Silica Gels To Keep Moisture From Ur Laptop!!

[wanabedoctor]

I was looking around on this forum and I found this: "Bring silica gels to absorb moisture from your laptops (helps the life of your laptop) It's not neccessary, but if you're anal like me, you should get some." Now, I would like to ask if anyone can tell me more about silica gels...I have a pretty expensive laptop that I don't want breaking down.....does anyone else use them (silica gels)? Or is it just the anal people? What exactly are they? I have an idea but I have not heard of people using them with their laptops. What do they look like? Do u wrap your laptop with it or what? Where can u get them? How much do they cost? Is it worth it? Can u ship them easily to Saba? Thank you very much!!!!:D

[gianefiasco]

Top 8 Tips for Using Laptops in Hot & Warm Weather


http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/usingyourlaptop/tp/hotlaptoptips.htm
1) Safe Temperature Range

Most laptop computers operate properly in the safe temperature range of 50 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit or 10 to 35 degrees Celsius. Keep in mind that when bringing a laptop in from the warm hot air, the laptop must cool down to the interior temperature before you use it. By the same token if you use your laptop outdoors, then let the laptop warm up to the outside temperature before starting it up.

2) Hot Cars

Just as you wouldn’t leave people or animals in a car in hot weather, you should not leave your laptop and other mobile gear either. Leaving your laptop closed in a vehicle in hot temperatures will cause damage to your laptop. The heat is not good for the internal components or the external casings.

3) Bright Sun

Never leave your laptop where it is exposed to direct sunlight, whether it is in use or shut down. If you must use your laptop outside in bright conditions you can use either:
a laptop glare screen which cuts down on the glare caused by the sun
a laptop hood which cuts down on the amount of light directed at the laptop display.

4) Humidity

In warm weather people are fond of saying it’s not the heat itself that bothers them but the dreaded humidity. Humidity is the amount of moisture in the air and the recommended safe range of relative humidity is 10-80%. Moisture can cause damage to the internal components of a laptop and you may not even realize that the damage has occurred.

5) Take it Out (http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/portablefilestorage/)

If you use your laptop in hot temperatures consider using a removable hard drive to store your data on. This way you can help protect your data and ensure that your removable hard drive stays protected from exposure to heat and the sun.
More: External Storage Options (http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/portablefilestorage/)
6) Weather Watching (http://mobileoffice.about.com/cs/mobilegear/a/protectgear.htm)

In warm, hot weather there are more storms, often with little or no warning and more severe weather occurrences which mobile professionals must face when traveling. Equipment to help protect your mobile gear includes having surge protectors, power invertors and spare batteries. External battery charges that don’t require an electrical connection are another wise investment.
More: Protecting Your Mobile Gear (http://mobileoffice.about.com/cs/mobilegear/a/protectgear.htm)
7) Keep it Cool (http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/laptopdesksstands/)

Use a laptop stand to disburse heat that your laptop generates. Laptop stands are available in a variety of styles to suit your working needs. There are laptop stands which include fans to help disburse the heat and keep your laptop working at its best.
More: Laptop Desks & Laptop Stands (http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/laptopdesksstands/)
8) Pack it Wisely (http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/packingyourmobilegear/)

Using a properly fitted and well-padded laptop case for your mobile gear will help keep it insulated against heat, moisture and direct sunlight. When buying your laptop case make sure all your mobile gear will fit securely and be protected from the effects of weather.
More: Laptop Cases Reviews & Care (http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/packingyourmobilegear/)
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[teratos]

You are most likely wasting your time with silica gels. In an environment where humidity is ubiquitous, how long do you think they are going to last? They will be saturated in a relatively short period of time. Also, when the laptop is on, it will suck in that humid air, and the silica gels will do nothing. G

[rdecastro]

I agree. I have not bothered with dehumidifiers (except the AC) for any of my electronics, except for the power supply on my laptop I have NOT had any trouble with any of them.

Besides, they sell the stuff at Big Rock

[omega's]

Great tips above.

According to the IT guys here, the primary problem they see with humidity is the notebook going from a very cool to very hot environment (A/C to outdoors in summer, e.g.). Condensation can occur within the computer and silica gel is irrelevant in that case.

