I actually have two such cooling pads, a sturdier and more expensive one I bought here, and then a very flimsy and cheap-looking one I bought in Thailand, which probably cost less than a dollar.

The odd thing is that I like the flimsier one better, because it is much much quieter for some reason. The sturdy one is pretty noisy, adding to the noise level quite a bit and getting on my nerves.

Anyway, with my gaming laptop I don't use either, I don't seem to have much of overheating problems anyway on this one. I guess the cooler climate here helps too, albeit in some warmer summer days the temperaturs indoors can get well over 30 C degrees even if I keep the windows open. I guess Finnish apartments are generally designed to be warm in winters, rather than cool on summers...

I guess 2-4 degrees lower temps is ok (with a cooling pad), but I feel it is still quite a small improvement, considering on my old work laptop I got the CPU temps down by something like 12 degrees, by just dusting off the innards a bit. I guess sometimes every saved degree counts...

Anyway as was pointed out, if you are keeping the laptop on your lap or sofa or such, a cooling pad is a good way to guarantee it gets enoug fresh air under the laptop.

Recommend you don't. There is probably a fan on the side or bottom to help blow out the hot air. But a lot of air/heat escapes through the keyboard as well. Under normal office circumstances, it should be fine. But video games, while your laptop probably won't overheat/die from keeping it shut. You are helping make that more a possibility.