Antec USB-Powered Notebook Cooler Reviews

• Antec USB Notebook Cooler - Great Design, Decent Cooling, Another great Antec product!!!

  
  By A17BUUBOU0598B on 2007-08-29
  
  Antec's USB-Powered Notebook Cooler is a very good unit that is better than most alternatives. Cooling is essential for laptops. It can improve a computer's performance and useful life. No cooler will make your notebook ice cold, but this one will definitely lower the temperature. It works REGARDLESS of notebook design, and I will explain how.
  
  The pros FAR OUTWEIGH the cons. I have added most of these cons after long term use. These are mostly nit-picky cons, and this unit is still a great value.
  
  PROS
  + The plastic body and metal top are well designed for a solid feel
  + The nice aluminum top spreads head very well and is durable
  + The USB cable is pass through with an extra USB port to connect other devices
  + The cable length is nice and short
  + There is a small compartment to tuck away the cable after use
  + The fans run VERY quietly at either high or low speeds
  + The rubber feet are solid and provide nice stability and grip
  + It now has surface holes for optional rubber pegs for more space to improve air-flow
  + After using mine for well over a year, I can vouch for the durability
  + The 3 year warrantee that comes with the product gives you some comfort in the case the product does fail
  
  CONS
  - The fans and outer holes gather dust over time; just clean it with compressed air
  - The USB power cord and base connector could be more durable, so handle with care
  - The unit looks like air flows through the entire top, but it only flows through the 2 fans positioned in the center; It's more visible on the Antec Notebook Cooler (Pearl) version than the black and silver one
  - The blue LED light may be too bright for some people, but it can easily be covered with electrical tape
  - The cable may be too short for those without left side USB ports; purchase a USB extender cable
  - The item frequently goes out of stock and has price changes
  - The list price of $50 seems unreasonable
  
  How it Works
  
  This cooler works in several ways. First of all, the fans will create air flow under the laptop that will draw the heat away from the bottom of the laptop and onto the cooler surface. This works regardless of whether there is a small or large space.
  
  In some cases your laptop may flex so that the cooler will slightly touch the bottom of your laptop. That's ok because the aluminum top of the cooler actually attracts and spreads out the heat to cool your laptop down. A 15 or 17 inch laptop can benefit from this *heat spreading*.
  
  The fans are designed to draw heat from the aluminum away from the laptop. That is why the fans blow the way they do. They still circulate air under the laptop. You can feel the air with your hand if you hold it over the cooler. If the air blew the other way it would blow dust and heat into your laptop vents.
  
  Contrary to some comments, this cooler cannot create a vacuum under your laptop. Similarly this cooler will not *fight* for air with your laptop fans. Unless you are using this laptop while orbiting the earth in a space station, there is plenty of air to allow for a few small fans to pull air in more than one direction. The fans will still pull air over the surface of the laptop's base to cool it. And regardless of air flow, the aluminum will still pull heat from the bottom and spread it away from the unit.
  
  Common Issues and Solutions
  
  1.) If the LED light bothers you, you can cover it with a small piece of electrical tape. I sleep with it on all the time. You can see it in the dark but it doesn't bother me.
  
  2.) The little door that holds the USB power wire has 2 clips on the back and a button on the front.. Make sure you have pulled that release button forward again. You can just clip it back into place.
  
  3.) The cooler can be used on your lap but it works much better with something like the Jumbo Lap Desk. Wood lap desks don't flex like the plastic ones but tend to cost more, so you have to see what works for you. Even Belkin's CushTop Notebook Stand might be an option.
  
  Comparing to the Competition
  
  This unit has a more durable aluminum top, stronger plastic, ergonomic shape, and quiet design than the competition. This unit is much better than the original Targus PA248U Notebook Chill Pad which was made of very flimsy and thin plastic. Targus created a newer Targus Notebook Cooling Chill Mat (AWE11US) with harder plastic and also a Targus AWE12US Notebook Chill Hub with extra USB ports. Neither has an aluminum top, and they still don't perform as well.
  