Best thing to do is simply case your computer before leaving a very cool atmosphere (like the library--part of it is subarctic) to go outside. This will give the computer a chance to change temp gradually.

I tried the gel thing with my notebook in a large ziploc but gave up after I realized what the real issue was (drastic temp change).

[MDXRS22]

For you, those going out in the wild of the killing heat of the caribbean, the best , used and cheap laptop to have is the compaq armada.
Trust me on this one!
Newest tops tend to fail under constant humidity.
Just spare your dimes and save to buy better stuff with your hard, maybe earned money. If you can't get that armada, from 7800 series and up, just get you that old HP for 300 bucks. You will be the happiest student in the sun while your pals are looking for parts over the net. :)

By the way, those tops I just mentioned can be plugged directly from the outlet or your inverter. Enjoy the ride cheaply folks:). No need for a power supply and clug your baskets:)

[DonnieMD2B]

My laptop was 3 yrs old, when i got here i began to have trouble with my computer running hot. Then the fan would just decide not to turn off. So i went to bestbuy.com and bought a new toshiba since other students had toshiba and didn't have any trouble. Also a cooling pad is highly recommended. Just my opinion and experience.

[wolfvgang22]

I completely agree with Omega above. My monster dell inspiron 8500 has ran perfectly for a year on the island now. I make sure it's always in it's case when not in use, and try to avoid doing dumb stuff like exposing it to drastic temp changes, blocking the fan vents on the case, or dropping it. Haven't used any silica gel dessicant yet. And if it dies, I'll just buy a new sony or toshiba off the shelf on St. Martin and not pay any taxes. Muhaaa ha ha ha...:D

[Doc. Caliban]

If you're going to buy an Intel-based laptop, get a Pentium M. ("Centrino") They run VERY cool and will not have overheating problems. Laptops with regular Pentiums are much hotter, and perform slower than the Pentium M.

If you want more details, I can give them to you.

I've been running a very high-end Pentium-M laptop here, indoors and out, and it never overheats.

[Doc. Caliban]

And if it dies, I'll just buy a new sony or toshiba off the shelf on St. Martin and not pay any taxes. Muhaaa ha ha ha...:D
If you buy a Sony, you'll be paying Brand Name Tax up the butt. MANY of their models use the nearly 3-year old "Centrino" technology and the slowest hard drives you can get, but they charge an arm and a leg just for the brand. The only thing the Sony's have going for them is the fact that their screens are amazingly bright, even in the sun. Other than that they're an absolute rip off. (Unless you can find a decent one on sale for a good price.)

"I have a Sony and it's great!" is not what I'm talking about. All I'm saying is that Sony is an overpriced brand when it comes to laptops and what you get for your money.

Sorry, Sony laptops send me on a major rant ever since I did a bunch of research on late-model laptops last year.


EDIT: When I say "old" Centrino technology, what I mean is that there has been a newer, faster version of Centrino out for about a year, but companies like Sony still sell the older, slower version to unaware customers.

[McGillGrad]

http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/usingyourlaptop/tp/hotlaptoptips.htm
1) Safe Temperature Range

Most laptop computers operate properly in the safe temperature range of 50 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit or 10 to 35 degrees Celsius. Keep in mind that when bringing a laptop in from the warm hot air, the laptop must cool down to the interior temperature before you use it. By the same token if you use your laptop outdoors, then let the laptop warm up to the outside temperature before starting it up.


I do not know how accurate the temperature range is for internal laptop temps. My laptop run hot at about 39-40 and that is safe even if this web site says differently. This is under prolonged, use though.

[wolfvgang22]

If you buy a Sony, you'll be paying Brand Name Tax up the butt. MANY of their models use the nearly 3-year old "Centrino" technology and the slowest hard drives you can get, but they charge an arm and a leg just for the brand. The only thing the Sony's have going for them is the fact that their screens are amazingly bright, even in the sun. Other than that they're an absolute rip off. (Unless you can find a decent one on sale for a good price.)

