Notebook Cooler Reviews

The Best Notebook Cooler Reviews, From Powerful to Silent Notebook Coolers

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Top Ten Notebook Coolers

21 September 2010 6,639 views No Comment

Welcome to the Top Ten Notebook Coolers where I will be combining ten fantastic notebook cooler reviews on some of the best notebook coolers to have been released around the world, and showing you which is the greatest notebook cooler of all, and why!

There are dozens of laptop cooler brands to choose from, and thousands of slightly different notebook coolers to choose from. I often hear the question, ‘but a notebook cooler is just a notebook cooler, right?’ but that statement is far from the truth. You can get all kinds of notebook coolers, including,

Silent notebook coolers
Passive notebook coolers
Quiet notebook coolers
Reliable notebook coolers
Powerful notebook coolers

And these are just some of the qualities that I will be discussing in my Top Ten Notebook Coolers List!

Why buy a Notebook Cooler?

I will shortly be telling you about some of the best notebook coolers available to buy, however first I think it is important I just give a brief rundown on why a notebook cooler is one of the most important notebook accessories.

Over the last decade notebooks have become increasingly common, and people are now more likely to buy a notebook than a desktop PC. The downside is that in a competition to appear the best, many notebook producers are focusing more on the power of notebook components, without reflecting on the heat they generate. This failure and lack of internal notebook cooling progress has led to a steep increase in the number of notebooks suffering heat related technical hardware issues within a year of purchase. An overheating notebook can damage nearly any internal component, from the hard drive to the graphics card, and if your notebook hard drive breaks down you can say goodbye to anything you had on there.

Top Ten Notebook Coolers!

So without further ado, here is my Top Ten Notebook Coolers List!

10) Antec USB Notebook Cooler

Antec USB Notebook Cooler

Antec USB-Powered Notebook Cooler

The Antec USB Notebook Cooler is the notebook cooler so well known they don’t even need to give it a fancy number by it’s name. This simple notebook cooler does just what it says on the box, it is a aluminum USB notebook cooler, and while it is far from the best notebook cooler in the world, it can definitely handle most average notebooks with ease.

This made it in to my top ten notebook coolers because it is cheap, effective, and fairly reliable. While it might not be the most powerful or quiet notebook cooler available, it is not overly loud, or low volume either.

The plastic base of the Antec USB notebook cooler helps protect your lap, or desk from heat while reducing heat. The aluminum top helps to quickly attract heat away from your notebook and disperse it in to the air.

Inside the Antec USB Notebook Cooler there are two 80mm fans which help keep up a steady strong airflow through the notebook. This helps to take heat away from the notebook cooler, and cools the base of your notebook.

The Antec USB Notebook Cooler also has a USB pass through port, so you never have to worry about it using up a valuable USB slot!

The Antec USB Notebook Cooler is perfect for anyone who simply needs a little extra cooling for their notebook, or maybe just wants to use tehir notebook on their lap.

9) Cooler Master NotePal U2 Notebook Cooler

cooler master notepal U2 notebook cooler

Cooler Master Notepal U2 Notebook Cooler with Two Fans R9-NBC-8PBK-GP

The Cooler Master NotePal U2 notebook cooler is a fantastically simple notebook cooler which has detachable fans and a simple lightweight aluminum frame. While this is not one of the best notebook coolers available in terms of noise levels or powerful notebook cooling, it does have an added benefit.

The removable fans and the no-nonsense simple aluminum from of the Cooler Master Notepal U2 notebook cooler make it perfect for people who need something simple lightweight and portable for notebook cooling on the go.

The Cooler Master NotePal U2 Notebook Cooler is compatible for up to 17 inch widescreen notebooks, and it can easily manage smaller laptops.

The two 80mm fans are pretty basic, but they are removable for people who like to travel light. The Notepal U2 notebook cooler seems to work fine without it’s fans for many standard notebook , since it’s simple but effective design allows for great airflow and heat dispersion.

The Cooler Master Notepal U2 Notebook Cooler has few additional features, however it does incorporate a USB pass through port to stop you losing your USB to such a low powered device (If you decide you need to use the fans!).

The simplicity of this portable notebook cooler is undoubtedly it’s greatest quality. However for more intensive notebook users it may not provide enough notebook cooling power.

Xpad Slim Passive Notebook Cooler

xpad slim passive notebook cooler

Xpad Slim (Non-slip Laptop Cooler and Heatshield)

The Xpad slim is the only truly passive notebook cooler on my list. It is designed to provide an increased airflow for your notebook, while protecting your lap from the heat, perfect if you wear suit trousers, or a skirt.

