Heatsinks are essential pieces of hardware, no matter what computer is in question. Laptops and PCs run at much higher speeds than in the past because they are simply a faster breed of electronics. Without proper heat sink installation, your CPU can overheat causing your computer to abruptly shutoff or possibly cause permanent damage. If I have computer freezing problems and it is running slow, combined with frequent boot failures, it might just be due to too much heat inside the computer. Thankfully, it is somewhat easy to test.

A make-shift heat sink, when used with laptops, works well for a little while, but it assuringly is not better than a permanent slow computer solution. If the computer running slow freezes up or quickly shuts down, try cooling it down a little bit with the method below. It is, of course, not advised as a heatsink replacement, and in fact should only be used as a test to see if overheating is your problem.

First, make sure that dust is not to blame for your laptop’s abnormally high temperatures. A good dusting of the inside of your computer can lower the running temperature of your laptop and possibly completely solve all heat-related computer problems. Second, grab a flat cookie sheet or shallow baking pan from the kitchen. You will be placing it under your laptop like a heat-grabbing place mat. The pan or sheet of metal grabs the heat from your laptop and then disperses it, creating a makeshift heatsink for all of those close call situations. Aluminum and diamond works best at taking the heat away, so we will obviously shoot for aluminum. Other metals work too, but aluminum is the best. To help with the heat even more, stick the pan in the freezer for an hour before you put it under your laptop. Just be sure to wipe it clean on condensation before you stick it under your computer, or else it could get wet. Wet laptops are never a good thing.

Desktops and PCs do have it quite as easy. Sliding a cookie tray under a PC tower will not give good results, as one might expect. If it is imperative that you keep your PC running under poor conditions, try simply pointing a couple of fans towers the computer. Yes, it can lower it a few degrees, but if you have to resort to that type of cleverness to keep your computer running slow but steady, it is definitely time to invest in a new form of cooling — maybe a bigger heat sink or more fans would do they trick. Lastly, no matter what type of PC you have, setting it on a hard surface away from carpet gives optimal air flow.

The heatsink for laptops and desktops is worth the investment. They really are one of the most effective forms of cooling you can give a computer’s CPU, not to mention it will prevent you in the future from having to pay even more money to get that melted piece of junk replaced. If my computer keeps freezing or shutting down, and I suspect overheating, I should get a better heat sink. The extra money is just not worth a computer running slow. Solutions that save money are always preferred, don’t you agree?