"I have a Sony and it's great!" is not what I'm talking about. All I'm saying is that Sony is an overpriced brand when it comes to laptops and what you get for your money.

Sorry, Sony laptops send me on a major rant ever since I did a bunch of research on late-model laptops last year.


EDIT: When I say "old" Centrino technology, what I mean is that there has been a newer, faster version of Centrino out for about a year, but companies like Sony still sell the older, slower version to unaware customers.
Seems like you're a little more up to date on what's good in laptops than I am. What do you think are the best laptops right now, toshibas?

[gianefiasco]

If you buy a Sony, you'll be paying Brand Name Tax up the butt. MANY of their models use the nearly 3-year old "Centrino" technology and the slowest hard drives you can get, but they charge an arm and a leg just for the brand. The only thing the Sony's have going for them is the fact that their screens are amazingly bright, even in the sun. Other than that they're an absolute rip off. (Unless you can find a decent one on sale for a good price.)

"I have a Sony and it's great!" is not what I'm talking about. All I'm saying is that Sony is an overpriced brand when it comes to laptops and what you get for your money.

Sorry, Sony laptops send me on a major rant ever since I did a bunch of research on late-model laptops last year.


EDIT: When I say "old" Centrino technology, what I mean is that there has been a newer, faster version of Centrino out for about a year, but companies like Sony still sell the older, slower version to unaware customers.

I agree that with Sony you are sometimes overpaying for the brand name--> but the new sony SZ series with the core duo chip is one of the best laptops you can buy in its size category. At under 4 lbs it is a monster in terms of power and performance.

But yes if you are lookign for value its better to stick with dell or compaq.

[gianefiasco]

Seems like you're a little more up to date on what's good in laptops than I am. What do you think are the best laptops right now, toshibas?

It depends on what you are looking for: ultramoblie (light), desktop replacement(power), value brand (cheap). With laptops you have to make concessions in one category or another as you cannot find one that is superior in all three. For value your best bet is probably a dell. For power your looking at apple, acer, or sony. and for ultramobile, toshiba and sony are the top ones right now.

[Doc. Caliban]

I'm not up to date on what all the latest models are, but pretty much any common brand laptop is the same as the next for the most part. Toshiba, HP, Dell, IBM, etc. (Even Sony, they're just really overpriced for what you get.)

Every laptop has:
- A motherboard
- An Intel or AMD CPU
- A hard drive made by one of the big manufacturers
- RAM made by one of the big manufactures
- A CD/DVD drive made by one of the big manufactures
- A graphics card or integrated graphics made by either ATI, nVidia, or Intel
- A wireless networking card, usually made by Intel
- An LCD

All that's left is a chassis, a keyboard, and a battery. So you can see that inside they're all made of nearly identical things, including the brands and models of those things.

What you want to look for in a laptop is a good screen, (high brightness and contrast, and a good response time if you're gaming) and the latest technology for a fair price. Most companies get their screens from a few screen manufacturers, and a few of the companies make their own. This is the ONLY place where Sony laptops kick butt. Their screens are amazingly bright. But not enough to justify the HUGELY inflated price tags.

If you get an Intel-based system, get a Pentium M because it's simply the best Intel laptop CPU on the market now. They're fast, they run cool, and they're easy on the battery.

There are two versions of "Centrino" (and a third one coming) so make sure you get the current version as it's faster and has more features. To make sure that you get the current one, make sure that it has one of the following CPU models in it:

Pentium M 730 (1.6 GHz), 740 (1.73 GHz), 750 (1.86 GHz), 760 (2.0 GHz), 770 (2.13 GHz), and 780 (2.26 GHz)

ANY other Pentium M is an indication that the laptop is the original, slower Centrino configuration. If someone tells you otherwise they either don't know, or they're lying. There's nothing wrong with the old version, not at all, but make sure they aren't charging too much for it. "But it's a Centrino!" Now you know that they can use that line to fool you into thinking it's the latest and greatest and try to charge you as such.

