Today’s flagship laptops are thinner and lighter than ever, which is great for portability, but not ideal for durability. Therefore, laptop protective cases fill this gap and provide various products. Laptop models add style and protection. However, before deciding whether to equip your laptop with a protective case, in addition to good looks, there are some factors that need to be taken into consideration. Laptop users are generally worried about whether installing a hard protective case on their computer will affect heat dissipation, thereby reducing performance and increasing hardware stress. So, is this a myth? This time let’s look at all the factors to consider.
Will putting on a laptop protective case cause overheating?
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Do not block the cooling holes
Most laptops have active cooling systems, using one or more fans to draw cool air into the computer and push hot air out, although there are some exceptions to this rule, like the liquid-cooled Lenovo Legion 9i or the passively cooled MacBook Air , but in most cases, laptops use fans to prevent internal overheating, and laptops can also take advantage of natural locations to circulate air, such as keyboard or hinge gaps. However, laptops are usually equipped with some vents in the case, which serve as fan air inlets or exhaust vents, usually on the sides or bottom of the laptop.
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When purchasing a laptop case, the most important thing to consider is whether the one-point case has vents, and more specifically, whether these cutouts match the location of the laptop’s vents. The case doesn’t need to have precisely cut vents that match the air inlets or exhausts on the laptop down to the millimeter, but any case that severely blocks air flow could cause the laptop to overheat. To make sure the case has the necessary cutouts for your laptop, take a close look at the product images, customer reviews, and specs page. If you’re not sure, make sure the case you buy has a good return policy so you can return it if the vents aren’t fit for purpose.
Protective shell affects passive cooling
Another thing to remember is that vents are not the only way to dissipate heat from a laptop. Regardless of whether the case is made of plastic or metal, the laptop can also dissipate heat through the case itself. If you’ve ever felt your laptop case get hot under high-performance loads, this is an example of heat being transferred from the laptop’s internal components to the chassis. By attaching a laptop case to your device, you are essentially adding another layer of insulation that blocks passive heating. For example, if you use a hard-shell plastic case, heat may be trapped in the tight-fitting shell and protective shell, causing the laptop to heat up when running.
However, most laptops use active cooling as their primary way of keeping cool and functioning properly. Passive cooling is only a small part of overall cooling, so putting on a protective case may not cause your laptop to overheat. This is a bigger consideration for a laptop like the MacBook Air, which doesn’t use fans at all, only passive cooling. However, I haven’t seen any performance limitations with MacBook Airs from the past few years. You should keep in mind that protective cases can affect passive cooling, especially if you think the laptop is overheating after use, but you shouldn’t let that deter you. Avoid laptop cases altogether.
Most laptop cases will not cause overheating
Overall, laptop cases are unlikely to be the main cause of overheating, although if the case you choose doesn’t have cutouts for laptop vents, there may be cooling issues. Most high-quality protective cases from well-known brands on the market will be equipped with perfect cutouts. Most cases are designed with thermal performance in mind, so users don’t have to worry about this issue. There are many reasons for the pros and cons of using a laptop case during day-to-day use, but thermal performance and potential overheating are unlikely to be the most important.
