NZXT Cryo S Notebook Cooler Review

Michael Kwan

16 years ago

It’s partly because I tend to work out of some rather cramped quarters, but I haven’t owned a desktop computer in years. Instead, my trusty notebook has become my main computer, handling all of my image editing, word processing, and social networking. One thing that I learned very quickly, however, is that the built-in cooling on most laptops can leave much to be desired.

In this way, getting a good notebook cooling stand is a very good idea, both in terms of improving performance and in terms of extending the life of your notebook’s components. NZXT has always created some nice quality products and the latest addition to the line is the new NZXT Cryo S aluminum notebook cooler. Does it look familiar? It should.

Features at a Glance

By and large, you could say that the NZXT Cryo S is really just the little brother of the Cryo LX that we saw last year. As you may recall, the Cryo LX was marketed as the world’s largest full aluminum notebook cooler, accommodating up to 19-inch widescreen laptops. That’s pretty big.

Whereas the Cryo LX had a flip-out portion to handle bigger laptops, the Cryo S is just a single sheet of thick aluminum. This is because it is designed to cool up to 15-inch widescreen laptops. It’s also suitable for smaller netbooks, like the Acer Aspire One as well.

Going through the rest of the spec sheet, you’ll discover a 3mm thick aluminum sturdy construction, two controllable 120mm fans, two USB ports, non-slip rubberized plastic top, and tilted surface for ergonomic typing.

What’s in the Box?

As with the Cryo LX, the NZXT Cryo S doesn’t come with all that much in the box. In my original review of the Cryo LX, I noted that it did not come with any instructions, because it really didn’t need any. Well, the Cryo S ups the ante just slightly with a single page of instructions. As before, if you need instructions to handle two cables, you may be in a big of trouble anyhow.

In addition to the single sheet of instructions and the notebook cooling stand itself, you’ll also find a USB-to-USB cable, a DC-to-USB cable, and a wall charger cable.

Getting Power and a USB Hub

Swinging around to the back of the NZXT Cryo S and you’ll find a series of ports. With other iterations in the Cryo cooling stand series from NZXT, the only way that you would get power to the cooling fans was with a USB cable. Well, drawing power from a USB port on your notebook can increase its heat output too.

For this reason, it’s nice to see the inclusion of a cable that lets you power the fans through a standard wall outlet as well. This may not be the greener of the two solutions (a regular USB power cable is provided as well), but it may be able to help with cooling.

To the left of the DC outlet is an unmarked USB port. This can be connected back to your notebook using a standard USB cable, effectively making use of the two USB ports to the right. You see, the Cryo S also features a two-port USB hub. Next to the two USB ports is a simple dial for adjusting the speed of the fans.

Those Are Some Mighty Big Fans

It may not offer the same kind of adjustability and customization as something like the Vizo Ninja HS notebook cooler, but the NZXT Cryo S beats them all out with the sheer size of its cooling power. The Vizo Ninja HS boasts a pair of 35mm fans. By contrast, the NZXT Cryo S has a couple of 120mm fans. That’s almost four times as big!

These massive cooling fans, as mentioned earlier, can have their speed adjusted using the simple dial on the back of the stand. Even at the highest setting, I didn’t find that they were all that loud, so you may as well crank it up.

This speaks volumes as to the quality and craftsmanship of this notebook cooler. NZXT constructed the Cryo S using 3mm thick brushed aluminum, so you can really feel that it is a higher-end item. It feels very solid and they made some excellent material choices.

The surface has also been outfitted with rubberized plastic that serves two purposes. First, it helps to grip your notebook so it doesn’t go sliding into your lap. Second, it raises up the base of your notebook off of the surface of the Cryo S, helping to improve overall airflow.

SpeedFan Temperature Cooling Benchmark

Ultimately, this is what matters the most when it comes to choosing the best notebook cooling stand, right? You want it to cool your laptop effectively. Well, based on my highly unscientific real world test, here is what I found using SpeedFan.

The test was on a Dell Inspiron 640m and I was doing some casual web surfing and word processing. The temperature sensor didn’t change, but you can see the across the board cooling for the other three metrics. The hard drive temp sensor dropped two degrees Celsius and the two processor cores dropped about three degrees each.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

In terms of ergonomics, it’s nice that the Cryo S has a slight angle to it. This helps with typing comfort, but it would have been even better if this stand was height adjustable. Furthermore, it’s somewhat unfortunate that the fan adjustment dial and two-port USB hub are located in the back. It would have been much more convenient if it was along one of the two sides.

All this said, NZXT has once again created a very high quality product. The thick aluminum construction is remarkably solid and even the rubberized plastic on top feels top notch. The pair of 120mm fans are among the biggest in the business and the option to adjust their speeds is a definite plus.

I wouldn’t imagine packing the NZXT Cryo S when you go traveling, but it’s a great solution to use in the home or office where you don’t plan on moving around all that much. Does the Cryo S really offer anything substantially innovative over previous offerings? Not really, and that’s why I’m only giving it a rating of 7.0 out of 10. You have to remember that this is just the little brother to the previously available Cryo LX.

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