  There are completely metal versions that are available like the Cooler Master NotePal Widescreen Notebook Cooler ( R9-NBC-AWAK ) designed for larger or wide-screen units. Most of those cost more and still have their own cons.
  
  There are also stands and inclined holders designed to let more air flow beneath your laptop, like the Logitech Alto Express Notebook Stand or the Logitech Alto Connect Notebook Stand. Those will help a little but not as much as a fan. I personally don't like typing on inclined stands and only use them for docked laptops.
  
  Conclusion
  
  The list price is excessive, but this cooler is a great deal at $20 or less. This item is also frequently sold at brick and mortar stores with mail in rebates. I hate those so I just wait for it to go on sale here. So far I have bought 2 for myself and several as gifts.
  
  I hope that this information has been helpful and has shown why this cooler is good despite the imperfections. At the right price this unit can be a great value so definitely check it out.
  
  Enjoy!
  
  
  

• Matthew Sai is right!!!!!

  
  By A3ONE2VJCDI5GZ on 2006-02-20
  I always thought Antec products are well made and designed. Because this unit is made of high quality materials, I had assumed it was cooling my laptop, but I always had an unease feeling about it. After reading Matthew Sai's review, I finally realize my fear was right. He is right on the money! This cooler pulls the air aways from the bottom of the laptop and exhaust the air through the underbody of this product. If you have a laptop that has cooling fans, this is probably NOT the ideal product for you. Most laptops with fans actually suck the air from the bottom of the laptop and exhaust the air throught the sides or back of the laptop (I have a Compaq V2000 series and a IBM ThinkPad, both pull the air from the bottom of the laptop) This creates a vacuum as a Matthew Sai has indicated. The underbody of my ThinkPad is flushed, having the laptop fan and this cooler's fan fighting for air has caused the ThinkPad to run hotter than without this cooler. The underbody of my Compaq is grooved, so vacuum problem doesn't hurt as much, therefore it cools my laptop a little bit, but not enough in my opinion. If this unit had a switch to change the direction of airflow, I would give it a 5 star rating...
  
  To summarize: if your laptop has no fan at all, this should help cooling a lot. If your laptop has grooved bottom and also has its own fan(s) drawing air from the bottom, this unit won't cool much. If your laptop has a flushed bottom and also has its own fan(s), DO NOT buy this...
  
  

• Don't Waste Your Time or Money

  
  By A2BZJL1PSEDT5G on 2003-08-27
  I have an after market handle that serves as a lift for my computer to allow the bottom of it to breath, but it still doesn't cool it enough, and the fans still come on. So, I thought the Notebook Cooler might do the trick. One of the features that I was excited about were the really quiet fans that are supposed to blow away the heat from the bottom of the computer.

  Well, the fans aren't quiet, and it doesn't cool off my computer. In fact, the fans were as loud, or louder than my notebook's fans. It also isn't very smart. You have to turn it on and off manually, instead of having a sensor that detects heat. The fans are loud, the internal design is lacking, and it really doesn't cool off the computer that much. In fact, it just blows warm air towards you if you're sitting next to it. About the only thing that's good about this is the aesthetic design. It's cool looking, but not worth your money or your time.
  
  

• Quiet and Cool

  
  By A1UQR7U1U4WLO1 on 2005-08-31
  The cooler sits under my 43 cm (large monitor) Macintosh Powerbook. The Powerbook is often on for 8 to 10 hours a day and keeps everything very cool. The cooler powers from the left-hand USB port. The pass-through USB plug enables the USB port to be used by a printer and other peripherals. There are two fan speed settings, high and low. I only run on the low setting. A good, solid, cost-effective choice.
  
