Recommend a laptop cooler....

[KDOG]

I have my first laptop here and I would like to get a cooler for it. I'm looking around Newegg and there are a few coolers I'm interested in. Theres a CoolerMaster that looks good, has a 5 egg rating but only 1 vote. Does anyone have any recommendations?

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: KDOG
I have my first laptop here and I would like to get a cooler for it. I'm looking around Newegg and there are a few coolers I'm interested in. Theres a CoolerMaster that looks good, has a 5 egg rating but only 1 vote. Does anyone have any recommendations?

I would recommend not bothering with it.

However... are you looking for just a slab with a couple of fans in it... or are you looking for a more versatile solution?

If just a slab, then I say don't bother with the cooler. 99% of all laptops have sufficient cooling assuming you just keep the bottom clear for air to flow under the laptop to get to the vents that are probably under there. If no vents are under there then you will need a little less space since then the vents will be on the sides and back of the laptop.

If you want more versatility (lift/angle so you can use it with a separate keyboard/mouse, USB hub for printers and external drives and the like) then you might want to consider the Logitech Alto. There are no fans, but it lifts the laptop up and gets you a USB hub, and in the higher end/more expensive versions, you also get a keyboard, be it attached to the stand, or wireless.

That is what I would go for it you were looking for elevation.

 

[Liberator21]

I actually have the Logitech Alto. It's a great stylized accessory, and yes it does well at ventilating the machine.

However cheap it is not. At a little over $50 at Newegg, it's really just two pieces of plastic that slide together with a built in USB hub. On the plus side, it really is well designed (half my office stuff is Logitech), great synthetic grip so the notebook won't slide around, and really ups the "it" feature if your trying to go sophisticated.

I chose it mainly because as I researched the "coolers" out there, most of them were over-priced as well - I mean, a plastic plate with two cheap 80mm fans in it? Those don't even lift the notebook that much and would probably make quite a bit of noise.

 

[KDOG]

Well heres' a Logitech cooler for $30 and it looks decent, should I give it a try?

 

[TheStu]

No.

That is basically just a slab at that point, and serves no discernible additional purpose beside getting the notebook off your lap so you don't overheat your delicate jibblies (which I can understand that desire, my laptop can get quite warm).

The reason that most of the these cooler are useless is because the components in the system are designed to take a lot of heat. If you are experiencing overheating, then there is a very serious problem going on that a slab of plastic with some fans in it is not going to solve.

If you are looking for a lap desk however, then you could do worse than that logitech.