Antec USB-Powered Notebook Cooler
by Antec
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Antec USB-Powered Notebook Cooler
Customer Review: Lasted five months
Summary: 5 Stars
My old review follows below. Five months have passed. The device is now making a loud noise. Probably the bearings are wearing out and one of the fans is probably wobbling. Up to this point, it worked fine. See my old review. I stand by that, up the point of failure. However five months of use before a failure is troubling. I would estimate that during those five months, the unit was in use an average of at least 6 hours per day, so the time to failure was probably just over 1000 hours. This is probably too short for me to justify buying another of this same model. All of these devices appear to be cheaply made, and are not costly, so I'm not sure what to expect from another manufacturer. Maybe five months is typical?
I purchased this before reading any of the reviews, and then after it seemed to perform quite well, read some of the positive and negative reviews. The vacuum issue of many of the negative reviews makes sense, and I wondered about this myself when I first operated the unit. The bottom line is that this unit works well for my computer, a DELL Precision M6300. I haven't noticed the vacuum issue with my computer. Keep in mind that it overhangs all the way around. Also, I use the four rubber feet on the top of the platform to ensure 1/4" clearance under my laptop. I think if one doesn't use these rubber feet (you have to install them yourself; very easy) then there might not be enough clearance and the vacuum created by the Antec might conflict with the computer's own fans. For my computer, the fans draw air in from the bottom, but along the rear sides of the computer which are overhanding the sides and back of the Antec, so they probably can never be in conflict with the Antec's fans. Frankly, this configuration probably ensures that the Antec fans and DELL M6300 fans work to help each other. Also, the little rubber feet seem to ensure that my computer doesn't slide around; it is firmly located on the Antec. Another issue others have commented about is the poor connectivity of the USB connection. I haven't seen any problem whatsoever with this. Keep in mind that I don't need to use the pass-thru to access other USB devices. My computer has six USB ports, so once the Antec USB is plugged in, I don't need to fool with it, and that might help avoid connection problems. I find the two speed settings useful. When I do heavy duty number crunching I swtich to the high speed setting, and this seems take more of the thermal load off the computer and my internal fans slow down. I have one criticism of the speed switch. It is located so close to the USB cable connection on the Antec, that it is a little difficult to reach around and move the switch to change speed settings on the fan. The other thing about this unit is that is really just for flat surface use, not lap use. It you do mostly lap work with your laptop, this may not be the best unit for you. Final conclusions: While I appreciate the criticisms of others, my guess is that some of what they experienced may be laptop dependent. My laptop works well with this unit, and after frying another DELL workstation notebook computer because of overheating, I am satisfied that this product will protect my now even more expensive replacment laptop.
Customer Review: Antec Cooler Works Amazingly
Summary: 5 Stars
I got an Inspiron 1318 a couple weeks ago and it ran pretty warm. After having a laptop fry itself a few years ago I was in no mood to let it happen again so I kept my usage to a minimum and tried a few tests. When I encoded a DVD CPU core temp topped out at 74c and HD temp was 47c. After checking on Notebook Control suite I saw that the critical temp for CPU was 144c and HD was 99c, but I also read on numerous forums that if your HD temp gets above 55-60c it can slowly degrade over time and I wasn't having that. I jumped online and searched, searched, and searched some more. All the ones I found were made for desk use, and that's not how I use my laptop. I use it on my lap, look at the name Haha.
I stumbled upon this little guy and read the reviews. Some made no sense to me, I don't understand why it would matter if the fan sucks or blows. When its sucking air, it's pulling the hot air away and with the pegs that are included cooler air fills it's place. I have fans that suck in air on the bottom of the machine and a grill on the back that exhausts hot air.
Now onto the temps, granted I've only had it for enough time to burn a DVD and run some apps.
While burning a DVD it was at 74c and nothing was running other than that. I'm currently encoding a DVD right now and I have my 2 messengers open and Chrome and it's never gone above 56c and HD temp is currently 36c.
The build quality is pretty nice. The little pegs were a pain in the a$$ to get in, my thumb hates me now. I found out if you put one of the little edges in and kind of rock it in, it pops in. Woulda been nice if it said that, I'm not the brightest crayon in the box Haha, why couldn't they ship it with them in? The aluminum grid does it's job well and isn't like a cheese grater like some others have said. The bottom is awesome, with the enclosed fans and fairly large skid pads fits perfectly on my lap. I can see how the USB cord might be a problem, but I use the port right above where the cord comes out so I shouldn't have any issues with it. It definitely cools your lap which will be nice in the summer time and the fans are hardly annoying. I wonder if they'll ever offer other colors? The black goes with my laptop, but I'm picky on that stuff. I certainly wouldn't pay $50.00 for this, and I really didn't want to pay $25.00 but I thought it would be worth it and I'm assuming it will be, but time will tell.
Customer Review: Antec Notebook Cooler Review
Summary: 5 Stars
Okay, here's my review on the Antec Notebook cooler.
I received it in a very timely manner, I bought expedited shipping also, and I love receiving things quickly. So shipping is definitely not an issue. Now, down to the actual cooler. I have a brand new 15.4" Dell Inspiron 1501, it doesn't overheat, but I wanted to have a cooler just to prolong its lifespan. It took my quite awhile to decide which cooler I wanted, I've been on tigerdirect and newegg also, among a few other sites, but I think I made the right choice when I bought this cooler.
