I actually prefer using a PC for weather station work. The desktop is the unit of choice and it seems of late the cost of them is going down. Since it is a dedicated unit you can turn the monitor off and have it running 24/7. If you are having to go with a laptop, because of financial reasons, then I would go with the lap cooler as I wrote.
As batteries discharge they get hot. The PC desk would solve that because they are made to be on 24/7