoid overheating issues that can cause performance slowdowns.

Last updated on 30 December, 2022

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