When I buy things I pay close attention to the reviews, pretty much the same reason I'm typing this for you people who do the same. Reviews make up 20% of my final decision before buying the item. I wanted something at an average prices, that was quiet, and would not break after 3 months. I looked at many other chill pads, but from the looks of the reviews they weren't that good. They were either loud, or they broke shortly after being purchased.
In my opinion, this one had decent reviews and not many people disliked it. It has a good price, and I really like the design of it. It's not just the standard design with two easily visible fans, I also like the way the air flows through it. I received it in a sealed box and it was sitting right outside my front door when I arrived home from school. I opened it up and it was nicely packed and wrapped up, it also smelled new. (I have a tendacy to smell new items :P the new laptop smell is also interesting)
Anyway, it was extremely easy to setup all I had to do was plug the power cable into the cooler, then the usb cable into the pc. It started up instantly with a blue light indicating its activity. It has a high and low feature with I really like. Even with the high feature on, I can barely hear it! Which basically means it sounds great with low. I used speedfan to view my systems temperature and it had a pretty dramatic drop, which I was very happy about. If I were to feel the bottom of my laptop right now, it almost has no heat at all.
It isn't a hub so you don't get any extra usb ports, but you don't lose one either as the usb cord for the cooler has another slot on the back which you can use to plug something into. This cooler has a great unique design and really works nice with my Dell laptop. I would recommend this to anyone else, and would consider purchasing another in the future.
5/5 stars.Customer Review: Simply Awesome
Summary: 5 Stars
Well,
I bought a new 13.3" Toshiba laptop and I had problems with the base getting really hot when used for more than an hour. It was so hot that, I was scared that i would become infertile even before I had kids..lol. I looked around quite a bit (infact for 2 wks) reading about the reviews from various websites and looking to find a good laptop cooling pad for a reasonable price. I came across this pad through buy.com (it was going for $10 after $20 MIR) but wasnt sure I wanted to buy it and hence missed a golden opportunity.
After going through a lot of reviews in cnet, buy.com, newegg (every site had a min of 4 stars) I realized that this was the best bang for the buck. Even though I was a bit skeptic about the reviews written around here, I decided to buy it at $30. Unfortunately DHL misplace my order and Amazon.com was so helpful that they rushed me another one with next day delivery (thank you Amazon).
The pad is perfect for a 13.3" (for a 15.4" the laptop will protrude outside the pad and hence you have to position it right below the laptop cooling fan for it to work well). Yes, you CAN place it on ur lap and it wont cause any problems. Its got 4 plugs at each corner that prevents the laptop from sliding away. Getting the cooler started is very simple-just plug the USB and turn ur laptop on and the cooler is on. When u shut down ur computer or put it on hibernate, it will turn off. I was amazed as to how quite the fans are. On low speed, i couldnt even believe that the fans were running. I had used my laptop for close to 3 hrs nonstop yesterday (I was watching a movie) and I didnt even see my laptop fan coming on -its a huge difference in cooling effect. I'm really satisfied with this product and am not sad that I spent a few extra bucks. Dont hesitate to buy this whenever you can. For all those who are skeptic about reviews and would still need some more time to think over it, you are just wasting ur time. This is it and I'm glad I took the risk. I dont know if this will last long. I've only used it for a week..will keep you posted after 6 months (knock on wood)
-A
Customer Review: Best of the Pack
Summary: 5 Stars
I've purchased 4 various cooling pads for my laptop. (And my wife's laptop, we both have Dell XPS1530's) I won't mention the other brands because there is no point in smearing their names but the fact of the matter is the Antec cooler is head and shoulders above the rest.
* The aluminum mesh grill does indeed pull heat away from the bottom of the laptop and in turns does an amazing job of keeping the entire case of the laptop cool. Previously, the palm rests would get warm to the point of hot after a night of gaming, but I have yet to feel anything above a slight warmth that couldn't be attributed to my hand heat.
* The duel fans while quiet, move enough air away from the aluminum grill to continually cool it.
* Of the 4, this cooler feels the most sturdy, it has a solid construction and while the majority of the cooler is plastic, its not a cheap flimsy plastic, it is quite sturdy.
* The rubber pads that come with the cooler are great for not only elevating my laptop to allow more air flow, but also holding my laptop in place.
Initially, I was out to buy a laptop cooler that could rest in my lap, after extensive search and reading I realized that this was not going to work so I picked up a lap desk and have since fell in love with the antec cooler for its ability to stabilize my laptop on the lap desk and keep it cool while I'm playing at night.
For those out there looking for a 17" laptop cooler, my xps does hang over the edges on the sides, but I still have a solid and sturdy fit with this cooler and I am still getting excellent results. I highly reccommend this cooler. Don't be lured into some of the other brands that are offering coolers made for 17" laptops, the one I purchased didn't cool my laptop at all and my laptop constantly slid off of it.
The laptop is powered with a usb connection that has a built in port, my Logitech mouse has no problems working through the port so you don't have any net gain or loss of usb ports while using this product.