How can you prevent this?!?!
Intro
The product being evaluated today is the Black Notebook Cooler manufactured by Antec. Before we start off with the review a brief overview of the company that manufactures the product is in order. The company Antec is was founded in 1986 and is based in Fremont, California. The company manufactures products such power supplies, cooling fans, computer cases and lighting accessories. Needless to say, Antec is a well established vendor of computer paraphernalia in the industry. This claim is furthermore reinforced by the fact that it has vendors in over 25 different countries.
The notebook this cooler is being used on, (actually under) is an Acer Aspire 5672. The 5672 has an Intel Core Duo T2300, (1.66 Ghz), a ATI Mobility Radeon X1600, Bluetooth 2.0, 802.11 a/b/g, and a 120 GB HD. With all that power under the hood it’s easy to understand why this particular model is infamous for having heat issues. For some this heat issue has been so irritating that physical modifications to the laptops motherboard were necessary. Seeking an easier solution to the issue of excessive heat, I set out in search of a notebook cooler that would effectively keep the temps of my notebook down and the tilt cool to the touch.
Ultimately I settled on the Antec notebook cooler. Among the many reasons I chose this particular product a few of them were due to its aluminum surface, its low height, the product was relatively low in cost, and because it had few frills, (personally I have no need for a card reader or any extra usb slots). Click da link for the rest of the review.
Specifications
-Specs were obtained from the webpage for the product.
Size 13″ x 11.2″ x 0.85″ (33 x 28.4 x 1.9 cm)
Net weight 1.6 lbs (720 g)
USB power cable length 30″ (76.2 cm)
Voltage 5V DC
Current 0.4 A
Power consumption 2 W
Fans 2 x 70mm
The Product
Pics of product build quality:
The Test
What you need to know:
-Room temperature was 68˚F, (20˚C).
-Control was without laptop cooler, variable was with cooler.
-Laptop cooler fan speed set on, “high”.
-Notebook Hardware Control, (NHC) was used to monitor CPU temperature.
-Temperatures tested under two types of loads, below 50% CPU load, (or an idle state) and above 50% CPU load.
-The Hard Drive temperatures were also tested using NHC.
Table 1 - Notebook Cooler Data
| ˚F With Laptop Cooler | ˚F Without Laptop Cooler | |
| Below 50% CPU Load |
45˚F |
50˚F |
| Above 50% CPU Load |
58˚F |
64˚F |
| Below 50% CPU LoadHD Temp |
34˚F |
41˚F |
| Above 50% CPU LoadHD Temp |
37˚F |
45˚F |
Notes:
-Laptop coolers use air flow to remove heat from a surface, if there is no or little heat on a surface the effectiveness of the cooler plummets.
-The noise level were not measured during the testing, but there is a audible difference between the decibels produced by the notebook cooler’s fans set on high and the laptops fan on high. The notebook cooler is quieter.
Screen Shots:
The Results
As you can see from the data there was not a significant drop in temperature when using the cooler opposed to not using the cooler, on average only about a five degree difference across the board. What must be taken into account about these numbers thought is the environment they were recorded, (the room temp was only 68˚F). This is to suggest that in a room with a higher temperature the benefits of using the cooler opposed to not using it would be amplified.
Some advantages of the notebook cooler cannot be seen in the test results alone though. While using the cooler the palm rest of the laptop, (or tilt) was very cool to the touch. This is in contrast to when the cooler was not being used; the palm rest became very hot and almost unusable. Another result of using the laptop cooler is that the main fan inside of the laptop less frequently spun up to full speed, (the fan obnoxiously loud when it’s up to full speed). Basically, the fans of the cooler are quieter then the fans in the laptop while both at full speed. Since the cooler prevents the laptop from ever needing to spin its fans at high speed it the result is a quieter environment.
The Conclusion
Recommended: Yes. If you are in need of laptop cooler than the Black Notebook Cooler from Antec is a solid, no frills choice.
Pros:
-Aluminum faceplate
-Solid build quality
-Fits well on the Aspire 5672, (with a 15.4 inch screen)
Cons:
-Annoyingly bright blue led
-USB cable to cooler is a little long
-fan adjustment switch difficult to access
Other Thoughts:
-It would have been nice to compare this data to that of another cooler’s performance
[…] Tenkai wrote an interesting post today on Antec Black Notebook CoolerHere’s a quick excerpt [ How can you prevent this?!?!] How can you prevent this?!?! Intro The product being evaluated today is the Black Notebook Cooler manufactured by Antec. Before we start off with the review a brief overview of the company that manufactures the product […]
[…] tsangstore wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptThe company manufactures products such power supplies, cooling fans, computer cases and lighting accessories. Needless to say, Antec is a well established vendor of computer paraphernalia in the industry. This claim is furthermore … […]
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