It is also very effective for those of us who like to work on the bed, but don’t want the sheets to clog up our notebook’s air vents.

Since the Xpad slim notebook cooler is a passive notebook cooler this means that you wont have any extra fan noise. The downside of this is that you will not get the increased airflow or the extra notebook cooling capacity provided with fan based notebook coolers.

Despite it’s simple looks, a lot of design work went in to the Xpad slim, it is in essence more than a simple passive notebook cooler thanks to it’s well positioned legs, which when a fan is placed over them, provide a constant stream of cool air.

While the Xpad slim notebook cooler is definitely not powerful enough for people who use a notebook to play games, or work with powerful graphical applications, it is perfect for people who just want to surf the internet or read their email in comfort, and without having to worry about notebook overheating.

7) Belkin Laptop Cooling Pad

Belkin Laptop Cooling Pad

Belkin F5L025-BLK Laptop Cooling Pad (up to 17″) with built-in 4 Port USB 2.0

The Belkin Laptop Cooling Pad is a very simple, basic notebook cooler. It’s one rel defining quality is that it looks amazingly good. It has a smooth but deep curve to enhance the shape of this stunningly beautiful notebook cooler, and a shiny coating which always makes it look brand new. Unfortunately the plastic does sometimes feel a little flimsy, and it does not have the same heat dissipating quality of aluminum.

The Belkin notebook cooler is also fairly feature rich with a 4 port USB hub built in to it’s casing.

The fan inside the Belkin laptop cooling pad is adequate, but nothing special. The good news is that the shape of the Belkin Laptop Cooling Pad is highly effective at sending an airflow over the entire base of your notebook.

While the Belkin Laptop Cooling Pad is designed for 17 inch notebooks, it really is the limit. When you try and put a widescreen 17 inch or 19 inch notebook cooler on it, it may feel very unstable.

The Belkin notebook cooler might be good for office workers, or people at home, but it is unfortunately lacking in power for those who want a powerful notebook cooler.

6) Antec Notebook Cooler 200

Antec Notebook Cooler 200

Antec Unbeatable Notebook Cooler 200

The Antec Notebook Cooler 200 is a huge 19 inch notebook cooler with a 200mm big boy fan installed in it. The large airflow and size of the Antec 200 Notebook Cooler makes it ideal for large gaming notebooks.

Surprisingly the Antec 200 notebook cooler is made out of plastic, which is far from the best material for keeping high powered notebooks cool. However even with the plastic frame, the Antec Notebook Cooler 200 provides excellent cooling thanks to it’s large airflow from the big 200mm fan.

Another minor downside of the Antec Notebook Cooler 200 is that it has no USB pass through port, or a USB hub.

If you like the modern tech look then you might like the blue LED light held below the fan on the Antec 200 Notebook cooler, it might seem a little brash to others though, so it does have an on/off switch.

Despite the lack of feature, the Antec notebook cooler 200 is a well made notebook cooler, with a surprisingly quiet fan which is high quality and reliable.

5) Thermaltake CLN0009 Notebook Cooler

Thermaltake CLN0009 Notebook Cooler

Thermaltake CLN0009 Massive23 ST 23cm Notebook Cooler (Black )

The Thermaltake CLN0009 has a gigantic 230mm fan which dwarfs the fan of the Antec 200 notebook cooler. it also uses a thin wire mesh to help disperse heat generated by an overheating notebook. The Thermaltake CLN0009 is a large notebook cooler that can handle 19 inch widescreen notebook without a real problem.

The Thermaltake CLN0009 is also made out of plastic, and has a blue LED which makes it look kind of similar to it’s Antec counterpart, except a little bit bigger.

The downside of the Thermaltake CLN0009 is that it is made out of much cheaper materials. A cheaper plastic, a louder, unreliable fan and a very fragile feel offset the plus points of this 19 inch notebook cooler.

All in all the Thermaltake CLN0009 notebook cooler is fairly well designed for larger laptops, and it is only let down slightly by it’s construction materials. The good news is that this is offset by a much cheaper price than most of the other notebook coolers of it’s size!