  

• Contributes to overheating

  
  By A1IWJJ04UW6VV4 on 2006-01-28
  DO NOT buy this item if you have fans on the bottom of your notebook computer!!! I have a Toshiba Satellite and it has two fans on the bottom of the case that draw in cool air. The Antec units fans drew air AWAY from my fans which caused overheating in two out of two tries. Basically the Antec unit created a vaccuum underneath my laptop instead of improveing airflow to it.
  
  
• Terrible. Simply terrible.
  By A369Q8NTEBSJWX on 2004-07-16
  I used it for three days, then it died. And it didn't even really work well for those three days.

  Got it replaced, and the next one died within a week.

  It made a good frisbee, though.
  
  

• Met my needs and hers
  By AO97CJOHJZAPB on 2004-01-26
  I've looked at aftermarket laptop coolers that are just plastic risers on a swivle base. They cost 20 or more for the plastic contraption. I have a friend in the office that has one for his laptop and he swears it works. The concept was simple. It raises the base so that more air circulation is possible. For me, I couldn't see myself spending twenty dollars on something I could use stacked post-its or 1/2 inch book to do (place underneath the laptop on the back edge so it raises the back of the laptop). I tried using a couple post its and for a while it seemed to help a little. But when ever my computer became hard drive intensive, because I was compiling a program or doing lots queries on HUGE databases, my fan would turn on. Since my friend had the platic platform, I decided to get something else to do the same thing. Something that would do a better job. At first, I thought about building one of my own, but I knew that I would have little time to devote to it... so I took my basic design and checked to see if there were any that already existed. That's when I found this Antec Laptop cooler.

  I read about it and was convinced that this would work. But I didn't want to spend forty bucks on something that may not work. So I waited. Then my fiancee had some laptop trouble of her own. Her laptop was older and worse than mine. Her fan would refuse to turn on and would overheat and cause a shut down. Well, if this wasn't the time to go to her rescue, then I don't know when that would be. So I put an order in. When it arrived, I tried it out on my laptop while hers was being fixed (for a hard drive problem). I noticed that my fan never turned on when I did the usual queries that worked my drive hard. My laptop fan is behind the machine. The hard drive is underneath and there is a vent with no fan there. And it seems to solve my issues. So when she got her laptop back, I gave her the cooler as a gift. She has noticed that on her older toshiba that the base is no where near as hot as it use to get. It just gets warm. She is happy with it now. I still think she should get another laptop, but that is a different story. After a couple weeks, I started missing the cooler. So I bought another one from Amazon.

  I'm still happy with it. It does cool the base of my laptop and gives me the peace of mind that it will extend the life of my machine considerably. Which is worth the price I paid. It met my needs and hers.
  
  

• Better Than the Rest! (Based on My Tests)
  By A1R7I9VX8M5Y3V on 2008-04-13
  Most of laptop cooler/chill pads are made of PLASTIC and use fans that blow air TOWARDS the laptop. What impresses me about this product is that the cooling surface is made of ALUMINUM (just like the aluminum casing used to keep portable hard drives cool) and its fans PULL/SUCK HOT AIR AWAY from underneath the laptop. This method of REMOVING hot air is superior to blowing room temperature air at the laptop (it's also the same mechanism used by laptop/desktop internal fans).
  
  MY TESTS: I compared the latest Targus high-speed chill mat (Model PA248U) to this one. After running the laptop for one hour on each, I noticed the surface of the laptop (keyboard, palm rest, touch pad, etc.) was the same in both cases (very cool). But there was a noticeable difference on left side of my laptop (where my Dell's internal fan exhausts warm air). With the Targus, there was noticeable amounts of warm air being exhausted by the laptop's internal fan. With the Antec, there was much less warm air being exhausted than the Targus. So the Antec does a superior job cooling the laptop since the laptop's internal fan was exhausting less hot air.
  
