NZXT CRYO LX Aluminum Notebook Cooler 15-Inch to 19-Inch with 120MM Adjustable Fans - Black (CRYO LX BLACK)
by NZXT Technologies
(Click here)
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: NZXT TechnologiesModel: CRYO LX BLACK
Color: Black
Product features:
- Built with thick aluminum with sturdy construction
- Rubber finish lifts the notebook up to allow less heat pockets and better airflow
- Cools your notebook with three adjustable large 120mm fans
- Four USB ports for your media, storage, and input devices
- Support for power notebooks with 15", 17" and 19" wide screens
- Brushed Aluminum finish
- Dimensions (W x D): 16.6" x 11.6"
- Folding design for easy storage and transportation
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of NZXT CRYO LX Aluminum Notebook Cooler 15-Inch to 19-Inch with 120MM Adjustable Fans - Black (CRYO LX BLACK)
Customer Review: Great Design....but Poor Cooling for MacBook Pros. :-(
Summary: 3 Stars
I was so excited to get this. I originally bought a Belkin F5L001 Laptop Cooling Pad, and once I had that I wondered who else was offering a similar product. I saw this NZXT Aluminum Notebook Cooler and immediately fell in love with it. I watched all of the video reviews I could find on YouTube and also tried to find all of the geek sites that had either a written or video review as well. This NZXT got pretty good reviews from most of the sources I checked out, which made me even more excited to get it. The day it arrived I met the UPS guy at the door of his van like a 6 year at an ice cream truck (insert mental picture of Eddie Murphy..."ICE CREAM!...ICE CREAM!...THE ICE CREAM MAN IS COMING!!!...THE ICE CREAM MAN IS COMING!!!"). Unfortunately, unlike ice cream, there was nothing cold about this unit.
I got it into the house, unpacked it and put it to work. I must say, the design is very cool (looking) and chop-down-trees or use-it-as-a-car-ramp sturdy, and I really wish it had cooled my computer, but it really didn't seem to have much effect on my computer AT ALL. I was really surprised (and depressed). I repositioned the computer on the pad a couple of different ways (i.e.: almost hanging off the front, or way towards the back of the NZXT...since the NZXT is larger than my MacBook Pro 17")...to no avail. The places that MBP users usually feel heat build up is over the left speaker, the rubberized hinge at the bottom of the screen (just below the "MacBook Pro" etching) and of course on the bottom of the laptop where the battery is. I had the thing on full tilt and it didn't seem to be making a dent in the heat...those areas were still really hot. :-(
Oddly enough, the Belkin F5L001 Laptop Cooling Pad that I originally bought turned my MBP into an ice cube if you let it run for a little bit. The only thing I can think of (as to why this is) is that the Belkin has that deep concave in its design so the cool air hits the bottom of the laptop and then has somewhere to send the (now warmer) air (i.e.: out the sides of the concave). I'd literally pick up my laptop after working on it for some time (with the Belkin on) and the aluminum case of the MBP would be cold to the touch (not cool...cold). As good of a job as the Belkin was doing, I saw the NZXT and went crazy for the design and thought, "If the Belkin has 1 fan and the NZXT has 3 fans (and bigger ones at that), then the NZXT will turn my laptop into dry ice!"
Such is not the case, unfortunately.
I think that because the frame of the NZXT is aluminum (read: structurally sturdy), that it should be redesigned so that instead of the cool looking slots above the fans (which only allow a very small amount of air produced by the fans to actually reach the laptop (and forces the large remainder of the air produced by the fans (but blocked by the aluminum frame) to have to go somewhere else), that that area should be opened up entirely so that you basically have an aluminum picture-frame with 3 fans going across the middle. You can't see the middle of the unit anyway when your computer is on it, and it doesn't matter how cool it looks if it doesn't, in fact, cool. If they did redesign it like the picture-frame suggestion above, this thing would be a powerhouse. In addition, if they did do the picture-frame redesign, the thing that would seal the deal with a lot of people looking for a laptop cooler would be if they put the fans into slots or on rails so that you could move each of the 3 fans (individually) from front to back to cool the hot areas specific to YOUR laptop (since different computers heat up in different places). If you can't visualize what I mean by "slots" or "rails" think of a sliding glass door (it's on a rail which allows it to slide back and forth, but the slot (or channel) it is in keeps it from moving any other direction except back and forth)...now picture the fans being able to move (individually) front to back within the open picture-frame of the unit. I think that design would put all other laptop coolers out of business....open-frame design, sturdy/sexy/aluminum construction and 3 huge (moveable and variable speed) fans to pinpoint your specific hot spots...what more could anybody ask for? (Seriously).
Aside from the aluminum that the slots are cut into blocking the air flow to the bottom of the laptop, I think that there isn't enough space between the laptop cooler and the bottom of the computer, so the air that does actually hit the bottom of the computer then has nowhere to go to get away from the computer, so that warm air is still in contact with the computer, instead of quickly dissipating and taking some heat away from the computer...the cool air hits the bottom of the laptop, becomes warm air, and is then trapped in contact with the computer because it has nowhere to go. If they did do a redesign, I would suggest either putting tall (1/2"?) square rubber pedestals or "L"-shaped rubber pedestals surrounding the corners of the open part of the picture frame (not the far corners of the unit). Or, they (NZXT) could strategically drill holes in the aluminum and then let the user screw the rubber pedestals to the unit in any configuration they wanted (the rubber pedestal would have a female nut embedded in the bottom of it and you could insert a small bolt up through the bottom of the unit (through one of the pre-drilled holes), and screw it into the bottom of the rubber pedestal). This way, the cooling unit could be configured for almost any laptop.
