KickMe
join:2001-10-03
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| reply to Grail Knight
Re: [Notebooks] Best Notebook Cooler Pads
I use an Antec Notebook Cooler just for a little insurance, and have seen it priced much cheaper so it's little to pay for piece of mind (my current 17" HP laptop gets a little to warm for my liking, as did my last laptop). The Antec really isn't a viable option if you will be moving around with your notebook, but it does a nice job of keeping mine noticeably cooler.
I have to say that I am of the opinion that a big enemy of longevity in any PC is heat, and anything you can do to aid in it's dispersion is beneficial. My brother-in-law sets his lappy on a 12" square metal rack meant for putting a hot serving dish on a table, just so that he can get good air flow underneath.
All that said, dadkins makes some valid points, and especially the one about seeing how much heat your new machine has. The truth is that all you really want is to keep heat from pooling up in an area, and your new one may accomplish that just fine.
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Grail Knight
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1 edit | I have an old chillpad for my old notebook but it is to small to handle the 17" HP I ordered. It is also made very cheaply which is why I asked for the best (Quality & Quiet). Money is not an issue for a cooling pad.
I will keep that one you mentioned in mind as well as this one I looked into.
The other model I looked at is the Zalman ZM-NC2000.
Thanks
Edit*
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PeteC2
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| said by Grail Knight  :I have an old chillpad for my old notebook but it is to small to handle the 17" HP I ordered. It is also made very cheaply which is why I asked for the best (Quality & Quiet). Money is not an issue for a cooling pad. I will keep that one you mentioned in mind as well as this one I looked into. The other model I looked at is the Zalman ZM-NC2000. Thanks Edit* Zalman tends to make well-built products, so I would assume this is as well, but at $65 that seems a bit steep for the purpose. If the price does not phase you though, it probably will do the job, and have a good life-span.
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Grail Knight
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1 edit | The reason I say price is not an issue is because less then $100 to protect a new notebook worth more then a grand it is a cheap investment.
Now that I have some ideas from you and dadkins it puts me into the ballpark of what type of cooling pad I am looking for.
Thanks again.
Greg
Edit*
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join:2000-09-05
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| reply to Grail Knight
I have that same model on my Vostro 1710, which is being used as a second desktop.
Newegg has it for slightly less than Amazon: »www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···34998686
I'm running it off a USB power adapter instead of one of the laptop's USB ports.
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Grail Knight
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join:2003-05-31 | Thanks.
Any savings these days is a plus.
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PeteC2
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| reply to KickMe
said by KickMe :The truth is that all you really want is to keep heat from pooling up in an area, and your new one may accomplish that just fine. A great point! All in all, far too much is made over the various merits/demerits of notebook coolers! First and foremost: They do not actually "cool" the notebook at all! None of them do! A notebook "cooler" only performs one function, important as that is, whic is to evacuate warm/hot air from the immediate vicinity of the notebook!
It may sound like cooling the notebook, but all it really does is allow the notebook's internal cooling heatsink/fan(s) to do their job without interference from outside conditions. If the notebook has poorly desinged cooling, a notebook cooler will only help a little. Because notebooks have their exhaust grills placed in different locations, it is true that some notebook cooler designs will work best on certain notebooks.
I mention this because much is made about how well a given notebook cooler "cools"...but as long as it removes stagnant warm air, the differences are minor at best.
KickMe made an excelelnt point in that as long as there is maximum free air flow around the notebook, whether you have a fan or not is no big issue.
IMHO, as long as the pad promotes this airflow, the only salient issues beyond that are "features". For me, quietness is one thing...some of these cooler fans are much too noisy for my liking. Also, some of these coolers may offer spare usb ports, and/or adjustable angles to hold the notebook. Of course, some models tend to do better as desk-top coolers, while some function well on the lap.
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try this instead
| I bought an inexpensive notebook stand that lifts and angles my notebook and permits air to circulate around the computer. This is all I need except for very hot days or times when I'm running a lot of graphics programs. Then, I simply turn on a small fan that I paid $5 for that sits on my desk behind my notebook. Works great. |
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