  MINOR DETAILS: The Antec allows you to control the speed of the fan (high or low) while the Targus is fixed, presumably at high (and is rather noisy). The Targus does have a simple push on/off switch; the Antec does not (you have to unplug it for off). The Antec's USB cord is pass-through meaning Antec will NOT take us one USB slot (the Targus did not have this feature). The Antec has a very strong Blue LED light to indicate it is on (it could be helpful as an on/off indicator, but it is very annoying in low-light condition because it is very bright).
  
  BOTTOM LINE: Because the cooling surface is made of aluminum and because the fans work to draw hot air away from the laptop (much like your laptop's internal fan), Antec is a superior product. Also, my simple tests showed that the laptop was cooler using Antec.
  
  
• It works
  By A34FWDF8EEKRL on 2005-05-17
  I have an HP Pavilion ze5375us notebook computer. This is a full powered, desktop replacement machine and it runs hot. It has three fans to keep it cool. The fans can get very noisey and the computer still occasionally over heats and shutdown down. I've been propping up the backup of the machine in an effort to increase airflow. While this helps, it hasn't completely solved the over heating problem.
  
  I finally decided to get one of the "powered" colling devices. I looked at the Targus Notebook Chill Pad and the Antec Notebook Cooler. The Targus devices looked cheaply constructed (all plastic) while the Antec device appeared to be of higher quality. I was confused by the Amazon user reviews, because they indicate that the Targus device has a higher satisfaction rating than the Antec. I was concerned at some of the reviews indicating that the Target device didn't provide much air circulation (but it was quiet). On the other hand, the Antec device was critizised for being louder than a wisper.
  
  I finally made my decision based upon size. My machine is fairly large and it dwarfed the Targus device. However it fits well on the Antec (even with a docking station attached).
  
  So what do I think of my decision? I've been using the Antect Notebook Cooler for three days now. The fans are definitely audible. They make about as much noise as you would expect from a small fan (2 actually). Since my computer has three noisey fans in it already, overall, it isn't any more noisey than what I was already accustomed to. I actually took the fan noise as a positive feature, after all I wanted the cooler to actually work and cool down the notebook.
  
  The power connector will definitely cause you problems if you move the notebook/cooler combination around a lot. I'll keep the cooler on the desk most of the time and I'll be careful otherwise.
  
  The computer seems to be running cooler than before. Areas of the computer that get very hot before the cooler, are now warm to the touch. So all-in-all, I'm satisfied with the purchase.
  
  For those of you who are overly concerned about the fan noise, I would suggest looking at the Targus Podium Coolpad or simply propping up the computer with something (I received complements for using a box of staples). Good luck with your choice.
  
  
• This LUNACY about air direction...THINK "DUST"!
  By A2YRKEKFPX2BH4 on 2006-04-20
  I've had this a few days for my laptop (HP 17" widescreen that is overpowered and undercooled- two fans on left hand side). It actually fits well under my large laptop and is quiet- it is so quiet I keep thinking it is off- though on high I can hear it a bit- think someone whispering in the next room- OH, GOD THE NOISE!!
  
  I don't doubt some people may get duds, but overall the design seems workable. My lil' guy used to get very hot when playing games like Civ and it still gets warm, but definitely less so when this is on. The internal fans rarely go into crazy overdrive mode. (You may need to update your BIOS, too)
  
  A friend has a targus and this seems MUCH sturdier. As for the reliability of the electronics...well, I've heard stories of them both failing.
  
  As for whether the fan should be BLOWING air onto your laptop or SUCKING it away:
  1) It is a non-issue created by some paranoia! No little fan is creating some vacuum-like area- this isn't outer space! There is plenty of air to go around, people! But, sure perhaps you shouldn't exactly line up the fans. There should always be plenty of a gap between the computer and any surface you put it on.
  
  2) DUST WILL CAUSE YOUR HEATSINK TO FAIL. Always blowing dust INTO your fans is not the best idea. If your heatsink gets covered with dust, it will not disperse heat and it will cause your internal thermometer to misread the temp and it will turn off the computer to protect your CPU. So, personally, I went with this one to lessen the air blown into the computer. BUT, first, you should get some compressed gas and carefully clean out your 'puter.... Or remove your heatsink and clean it (CAREFULLY!- this may void your warranty) - or take it to a pro...you'll be amazed at how dusty it can get.
  