It's too bad. I LOVE the design and sturdiness of the NZXT, but for cooling a MacBook Pro 17", you might as well put your laptop on one of those huge library-sized dictionaries...it has about the same cooling ability.
:-(
P.S. I had the Belkin for about a month and the fan (originally whisper quiet) started to rattle a little. I'd tap it a couple of times and it would go back to being quite. However, every once in awhile it just wouldn't stop rattling, so I called Belkin and they're replacing it. For an original purchase price of about $20.00, and the fact that it chills (not cools...chills) my aluminum laptop, I'm sticking with the Belkin and returning the NZXT. There's just too much aluminum blocking the air from actually reaching the laptop.
If they redesign it like I envisioned above, I'll be the first one to buy it because it'll be a design that can't be improved upon...and if you ever crank it up to full tilt, you'll have to wear mittens to work on your computer it'll be so cold. Then they'll have a real reason to nickname their unit "CRYO"...because as it is right now it's being "RETURNO'd".
UPDATE:
Saturday, January 9th, 2010
I decided to give this unit another try.
I figured one day of use was not enough to make an accurate synopsis of the unit.
I let the unit run under my MacBook Pro 17" for the last couple of days when I've been using the computer.
It didn't necessarily drop the temperature very much (2*C?)... but what I did notice (using a program called "Fan Control") is that it helps my internal fans not run so fast (4,500 RPM before...now about 4,100 RPM).
I even decided to modify the device to see if I could make it a better cooler.
I bought 3 Scythe SFF21G fans (1,900 RPM each). I installed them and they are running faster than the stock ones (it would appear), but the temperature drop is once again rather small (even when I have the MBP propped up in back to let the air being pushed towards the bottom of the computer have an escape route).
I don't know if my previous recommendations (to the company) to modify the unit (by cutting out the center slats and putting props on the back corner to elevate the back of the computer) would make much difference, to be honest.
I think the people who think that this is a great laptop cooler have PC's that have induction fans on the bottom of their laptops, so this cooler is force feeding cold air into their laptops, which is of course going to show significant drops in temperature. However, for Mac users, I don't think this is the unit for you. Since Macs don't have an induction fan and instead just push air out the back of the unit, this laptop cooler is basically just cooling down the aluminum case and probably adding some secondary (and minimal at that) temp reductions.
Also, I got my Belkin F5L001 replacement unit and decided to see how well that cooled my MBP vs. the NZXT Cryo unit with the new high RPM fans I installed in it. The Belkin cooled the case down, but also didn't drop the temperatures very much (so, I was wrong when I previously stated that the Belkin was a better cooler...it's only slightly less effective than the NZXT).
So, for PC users with an induction fan on the bottom of the unit, this is probably an awesome cooler.
For Mac users, with no induction fan, this unit will most likely do very little to cool your laptop.
Having said that, while I was looking for forums to modify the NZXT Cryo unit, I came across a program called "CoolBook" which allows you to monitor (and manipulate) the frequency, voltage and temperature of the CoreDuo and Core2Duo CPU by changing the factory settings to something more real-world (and less unnecessarily taxing on the CPU).
Be forewarned though, do your research if you decide to use this software. Although not inherently dangerous to use this software, you'll have to do some trial and error to find the settings that are correct for your particular computer. Those trial and errors (should you happen to set the levels too low), could lead to kernel panics and the computer shutting down (and you having to boot from the Start Up DVD in order to change the settings back to something a little higher). So, do your research on the forums if you choose to go the CoolBook route. I haven't used it yet for the sole purpose that I have a software program running for school and I don't want to shut it down. When you modify the CoolBook settings, it requires you to restart your computer for the settings to take effect (which would mean I'd have to shut down the aforementioned program, which I don't want to do at this time). So, if you check out the forums for CoolBook, you'll see some substantial MacBook temperature drops by manipulating the factory frequency and voltage settings for your CPU.
The NET-NET:
PC users...this is probably a really good laptop cooler for you.
Mac users...not worth your money or time (not because it's not a good unit, but because it's not really designed for Macs, per se).
Hope this helps.
J.
More NZXT CRYO LX Aluminum Notebook Cooler 15-Inch to 19-Inch with 120MM Adjustable Fans - Black (CRYO LX BLACK) reviews:
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Description of NZXT CRYO LX Aluminum Notebook Cooler 15-Inch to 19-Inch with 120MM Adjustable Fans - Black (CRYO LX BLACK)
The days of burning hot notebooks are finally over. Introducing the newest addition to the NZXT's family of products, the NZXT Cryo LX. The Cryo LX features the first notebook cooler to feature triple 120mm adjustable fans and a full 3mm aluminum frame. Designed for transport, the Cryo LX can be folded and stored easily at any time. Four USB ports are in the rear for more accessibility. Designed to host the hottest and most high performing notebooks, the Cryo LX fits a 17" widescreen notebook perfectly and supports a 15" widescreen notebook with room to spare. The NZXT Cryo is perfect for popular notebooks such as the AppleŠ 17-inch MacBook Pro or DellŠ XPS Series.Digital Cameras & Photo Categories
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