Antec USB-Powered Notebook Cooler
by Antec
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List Price: Our Price: $16.99 You Save: $27.00 (61%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $15.00 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Antec USB-Powered Notebook Cooler
Customer Review: Works to Perfection!
Summary: 5 Stars
First of all, I want to preface by saying that my Toshiba L-305 is a problem computer. Specifically, it has overheating issues. I have two family members (including myself) who have one, and on both laptops, the fan is nearly always running, and the bottom is extremely hot. The wrist rests on the top even get very warm. On a whim, I decided to put a meat thermometer beneath the laptop just to see what kingdof heat the laptop was registering. Well, after simply starting the computer and running it for 10 minutes, it was at 80 degrees. At it's worst (with a few hours of computing running multiple apps, etc, it got up to 120 to 140 degrees. So when the Antec USB-Powered Notebook Cooler arrived I was excited to give it a go and see what it could do to cool down my notoriously hot-running laptop. I'm pleased to say that it blew all expectations out of the water. As a test, I started my computer up and worked on it until it hit 100 degrees. I then powered up the Antec cooler and within about 5-8 minutes, it dropped the temp from 100 down to about 80 degrees (it's normal startup temperature). I've been working now on it for the last four hours and it seems to have hit it's equilibrium which is a very "cool" 72 degrees. So basically, we're talking about a drop in temperature between 50 to 68 degrees from normal computing temperatures, and it's been holding that 72 degrees for hours now.
I couldn't be more pleased, and that's coming from an owner of a very hot running laptop. The temperatures would also make my computer turn off (ostensibly to save the motherboard from frying in a self-preservation type of action). If it can do wonders on my computer, I'm guaranteeing that you will be pleased with the purchase of this product. I think I bought mine for around $25, but I see it's now at $18.99 on amazon. A true, true bargain for what it does. With the problems I've had with my laptop, and now knowing what this Antec can do, I think I would have had no problem paying $50 for this truly marvelous wonder of technology.
Customer Review: Not a good fit for the Inspiron 1521
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought this for my Dell Inspiron 1521, but unfortunately, it didn't help very much, and may have even been hurting.
It made the bottom of my laptop slightly cooler (to the touch) at times, but under a medium to heavy load, things didn't seem to change (again, according to my touch). I eventually downloaded the program Core Temp, and after testing a few different setups, I found that the cooler was most effective when it wasn't plugged in. I believe the problem is that, as other reviewers have suggested, laptops with intakes on the bottom need cool air blown into them so that the internal components can be cooled. This fan tries to suck the heat away from the bottom of the laptop, which for some reason, seemed to cool the bottom slightly to touch sometimes (as I said) but heat up the insides of the computer.
According to Core Temp, my computer was coolest when on the stand with the power off. The lift from the pegs appears to give the intake on the bottom a little more airflow. This is why I'm giving it two stars (in addition to its portability, and snazzy looks). Second coolest was my computer sitting on the table, and least, as I said, was when the fan was on.
This cooler may very well have been designed for laptops with exhaust vents on the bottom (unlike my Inspiron, which has them on the left-hand side). This cooler might work for you if you have those.
I returned mine today, and picked up the Belkin. So far, it seems to be doing alright, but I may post with updates if it exceeds my expectations or it is also a failure. If it fails, then I guess I'll plop down the cash for the Zalman.
Sidenote: As of the writing of this post, I only have this review under my belt. I'm always suspicious of reviewers like that, so I wish there was a way for me to prove that I'm just a guy with a hot laptop. I used to have one review, for the a CD by the band Half Japanese, but I deleted it because I wrote it five years ago and, frankly, it was terrible (the review, not the CD).
Customer Review: Good Item But Needs More Reliable Rubber Feet
Summary: 3 Stars
The Antec notebook cooler essentially fulfills its promise of pulling hot air from your laptop away from the pc, where it can then be dispersed. My complaint is with two small but important factors:
1) The cooler has four small rubber "feet" that sit between it and your computer. These tend to come off and, being small, ultimately get lost. I have found two of them and plugged them back in a number of times, but they continue to come off. The significance of this is that having that bit of space between your laptop and the cooler is important for pulling the air out. You don't want your laptop to sit immediately upon the cooler, yet this is what ends up happening as you lose first one then another of these four little rubber feet. (Antec could have at the least supplied an extra few spares, IMO).
