Until not too long ago, cooling bases were based on a simple grid base with a large fan underneath, and some were certainly of such poor quality that they just made noise; However, things and technology have changed and today a good cooling base can make a big difference, both in terms of user experience and equipment performance, even if it is difficult to achieve. believe.
What is a refrigerator base and what are its characteristics?
A refrigerator pedestal, as the name suggests, is a pedestal on which put the laptop on top and which integrates one or more Fans strategically placed to match the laptop air inlets and outlets, greatly helping to maintain a good temperature. For this reason, the cooling bases must necessarily have vents so that the air from the fan (s) can circulate and reach the laptop.
Taking advantage of the fact that we are dealing with a “base” as such, most builders also take advantage of this element to improve ergonomics for use in laptops, the basis therefore goes far beyond simply adding fans to aid cooling.
For this reason and as you can see in the sample image we put above, they usually have a hinge and brackets that allow the back to be lifted up so that it is diagonally, to so that when you place the laptop on top, it remains much more comfortable position. Obviously, if the cooling base has this possibility, it must also have some stops at the bottom so that the laptop does not slip and stays in place.
In addition to this and since all cooling bases are powered by USB, the vast majority also incorporate a USB port hub (In many cases, USB 2.0 but in high-end models it is USB 3.0), so they also serve to extend the connectivity of the equipment, because in fact most modern laptops do not don’t have too many USB ports available.
Finally, in the era of “RGB lightingIn our country, many cooling bases also precisely integrate RGB lighting to match the gaming aesthetic that many PCs and laptops have today. In most cases, unfortunately, this lighting only lets you choose the color and effects or turn it off, but there is no model that fits into a manufacturer’s lighting ecosystem.
Why would you need it for your laptop?
Laptops, and especially those intended for gaming, are equipped with hardware powerful enough to deliver excellent performance, which necessarily implies higher power consumption and heat generation. Taking into account that this powerful hardware is packaged in a small laptop (and especially in terms of thickness), that means the cooling system it has is usually quite inefficient and noisy.
This implies that the hardware of laptops must operate, compared to the hardware of a desktop PC, at a much higher temperature and therefore that its fans, which are always of the blower type (turbine), must run at a higher temperature. high. equipment in healthy temperature ranges, which means they generate quite a bit of noise.
Having a cooling base with good fans serves, in most cases, to lower the temperature a little the use of the laptop as this will promote air circulation. Additionally, while this seems counterproductive as we are actually adding more fans, it will also help make the system no more silence because despite the addition of more fans, they will run more slowly because the equipment is at a lower temperature. And you know, if the equipment is at a lower temperature, it will have a longer lifespan and, on top of that, will improve performance because thermal throttling is avoided.
In addition to this, having a cooling base also serves to maintain a more ergonomic posture when using the laptop, it can add more connectivity with USB port hubs and in some cases even improve aesthetics. with RGB lighting (for those who liked me). In short, using a cooling base in a laptop and especially if it is powerful only brings advantages, which is why it is highly recommended.
What to look for when buying a refrigerator base
You have to take into account one essential thing is that not all laptops are designed the same and maybe one model has an air inlet, another has an outlet. It is therefore important that you pay attention to the location of the vents on your laptop computer to know whether or not you should flip the cooling base fans so that they either push air in or out depending on the inlet or the outlet. the air outlet of the laptop respectively. Likewise, you should look at the position of the vents and choose a cooling base whose fans are positioned to match these vents.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the larger the fans in the cooling base, the more airflow they will be able to move by rotating slower and, therefore, emitting less noise. It is generally more efficient and quieter to have a single 200mm fan than two 120mm fans, for example.
In addition to this, we recommend that you look for cooling bases that have a USB 3.0 port hub (most are with USB 2.0), as this will take advantage of this to improve the connectivity of your laptop. Apart from this, we also recommend that you choose a base that allows for height adjustment, as this can improve the ergonomics when using the laptop.
In any case, the use of a cooling base is strongly recommended, especially if the laptop is powerful and gives off a lot of heat. It can be uncomfortable to carry the base from room to room with the laptop, but if you’re one of those people who always use it in one or two physical locations, it’s well worth it.