Here's a link to a post I made in another forum on the Centrino subject. There's a little more info if you're interested.

http://forums.tweakguides.com/showpost.php?p=29769&postcount=6

[Doc. Caliban]

It depends on what you are looking for: ultramoblie (light), desktop replacement(power), value brand (cheap). With laptops you have to make concessions in one category or another as you cannot find one that is superior in all three. For value your best bet is probably a dell. For power your looking at apple, acer, or sony. and for ultramobile, toshiba and sony are the top ones right now.
Let me add a bit to this.

1. "UltraPortables", screen sizes of less than 14" are usually VERY overpriced due to the fact that they're "neat-o". Period. They are the same thing as every other laptop but have a smaller screen and motherboard. They are usually also made of slower components to save battery power. You pay more because they charge more, not because you get more. (And you usually always get less!) Unless you really need a tiny laptop, avoid these altogether.

2. "Powerful" needs a more detailed breakdown. What makes a laptop powerful?

- CPU: The Intel Pentium M has replaced the "regular" Pentium in all but the biggest and heaviest laptops. It runs cooler, uses less power, and is FASTER GHz for GHz than the regular Pentium. You can get pretty much any of the current Pentium M CPUs in pretty much any size laptop. Brand has no bearing on this at all.

NOTE: The dual-core chips are out now and while cool, they are not necessarily worth the money just yet, and they aren't going to make any real difference in email, web browsing, word processing, or anything else that most people do on a laptop. Cool to be sure, but not a major consideration just yet. (If you have unlimited funds, then yes, go for it.)

EDIT: Every major brand has a dual-core model available. (Or will soon.) This is NOT a reason to buy a Sony!

- RAM: Get 1GB if you use Windows XP. No less than 512MB. Too little RAM means your system will have to use the hard drive more and that really slows things down. (It's almost always cheaper to buy it from some place like newegg.com and upgrade it yourself as opposed to paying top dollar for it from the laptop manufacturer.)

- Hard Drive: There are three speeds of hard drives; 4,200RPM, 5,400RPM, and 7,200RPM. Just about every laptop on the market comes with a 4,200RPM drive, and compared to the other two they're painfully slow. Windows loads slower. Your apps load slower. Files open slower. Specify that you want at least a 5,400RPM drive.

- Video: This only matters if you plan to play games or do 3D rendering. (And I'm not talking about Solitaire.) If you aren't going to game, just get whatever video solution is cheapest because it won't make ANY difference for you. If you are going to game, that's a whole other can of worms that we can open if you wish.

These are the 4 things that make a laptop "powerful". The screen size, and therefor the overall size of the laptop, makes little difference.

EDIT: Models with the "regular" Pentium and/or very powerful video cards need better cooling and more power and are therefore usually thicker and heavier. With a Pentium M and a "non-gaming" video card most laptops will be relatively thin and light.

3. Brand means very little: See the reply I made above. Sony laptops tend to be underpowered for the price tag. I have a Dell and it's currently considered one of the best gaming laptops on the market. It has a fast CPU, 2GB of RAM, 2 big, fast hard drives, and a video card that's on par with the fastest desktop video cards. What I'm saying is, every brand has it's "bargain" models and it's "top-shelf" models. No one brand is better than any other when it comes to a generic measure like "power".

[Doc. Caliban]

I do not know how accurate the temperature range is for internal laptop temps. My laptop run hot at about 39-40 and that is safe even if this web site says differently. This is under prolonged, use though.

40C is not hot at all for a laptop. Not even close. My GPU (the video card) runs at close to 100C when I'm playing games, and that's still 15C below it's specified maximum temp.

My CPU is at 44C right now and I consider that "cool".

[hopeful786]

Wow you guys really do your homework when buying a laptop.

I though from a more cost saving perspective. I asked myself why I wanted a laptop ---> To use for surfing, write word documents, and read slides on a Win XP.
How long was I going to use the laptop ---> ~2 years for the reasons above.
How much money did I have to risk ---> Very very Little
Ended up buying two second-hand laptops each 3lbs, do everything that I need really well for $700 CAD. Most importantly they are the same model so if one crashes, I have the other one as back-up, if my back-up crashes, I can potentiall use parts from both and mix and match and make a third functioning laptop. Fortunately both are running strong so far. It easy to get caught up in the advertising mumbo-jumbo, but keep in mind what is the purpose of getting a laptop.