Zalman NC2000 Notebook Cooler

Zalman ZM-NC2000Black Notebook Cooler (Black)

The Zalman NC2000 is one of the world’s best notebook coolers. In fact the only reason this is no longer in first place on my top ten notebook coolers list is because it has been superseded by the Zalman NC3000, and I felt kinda bad about putting two Zalman notebook coolers in my top three

But back on point, the Zalman NC2000 notebook cooler contains two high quality silent fans which help make this in to one of the most powerful quiet notebook coolers on the market. Unlike a lot of quiet notebook coolers, the Zalman NC2000 is also very effective at cooling, and is perfect for gaming notebooks up to 17 inches in size.

The Zalman NC2000 comes with a fan speed control wheel, and a pass through port, which helps immensely on saving those few USB ports your notebook has. The fan speed wheel is pretty useful too, since you can make your notebook cooler even quieter when you are just surfing the web.

The Zalman NC2000 looks sleek and simple, but it gives you great performance, little noise, and this quiet notebook cooler should last you for years to come with it’s high quality components. If you are willing to spend $40 or $50 dollars on a real high quality notebook cooler then the Zalman NC2000 should definitely be on your list.

3) Cooler Master Notepal X2 Notebook Cooler

Cooler Master Notepal X2 Notebook Cooler

Cooler Master Notepal X2 Notebook Cooler R9-NBC-4WAK-GP

The Cooler Master Notepal X2 notebook cooler is a huge improvement over the Notepal U2. With a greater mesh heat dispersion screen, adjustable fan speed and height, a quiet running 140mm fan and compatible up to 17 inches, this is a pretty good all around notebook cooler.

While the Cooler Master Notepal X2 notebook cooler does not really focus on any particular area of expertise, it’s great combination of features makes it an ideal notebook cooling solution for people who use their notebook for a wide variety of tasks.

The look of the Cooler Master Notepal X2 notebook cooler is slightly futuristic and tech related, perfect for some people, but not so much geared towards businesses or peopel who prefer a low key notebook cooler.

The plastic frame work is yet again a slight disappointment, however it does help keep the Cooler Master NotePal X2 Notebook Cooler lightweight and portable.

While the Cooler Master Notepal X2 notebook cooler might not be the most quiet notebook cooler, or powerful notebook cooler, it does manage to do both of these things with an admirable performance.

2) NZXT Cryo LX Powerful Notebook Cooler

NZXT Cryo LX Notebook Cooler

NZXT ACC-NT-CRYO LX Aluminum Notebook Cooler 120MM Adjustable Fans (Black)

The NZXT Cryo LX Notebook cooler is one of the best powerful notebook coolers for gamers. It is far from quiet, but as it blasts your notebook with cold air, you should see a remarkable drop in your internal notebook temperature.

The frame of the NZXT Cryo LX notebook cooler is a thick sturdy aluminum, which can easily hold a 19 inch widescreen notebook cooler. It also contains a 4 port USB hub for all of your gaming peripherals. You can also adjust your fan speed to help keep the noise down when you are not doing technically intensive things on your notebook.

Inside the NZXT Cryo LX notebook cooler sports three 120mm fans, which give you a huge amount of airflow. This airflow keeps your notebook cool, and is perfect for preventing overheating in even the most powerful of gaming notebooks.

So if you want a powerful notebook cooler for your gaming notebook, then the fantastic NZXT Cryo LX notebook cooler is the best solution for your notebook cooling needs!

1) Zalman NC3000 Notebook Cooler

Zalman NC3000 Notebook Cooler

Zalman ZM-NC3000U Notebook Cooler

The Zalman NC3000 comes in two forms, the basic difference being that the Zalman NC3000U has a 4 port USB hub, and the Zalman NC3000S just has a USB pass through part.

The Zalman NC3000 notebook cooler series takes everything that was good about the Zalman NC2000, and improves upon it. The frame is the same 3mm thick aluminum with 1300 air distribution holes.On top of that, it can handle a 19 inch notebook with ease.

The Zalman NC3000 has a 220mm fan instead of two smaller fans which can provide fantastic airflow, with even less noise.

On top of the basic features the Zalman NC3000 also has a fan speed wheel, an on/off switch and a power indication light. The power light might seem a little redundant, but you can easily find yourself struggling to judge whether the fan is actually running or not on sound alone.

The Zalman NC3000 notebook cooler is amazing simply because it gives you a great mix of power, and quiet notebook cooling. On top of that, it’s high quality fan will last for years, without losing it’s low sound emissions. This is a fantastic addition to the Zalman NC3000 since many notebook coolers use cheaper fans which have shorter lives, and can begin to emit a fluttering, or clicking sound after several weeks.