What's the best bang for buck laptop cooler?

[MadScientist]

My daughter's HP 17" dv9200 laptop runs very hot. HP knew this and recalled them. Her's missed the recall cutoff date by a few months. The video chip fried and I had to replace the MB. That was a PITA and I don't want to do it again.
The way it funnels heat from the cpu and video chip by heat pipes to a single heat sink sucks. I replaced the original thermal gunk on the chips with AS5 but it stills runs hot. She needs a laptop cooler. Which one?

 

[MadScientist]

Here's what I found after a bit of Googling and reading reviews of laptop coolers.

Here's a good article on how to choose a laptop cooler: http://www.techiechips.com/how-to-choose-a-good-notebook-laptop-cooler/

Unfortunately my daughter's HP laptop fan exhausts out the bottom so a passive cooler (no fans) or just elevating the laptop may be the best choice.
Edit: She tried elevating it, still runs as hot as a mini blast furnace.

Here's some laptop coolers that got mostly good reviews:
Passive coolers:
The Xpad Slim (fits up to 17" laptops): http://www.xpad4laptop.com/ It's just a plastic pad with corner risers, $24.95 shipped from Amazon. Gets mostly good reviews, but the exhaust heat from my daughter's laptop would probably melt the plastic. The http://www.amazon.com/Xpad-Non-slip-Laptop-Cooler-Heatshield/dp/B001RQ2HWK/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1290827775&sr=1-2

The Thermapak Heatshift Pad: http://thermapak.com/ "The unique cooling crystals used in the HeatShift Technology absorb the heat from a laptop computer. Once absorbed, the crystals dissipate the heat to cooler areas in the laptop by melting into a gel. When the laptop is cooled or not being used, the gel changes back into a solid form."
Some reviewers say that once the crystals turn into a gel the pad blocks the bottom vents. Not good, especially for a down exhausting fan. $28.99 shipped from Amazon for the 17" pad.

http://www.amazon.com/ThermaPAK-HS17A-Cooling-Heatshift-17-Inch/dp/B001IZLGCW/ref=pd_cp_e_2

The Block: stick something under the 4 corners of your laptop to elevate it. You can use just about any household item, i.e., blocks of wood, or you can buy these cool looking laptop cooler balls that you stick to the bottom of your lappy from eBay for $1.48 shipped. http://cgi.ebay.com/Laptop-Cooling-Cooler-Ball-Leg-Pad-Blue-Notebook-New-/110609082012?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19c0d0a69c#ht_3108wt_1139 I am not affiliated with this vendor.

Active coolers:
Targus Lap Chill Mat AWE55US: A bit pricey, dual fans, neoprene base (plastic). $34.99 shipped from Newegg. If it had a metal base I would consider it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834997996&cm_re=laptop_notebook_cooler-_-34-997-996-_-Product

ZALMAN ZM-NC2000 Black: http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/Product_Read.asp?Idx=280 sleek design, 3 mm aluminum base, dual fans, fan control. $34.49 AR shipped from Newegg. Metal base and good price, might be a winner but I hate rebates. It should fit most 17" laptops, 15.75"L x 12.5"W. Measure the distance between the outside of the rubber feet of your laptop, front two and back two, and the distance between the outside of the front and back feet.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834998686

Cooler Master NotePal U3: metal, 3 removable and movable fans, large vent holes, fan speed control. $26.93 shipped from Amazon. This may be the one. I can position the fans so they don't block the laptop's bottom exhaust fan. Perfect size for a 17" laptop.

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-NotePal-Notebook-R9-NBC-8PCK-G/dp/B003ZMF27G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1290831000&sr=1-1

Cooler Master Notepal U2: same as U3 but only 2 fans and smaller. Too small for my daughter's 17" laptop. $18.09 shipped from Amazon. Blink your eyes and prices change at Amazon. This was $12.99 shipped last night.

$9.99 in-store at Microcenter.
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0317850

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Notepal-Notebook-R9-NBC-8PBK-GP/dp/B002NU5V4A/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1290831000&sr=1-2

Antec USB-Powered Notebook Cooler: too small for my daughter's 17" laptop but worth mentioning. $16.99 shipped from J&R through Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000BVYTV/ref=cm_cr_asin_lnk

If you have the time and skill you can build yourself a laptop cooler.

Edit: I went with the Cooler Master Notepal U3. The base is aluminum, good for heat dissipation. It has 3 removable and movable fans, good for positioning them away from the laptop's bottom exhaust fan, cheaper than the Zalman and no rebate. I like the looks of the Zalman better but the bottom of the base is plastic.

 

[Zap]

Unfortunately my daughter's HP laptop fan exhausts out the bottom so a passive cooler (no fans) or just elevating the laptop may be the best choice.

I've had good success with just using anything to elevate the back of the notebook an inch or so.

 

[MadScientist]

I've had good success with just using anything to elevate the back of the notebook an inch or so.

On my daughter's HP the bottom exhaust fan is more towards the front of the computer. She tried elevating it but it still runs hot thanks to HP's POS cooling design. An active cooler, plus a metal base, plus elevation like the Cooler Master Notepal U3 or Zalman ZM-NC2000 may help.

The rubber feet on most laptops are not high enough to allow adequate air circulation under the laptop, and they come off easily. Almost every laptop I work on is missing 1 or 2.

 

[erikistired]

i used the targus chill mat (old version) cooler for a long time with my macbook pro. it exhausts out the back tho, no fans underneath at all. it worked quite well, keeping it from getting too hot while playing games. i use a targus x-stand now for my xps, it doesn't seem to need the active cooling and the x-stand folds up for travel. it's a nifty little device.

 

[MadScientist]

The Targus Chill mat would probably work well for those laptops that exhaust hot air out the back or sides, but for bottom exhaust laptops I would be concerned that the hot air would damage the plastic base.