[Doc. Caliban]

Great choice.

I'm a computer geek and I play lots of high-end computer games. I also move too often to bother with a desktop so I bought a big gaming laptop and I LOVE it. Because of that it was worth what I paid for it. (I actually got it for $1,750 instead of the original $3,600) It's not just a portable computer to me; it IS my computer.

-Doc

[teratos]

40C is not hot at all for a laptop. Not even close. My GPU (the video card) runs at close to 100C when I'm playing games, and that's still 15C below it's specified maximum temp.

My CPU is at 44C right now and I consider that "cool".
Jesus, that's hot. I never measured my laptop temps. I have a dual Xeon workstation (Nocona- based on the Prescott core) which has a horrible reputation for running hot. They only run 44C @ load on stock coolers. I never realized laptops ran so hot. G

[Doc. Caliban]

Jesus, that's hot. I never measured my laptop temps. I have a dual Xeon workstation (Nocona- based on the Prescott core) which has a horrible reputation for running hot. They only run 44C @ load on stock coolers. I never realized laptops ran so hot. G

It's nothing. The P4 laptops constantly sound like leaf blowers because the fans have to run at full-tilt the whole time the system is on.

The chips have very high heat tolerances. My GPU won't throttle down unless it reaches 115C.

Remember, laptops have much less cooling capacity than a desktop or server so they're bound to run warmer.

[teratos]

My Xeons idle about 28 C or so. The CPU fans are loud. In addition to that I have 5 case fans, 3-out and 2-in. My workstation sounds like a small jet. Never thought much about the temps in my laptop, but I suppose it isn't so shocking they are that high. My P4-M 1.6 is 32 C at idle. I'll have to stress it to see what it does at load. You can get one of those little mini towers that will accept dual opterons ( http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=RED-ZMAXDP&cat=BBK ), buy a thin keyboard and mouse, and a smaller LCD for the price of a good laptop, and it will blow it out of the water. Won't be QUITE as portable...couldn't take it to class or anything, but would be a breeze to set up. I love workstations. I am buying a RAID 0+1 setup with 800GB of mirrored and striped goodness. Can't put that in a laptop......

[Kodene]

I'm shopping for a new laptop as well. I know an inexpensive laptop will be sufficient for med school, but i'm looking for a desktop replacement with the ability to play games. I doubt I'll have time for video games during school anyways, but it'd be nice to play once in awhile and during breaks. Doc Caliban, how do you manage to play video games in med school? I guess you're an efficient student. :p Btw what games to you play? It sounds like you have a XPS 170. I'm thinking about getting an Asus. Does anybody know about their build quality?

Oh yeah...i forgot to ask: do a lot of students take their laptops to class to take notes? Just wondering.

[Doc. Caliban]

I've had my (virtually) limitless spending sprees on server hardware; I used to build computer labs at Microsoft. :-) But I've lived in 3 different countries in 8 months, so anything other than a laptop has not been an option.

BTW, there are laptops with SLI (dual video cards), dual-core AMD 64 CPU's, SATA RAID0, etc.

My next system will be a desktop though. I'll wait until early next year once the DX10 GPUs are out and so forth. Quad-core CPU's should be around by then too as well.

[Doc. Caliban]

I'm shopping for a new laptop as well. I know an inexpensive laptop will be sufficient for med school, but i'm looking for a desktop replacement with the ability to play games. I doubt I'll have time for video games during school anyways, but it'd be nice to play once in awhile and during breaks. Doc Caliban, how do you manage to play video games in med school? I guess you're an efficient student. :p Btw what games to you play? It sounds like you have a XPS 170. I'm thinking about getting an Asus. Does anybody know about their build quality?

I do have a Dell XPS2 (M170) and it's definitely overkill for school. But it kicks butt with games! It was a little over $4,000 but I got it for just under $2,000 with a 40% off coupon and my old Microsoft EPP discount.

