Use laptop on your lap! - Laptop Cool Plate

Unbelievably my Dell 1520 Inspiron has the inlet for the CPU cooling fan on the underneath where the laptop sits on your thigh. Terrible design for a device intended for exactly that use.

So here is a slightly better option than using an old tray. This is simply a piece of 6mm birch ply the size of the laptop base, with a piece of 12mm x 40mm pine as a riser screwed and glued to one long edge. The riser has a length of thick pipe insulation foam slipped onto it and glued into place.

On the desktop it gives a comfortable typing angle - keep the laptop as far forward as possible so it almost touches the desktop.
When sitting down the foam takes all the weight of the screen across the thighs comfortably .


There is no tendency for the user's legs to block any ventilation grilles, and the heat from the CPU is not felt as uncomfortable heat on the sensitive skin of the legs .