RadDevonWhy do most gaming laptops have vents on the bottom?
Decoy321It’s by necessity. The hardware in a gaming laptop gets a lot hotter, so you need wider openings that are closer to the heat generating parts. If you were to do this on the sides, you’d need to build the case bigger and put a much stronger heat transfer system to account for the smaller and further opening.
How does it help though when the user inevitably uses it on their lap and covers those vents?
I think that it’s fairly safe to say that nobody uses a gaming laptop on their lap when gaming, particularly mouse and keyboard players. I only use mine when I travel for work, and I bring a proper keyboard and mouse with me.
That said, I do occasionally use it on my lap. When not gaming, the heat produced is pretty low and it works just fine. It also has small intake vents on the side.
Even my “corporate” Thinkpad with no dedicated GPU has all the fans on the bottom and exhausting to the sides and back.
With the new hinges there’s space on the back for exhaust, some impeller fans drawing from the sides and exhausting out the back would be so much better. I custom printed some 1/2 inch high feet so it doesn’t throttle sitting on a table or lap desk because it’s just a terrible design even when used normally