I've been buying Asus motherboards since 1992 and I love them. For more info on the laptops, start here:

http://www.notebookforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=155

I just finished FEAR and Halflife 2 (second time around with that one). I have Tomb Raider: Legend, and Elder Scrolls: Oblivion on the way... should be here Wed. There are 3 or 4 other titles I'll be playing later in the year once they release as well.

As for gaming and school... well, let's just say there's an assumption in your question. ;-)

[Doc. Caliban]

BTW, this is one of the very best resources on the Internet for anyone trying to decide which laptop to buy. There are tons of very experienced, helpful, and honest people here who will take the time to answer all your questions. I spent 6 weeks reading the forums almost every night before deciding on my laptop.


http://www.notebookforums.com (http://www.notebookforums.com/)

[bhs2a]

I am now addicted to Oblivion on xbox 360.

[Doc. Caliban]

I am now addicted to Oblivion on xbox 360.

I'm planning on playing Tomb Raider Legend before delving into that bottomless pit.

[bhs2a]

I see you have played Morrowind.

[Doc. Caliban]

I see you have played Morrowind.

Nope, but I know of it. Even installed it once but just didn't quite get started with it.

To be honest, I'm not super into those games because I don't like the whole walking-around-and-talking-to-every-NPC-in-sight thing; I really don't care for the magic/sword/armor genera that most of those games are a part of so therefore the stories I have to listen to are not exactly gripping to me. (I don't read fantasy books at all.) I'm going to try to look past it with Oblivion just so I can go explore the world. I used to play Asheron's Call and I'd just go run around the land exploring and so forth and really enjoyed it. Same with WoW.

[bhs2a]

I'm in the thieves guild and my attention span is really short so I have a hard time with many RPG's. I cheat and get the book.
Also, my fiance is trying to get me good at Halo so I can kick his friends butts.

[McGillGrad]

The only game I am planning on finishing is 'The Warriors' (and maybe GTA III & GTA IV)

That game is delicious!




Nope, but I know of it. Even installed it once but just didn't quite get started with it.

To be honest, I'm not super into those games because I don't like the whole walking-around-and-talking-to-every-NPC-in-sight thing; I really don't care for the magic/sword/armor genera that most of those games are a part of so therefore the stories I have to listen to are not exactly gripping to me. (I don't read fantasy books at all.) I'm going to try to look past it with Oblivion just so I can go explore the world. I used to play Asheron's Call and I'd just go run around the land exploring and so forth and really enjoyed it. Same with WoW.

[Doc. Caliban]

I'm in the thieves guild and my attention span is really short so I have a hard time with many RPG's. I cheat and get the book.
Also, my fiance is trying to get me good at Halo so I can kick his friends butts.
I guess I should say that I like the quests themselves, I just have no interest in the little fictitious story behind the quest. "So and So from such and such place was ambushed by the bad people of the other place and the special thing was stolen and then a great big monster ate it and bla bla bla bla." Who cares! Just tell me where to go, what to kill, and what to bring back.

Also, a big, wide open game like this with some modern weapons would be nice for a change.

[Gavanshir]

The only game that you should all know about is Spore:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-775656482294094003&q=spore&pl=true

From a single bacteria, to a galactic god....................

[Doc. Caliban]

From a single bacteria, to a galactic god....................

Sounds like my dirty laundry.

The game looks interesting, but may not be my "thing". It's certainly ambitious.

[gianefiasco]

I have a decent gaming laptop video card: nividia 7200. So i cant really play FEAR. But I like games liek civilization 4 and rome total war anyways.

Although I did really kill HAlf life 2 and counter strike source. wow. I am not bringing down any games however cause i think the temptation to play too muich would be too great LOL

[Doc. Caliban]

I have a decent gaming laptop video card: nividia 7200. So i cant really play FEAR. But I like games liek civilization 4 and rome total war anyways.

Although I did really kill HAlf life 2 and counter strike source. wow. I am not bringing down any games however cause i think the temptation to play too muich would be too great LOL

Games eat time, that's for sure. I'm looking forward to the arrival of two new ones this week. Since I bought my laptop with gaming in mind (nVidia 7800GTX) it should do pretty well with them.

HL2 has an add-on coming out soon.