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dispelling some myths.

grungeboy2
Level 10
i've seen this talked about a few times on other forums and i wanted to clear the air on this.

i've never seen a laptop that draws it's intake from the keyboard. the problems with this concept are so obvious that i'm surprised people still talk about it.

if your laptop draws air in from the keyboard, then anything that goes into the keyboard (flakes of skin, dust, dirt, occasional coffee spill, etc) would be pulled into the laptop. ie, it's a dumb idea.

second off, heat travels less in a vacuum. air is a good thermal conductor. the idea that you must have a air intake on a computer is silly. some designs rely on air intake, but it's really not a necessity. it's not like you're going to exhaust enough air to make the computer (laptop or desktop) implode on itself.

having fans exhaust hot air does not really mean that you HAVE to have a air intake. infact negative pressure inside a computer is a good idea.

this has come up when discussing keyboard skins, and i've seen it mentioned on youtube videos and the like.

the thing that bothers me most is when people talk about the G51-G73 series. if you've ever seen the back of the backlit keyboards, you'd know that to draw air in through one would be impossible. around one, yes, but not through it. behind the keys is a solid LED panel, that is sealed around the edges. no airflow getting through.

ok, had to rant a little bit, not at anyone in particular but at the notion that air is coming through the laptop's keyboard.

this was a topic when discussing macbooks as well. most of them have vents in the small area between the bottom of the lcd panel and the top of the base of the laptop. hard to see unless you've disassembled one.

just to clarify my talking points.

* air intake does not occur from the keyboard.
* keyboard skins (TPU or the silicone kind, although i suggest the TPU kind) are a good investment
* a laptop cooler is always a great idea (heat plus time kills all computers). it doesn't have to be a expensive one. the targus chillmats you see at walmart for $15-20 are perfectly fine.

i just wanted to take a moment to clear that up. seems to be on a lot of folks minds, and i really don't know why.

edit: i was reminded of this shortly after posting. most of the HP/Compaq laptops i used to service were actually designed with plastic along the top of the base part. that way if something was spilled on the laptop or keyboard area, it wouldn't simply drop down to the motherboard and fry it. engineers are smart like that, despite what most people think, they usually try to anticipate things like the infamous coffee spill. most of the time there's a kind of spill guard there to try and stop moisture from reaching the motherboard.
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dstrakele wrote:
I just blow the flames out and keep playin'....
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chrsplmr
Level 18
Thank You.
I always use a laptop when I drink my coffee, in case I spill it on my lap and catch the donut crumbs. hehe
Kidding aside, very good points.

JRd1st
Level 12
I agree with much of what grungeboy says, but negative pressure, or less air in a computer is not a good thing. The fact that air conducts heat is what makes heatsinks work. That's why heatsinks and fans usually work as a system ; fans make more air go past the fins of the heatsink , removing more heat.

And air from outside the computer is better than air from within because it's more than likely to be cooler.


BTW, I think many people believe that air comes in through the KB because of this image ;

Read the User's Manual for more info. 😄



G74SX-A1 BIOS 203
Intel 6230 WiFi/BT
LG E2350 LED LCD Monitor
Intel Series 510 120 GB SSD

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JRd1st on DeviantArt.com

yeah, the idea being that a desktop box probably would benefit from having a vacuum inside the case. a laptop, probably not so much. when i say a vacuum, no air flow would bad in a laptop, but in a desktop, where some of the components are more spaced apart, a vacuum effect (even if it's not a complete, actual, vacuum) can help keep heat from transferring from one part to another. dell desktops in particular used to use small shrouds over the cpu, shunting the air directly out the back, keeping the cpu's heat from mingling with everything else.

laptops are cramped enough as it is. obviously they're not airtight either. so air is being drawn in from the seams and vents all over it.

those pictures do seem to be what makes people think that air is being drawn in through the keyboard. i guess it's easier to draw that than to draw air coming from all the little openings around it.
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dstrakele wrote:
I just blow the flames out and keep playin'....

On the G74 there are air intakes along the back between the hinges. I used to think the air came in through that long speaker grill.
Read the User's Manual for more info. 😄



G74SX-A1 BIOS 203
Intel 6230 WiFi/BT
LG E2350 LED LCD Monitor
Intel Series 510 120 GB SSD

Drivers, Apps and How To's
Latest nVidia Drivers

JRd1st on DeviantArt.com

On mine g73jh (bestbuy) the intake is the subwoofer front left on machine. What asus says anyhow.

JRd1st wrote:
BTW, I think many people believe that air comes in through the KB because of this image ;




......and for me, this image of the G74's top cover as well. I can't see any other purpose for those "grills" than for air to pass through.

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