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: Product description not entirely accurate
Summary: 3 Stars
I generally agree with the other reviews. I'm going to try to avoid redundancy and just comment on things which haven't been said by others.
First, the item I got did not have a pass through USB connector. I prefer it this way because it takes up less space and seems more sturdy. Since I don't need an extra USB port, I kept the product. I also noticed the comments from others about it breaking off at the USB part so maybe that's why they changed it. But if you really need the extra USB slot, then you should be aware that it might not come that way. I don't know if all of them are this way now or if I just got an unusual one. Mine is just a regular USB connection that comes straight out (rather than at an angle).
Also, if you have a macbook pro, then the item fits fine but there are a couple things to keep in mind. One is that there isn't enough space below the laptop for air to get through so you have to have it raised from the aluminum surface. Your fans will struggle if you don't give them some space. The pegs that come included with the product are too far apart for a 13.3 macbook pro. I just used some cork strips (about 1/8 inch thick) to give it some air space. And since there are no vents on the bottom of a MBP, you don't have an issue with the 'fan should be upward' vs 'fan should be downward' arguments. I don't think it matters either way because you're not competing with the laptop's fans.
A 15.4 inch Dell I have is too big for the cooler. 13 - 14 inch is ideal. It's very light but construction is a bit flimsy. One of the cooler fans did not work initially. I had to open it up and move it around but it worked when I did that. It is very quiet on low. Overall, a good deal for $20 but not worth the list price of $45.
Customer Review: Great durability whish the fans spun the other way
Summary: 4 Stars
I am using this on an HP dv9000z laptop which by all means has the worst stock cooling of any laptop I have ever seen, it has one fan for a 17 inch laptop with a huge battery, a huge power hungry processor, two HDDs, and a decent graphics. This thing generates a lot of heat, and I'm not even including the scalding hot power supply (way undersized).
However, I did purchase this cooling pad to help solve the issue of the HPs cooling fail, and it has worked. I notice the laptop is markedly cooler using the Antec cooling pad, the fans pull air from the botton of the computer, whisking heat away from the crucial aspects of a computer. My one complaint is that the fans pull down instead of blow up, I don't know how most laptops are, but the fan on the bottom of my computer pulls in, so if I have the cooling bad directly below the cooling fan on the laptop, they work against eachother... Being a ridiculously sized laptop the DV9000z doesn't fit on the pad anyways, so I just have its cooling fan off to the size while the pad cools the rest of the laptop (it actually worked out pretty well that my laptop is huge). I usually carry this cooling pad with me in a backpack with my laptop, its a really thing device so you can easily fit it in the laptop compartment with your laptop. In fact, since my laptop is too big for the laptop sleeve provided in my Swiss backpack, I simply put the cooling pad in the sleeve and the laptop just kinda floating around in the laptop compartment.
Antec is one of the best brands if not the best brand on the market in cooling and cases, I swear by them, and this cooling pad which has high and low speeds (I only use high) is no different than any of their other products, its made well, great value, and does what it claims to do.
Customer Review: Cool Cooler
Summary: 5 Stars
I put off buying one of these things for a year and a bit more, though my sister insisted I get one a cooler so that my laptop could work better. I treat my laptop as if it were a desktop computer, so it was on for many many many hours. I could hear the vents from the laptop trying to cool off and I also felt my keyboard kinda warm, so I finally decided to buy this cooler. There were others I had my eyes on, but I also think on my pocket (though they had really good reviews/stars they were very expensive) this one on the other hand had good reviews and relatively good # of stars.
I really like the way this cooler works, it has definitely minimized the warmness (if that's a word) of my keyboard. It's not what I would call noisy, you can obviously listen that the vents are working but not to the point where I cannot concentrate b/c of the noise, I think that when I type I make about the same amount of noise. I actually use it on "low" speed and works very well; but I assume that you'd use it in high in case your laptop gets hot very easily. In terms of size, it really works great with my 17 wide in laptop, I just have to position my laptop correctly. Another good thing that you'll find in this cooler is that although you need a USB connector, you can still use it for other applications, so that's good too. The only thing that well, really will depend on how you work, is that the cooler has this blue light that lets you know it's on, since I leave mine on all day, it's on all day long (I guess it's good in case you leave it on at night as a reminder to turn it off if you do so, otherwise I'd recommend you get something to cover the light).
Overall, I like this product and I'm glad I bought it.
Customer Review: Better than the competition
Summary: 4 Stars
This Antec notebook cooler has a much better design than any other chill mat I've used. Much better than the targus and belkin products that are the top selling competitors on Amazon in terms of design and quality. The fan exhausts air both to the side and back, so that you can actually use it on your lap. The vents are also cut in such a way that you can use the Antec chill mat on a soft surface.
The one glaring issue is the cheap power cable connection that connects from the chill pad to USB cable, I may epoxy the connector in place as it doesn't need to be removable (the USB end of the power cord is standard USB and seems durable enough to withstand repeated use).
It is important to note that the chill mat removes air from under the laptop, most other design pushes air in the opposite direction. This design works well for my laptop (Asus EeePC 900a) as the computer has numerous slots underneath and a fan on the side. The Antec chill mat even on the low setting keeps the laptop components (Hard Drive, RAM, and CPU) sufficiently cool that the laptop case fan does not activate. I was having hardware errors caused by heat building up around my harddrive, this chill mat solved that issue and keeps the CPU 30 degrees C cooler.
I would be happy to get a years use out of this product as every other chill mat Ive used (Belikin & Targus) have failed within 2-3 months. The case is ergonomically designed and seem durable enough to withstand the weight of a much larger laptop. The Belkin design, in contrast, focuses weight on a fragile plastic guard that deforms to interfere with fan motion.
Finally, some laptops may not be well suited to the down draft design.
Customer Review: Flat and cool but the cable wants improvement
Summary: 3 Stars
Unlike other coolers we've used at the office, this one is relatively flat on the surface and doesn't include the "ducting" that others feature. This means that it doesn't interfere with your laptop's feet or other protusions, so there's no wobbling.
We found the cooling to be adequate for our Dell and Sony machines, and the "low" fan setting isn't intrusively loud. I have found it necessary to use the "high" fan setting for memory- or graphics-intensive applications such as gaming.
We did have to rig a "stand" for our Dell docking stations, because this cooler is not large enough to support both the dock and the computer. Sitting on the cooler, the laptop is about 3/4" too high to correctly connect to the dock. We solved this by sitting the dock on top of an appropriately-sized flat object to match the cooler's height. This is as much due to the inflexibility of the docking station as it is the cooler's size.
The "passthrough" USB connection is a thoughtful feature that saves you a port. However, the two-star ding on this review is due to the USB power cable. It is made of semi-flexible clear rubber with silver foil shielding visible inside. The cable is stiff and prone to kinking, and is frankly downright ugly. The wire exits the USB connector from the side, which makes for a neater connection IF your port happens to be on the correct side of the laptop or docking station. Mine isn't, so the cable winds up with a disturbingly sharp turn or twist in it where it enters the computer's USB port. A standard rear-entry cable orientation would have solved this problem. We consider this cable to be a detriment to the otherwise excellent product.