2) There is a "high" and "low" fan speed switch, but no "off" switch. This could be significant since computers vary from model to model as to whether or not USB power goes off when the computer is placed in "standby" mode. My old laptop would cut power to the USB's, so I had no issue there. With my new laptop, however, power is not cut, so I am left to unplug the USB every time, or else leave the cooler running constantly which doesn't seem a very good idea.
On the plus side, the Antec does provide a pass-thru USB slot, which compensates for the USB port occupied by the device itself.
Ultimately the Antec cooler is a decent product but one with a couple of shortcomings that could be significant.
I know that the Targus model of cooler has gotten some bad press on here, and some of that is well deserved since they tend to last somewhere between 6 and 9 months. But, the little rubber feet do stay on them. Unfortunately, the Targus does not have an on/off switch either. I do think the rubber feet is an issue Antec should address. How hard can it be to design rubber feet that actually stay on (plug-in style on the Antec), or that are firmly glued on???
Customer Review: Better Than the Rest! (Based on My Tests)
Summary: 5 Stars
Most of laptop cooler/chill pads are made of PLASTIC and use fans that blow air TOWARDS the laptop. What impresses me about this product is that the cooling surface is made of ALUMINUM (just like the aluminum casing used to keep portable hard drives cool) and its fans PULL/SUCK HOT AIR AWAY from underneath the laptop. This method of REMOVING hot air is superior to blowing room temperature air at the laptop (it's also the same mechanism used by laptop/desktop internal fans).
MY TESTS: I compared the latest Targus high-speed chill mat (Model PA248U) to this one. After running the laptop for one hour on each, I noticed the surface of the laptop (keyboard, palm rest, touch pad, etc.) was the same in both cases (very cool). But there was a noticeable difference on left side of my laptop (where my Dell's internal fan exhausts warm air). With the Targus, there was noticeable amounts of warm air being exhausted by the laptop's internal fan. With the Antec, there was much less warm air being exhausted than the Targus. So the Antec does a superior job cooling the laptop since the laptop's internal fan was exhausting less hot air.
MINOR DETAILS: The Antec allows you to control the speed of the fan (high or low) while the Targus is fixed, presumably at high (and is rather noisy). The Targus does have a simple push on/off switch; the Antec does not (you have to unplug it for off). The Antec's USB cord is pass-through meaning Antec will NOT take us one USB slot (the Targus did not have this feature). The Antec has a very strong Blue LED light to indicate it is on (it could be helpful as an on/off indicator, but it is very annoying in low-light condition because it is very bright).
BOTTOM LINE: Because the cooling surface is made of aluminum and because the fans work to draw hot air away from the laptop (much like your laptop's internal fan), Antec is a superior product. Also, my simple tests showed that the laptop was cooler using Antec.
Customer Review: Don't be fooled.
Summary: 1 Stars
First off let me say I am a Network Engineer in the IT industry and have been for the last 10 years.
I have a very high powered gateway laptop that runs extremely hot when multi-tasking. So hot that it will in fact turn off at times. I have a temperature monitor application I use which would normally indicate it running around 80-85 degrees celsius. A HUGE problem. After trying the X-pad and then this cooler I finally realized I was trying to solve this problem the wrong way.
Most laptop coolers try to "suck" the hot air from underneath your laptop which competes with it's natural cooling ability. Most fans on the bottom of your laptop are actually trying to suck in cool air and then actually blow the air out of the side vents (at least mine does, and so do most others I have seen).
When you buy a cooler like this it is simply sucking air from the pool of air which your laptop needs to use. Picture two fans sitting on top of another, both trying to suck air from each other. NOT much air for either of them to use!
If you are running into this type of problem solve it like I did. Buy a laptop cooling STAND with a built in fan that actually provides more air to the fan built in to your laptop. I purchased the Connectland CL-NBK68001 Laptop stand. It raises my laptop about 6-7 inches of my desk and has a fan on the backside which provides more air to my laptop. Since doing this I have noticed my laptop is consistently running 15 degrees celsius cooler than it was using the other 2 previous coolers.
DONT BE FOOLED by the claims that these devices cool your laptop. All they are doing is sucking the hot air from underneath and competing with the cooling system built in to your laptop.
Do what I did, by a stand that brings more airflow to your laptop. You will see it works much better and will prolong your high powered notebook.