Many people are either moving away from their desktop PCs and embracing the mobile lifestyle with a suitable notebook PC or they are supplementing their desktops with a laptop. In either case, it’s important to invest in a proper notebook cooler. This can keep the temperature down and the performance up on today’s high performance machines.
You might remember the perfect notebook cooler guide that I wrote some time back, but that was a wish list directed at the companies who make these things. Now, I’m following up on that list from the buyer’s perspective: how can you find the right notebook cooling pad?
Where Are You Going to Use It?
Before going out to find a good notebook cooler, you need to ask this very important question. There is a very distinct difference between buying a notebook cooling stand that you put on top of a desk and a notebook cooling pad that you would put on your lap. The point of a lapdesk is mostly to keep your lap cool, whereas a cooling stand focuses more on cooling the notebook.
And then, every once in a while, you come across products like the Cooler Master NotePal LapAir that I reviewed recently. It can function both as a lapdesk and as a cooling stand on a table, but you really need to figure out what goal you’re trying to accomplish before you set out to buy something.
Does It Need to Be Portable?
And this lends itself to the next related question. After you’ve figured out whether you want a notebook cooling stand for use on a table or a notebook cooling pad for use on your thighs, you need to decide if portability is a big issue for you.
A larger product like the NZXT Cryo S is probably going to be a tight squeeze into your laptop bag, whereas a smaller offering like the Zalman ZM-NC1500 Mini is probably an easier fit. The Arctic NC is an even easier fit, but it’s not particularly useful on your lap.
Some of the most effective notebook coolers also happen to be the least portable, so it can really become a tradeoff. Where are your priorities?
Choice of Materials and Finishes
Personally, I’m partial to aluminium. It’s naturally cool to the touch, which in turn can’t hurt when it comes to keeping your notebook cool too. However, aluminium can be expensive to work with (and thus resulting in pricier notebook cooling stands) and, depending on the design, it could scratch your notebook’s surface. It also may not be as good for lapdesk configurations.
And so, you have to ask what kind of materials are best for your purposes. Rubberized grips and edges are always nice, but “soft” plastic finishes can be quite good too. There are many different notebook coolers out there that use cheaper and thinner plastic, resulting in less than stellar build quality. It’s worth the extra money to get something with better materials.
Active or Passive Cooling?
Shown above are the three adjustable fans from the Cooler Master NotePal U3. Again, I’m partial to active cooling, because it really is only through these fans that you can get some really good cooling action. You also have to realize that not all active notebook coolers are made alike; some coolers just don’t work.
The other tradeoff is that all active cooling pads will necessarily require power, which would then pull away from the battery life on your laptop. They’re mostly USB powered and you could turn off the fan, but that almost defeats the purpose. Passive coolers have their place, but I find that most aren’t nearly as effective in dissipating heat.
Adjusting to Ergonomic Angles
This applies much more to the desk-based notebook cooling stands, since you can move your legs around with a lapdesk. I like being able to adjust the angle of the stand for a couple of reasons. First, it’s helpful to get a comfortable typing angle. Second, you can prop up the display a little higher when watching videos and such.
However, having the ability to adjust the angle of the cooler means you have more moving parts and less stability. It can be quite annoying when you’re typing and the whole thing is wobbling. That’s why static coolers like the Antec Designer are sometimes more desirable. They won’t wobble and, hopefully, they already come at a pretty comfortable ergonomic angle. If the adjustable stand is stable, though, I’d much prefer that.
Additional Features and Functions
And then you have the X factor. When all else is held constant, the extra bonus will always sway you in that direction. For me, I really appreciate it when a notebook cooling stand comes with an easily accessible USB hub. Even when you’re on the road you have accessories, like flash drives, external mice, and the like. It helps having more ports, especially if your notebook is lacking and the stand takes up a port or two to power the fans.
There are even some notebook cooling stands that go even further to stand out from the crowd. The Choiix Air Through Stash, for instance, comes with a hard drive dock. This is pretty handy when you’re on the go, since you get some extra storage without having a separate external hard drive.
Some other stands may have extra battery power, built-in lights, and other doo-dahs to give you a little extra. Keep an eye out for these, but choose your stand based on the core features and not these bonus niceties.
Just the Right Fit
In the end, there is no such thing as the perfect notebook cooling stand, just as there is no such thing as the perfect pair of shoes or the perfect car. It really depends on your personal preferences and the purposes that you need the product to serve. What may be great for your friend might not be all that appropriate for you.
Speaking for myself, I’ve reviewed a lot of notebook coolers over the years and my personal favorite is still the Cooler Master NotePal ErgoStand. It’s far from perfect, but it has a lot of the features that I like: adjustable height, great active cooling, USB hub, quality materials, and so on. That said, it’s not at all useful as a lapdesk.
In this way, getting the “right fit” could mean buying more than one notebook cooler. Such is the life of a consumer!
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