  3) As for companies disclaiming liability... Go get a legal education- disclaimers are not particularly effective and the companies' attorneys know it (go read some torts casebooks and worry more when Congress overhauls class-action lawsuits!). IF it was dangerous to suck air away from your machine, don't you think Antec and Targus would do the SIMPLE thing and change the direction of their fans??
  
  "Oh, NO, it is a grand conspiracy, Mr. Reviewer" Sure...right, Oliver Stone.
  
  
• Good for some, Bad for some
  By A3F1JCVBV8V6L2 on 2003-10-26
  I have a Dell Inspiron Notebook and a Sony Vaio PCG-GRZ630 notebook.

  It works great for Dell product since the processor is located on the middle of the notebook, where it's most warm. The fan is located on the bottom so when a cool air is blown at it, it cools off the notebook very quickly.

  With Sony, however, the fan is located on the side which does not meet the fan of the cooler. It does nothing but blow warm air by the time this unit is on.

  To make my point short: if you are using a more up-to-date computer, it will help. However, for Sony, HP (My friend tried and it didn't help his notebook either) it's better to use one of those personal fans that little girls like carrying around.

  The location of the notebook on the cooler is sensitive as well. Two fans are in the middle, so if you can locate the warmest part, it will help.

  It's USB 1.1 and 2.0 compatible, with a on/off switch is convinient. No power-outlet is necessary.

  Overall, good gadget, but not a necessity
  
  

• It's OK, but... takes rigging.
  By A2LIOYTH2PF9QO on 2007-04-26
  I've got the same problem as every other laptop owner out there. My laptop overheats constantly. After extensive researching on the net trying to figure out which cooling pad would actually work for this desktop oven of mine, I knew that basically I was taking a shot in the dark. But this looked like a good one, so I went with it.
  
  Pros: after fiddling with it, I did get it to work to an extent that it keeps my laptop cool for the most part... but not enough that I can freely do lots of high-level functions like media, cd burning or heavy downloading.
  
  Cons: If your laptop runs as hot as mine, this pad BARELY will do the trick. That being said, I'm not sure that any other pad would've been any better. I'm not going by external temperature, but a temp reading from inside the computer, so external temps may be deceiving. So in any case, buying another pad might not be any better. (Then again, this is a cheap pad, so I could be wrong.) Read 'my experience' for tips on how to optimize this, and what happened when I bought mine.
  
  My experience:
  
  1. I use my laptop on a flat surface. This means it was getting 'proper ventilation' or room to work as it was designed to do. Placing the laptop on it with the pad going the proper direction, on a flat desk with nothing else under the pad... my laptop still hit and stayed around 100+ degrees F according to HDDlife temperature monitor. For my laptop, that was average running temp for my doing 'media' functions or downloading major files, with my laptop propped up on things to give it extra air underneath. In other words, with the pad set up normally, flat on a desktop surface... this pad had basically the same effect as propping your laptop up on a couple of books.
  
  2. I had read some people had luck with this pad after re-situating the pad under their laptop. This is common sense, I guess, but it's NOT what apparently the designers of the pad had in mind. MAJOR ADVICE... look at the fans... look at your air vents... Situate the pad's fans as directly under your air vents as possible. This SHOULD increase the pad's effectiveness, even if it's obviously not what the manufacturer had in mind. (BE WARNED... some laptops, I understand, intake air from the bottom [?] I can't confirm this but, I read online that this was the case ... so before buying, make sure you have a laptop that does not intake air from the bottom, or this device will be working against your laptop and not with it.
  
  3. After repositioning the pad, it ran a tiny bit cooler, but still nothing at all what I needed.
  
  4. Finally, I propped the pad up on for little wooden craft boxes which are a bit larger than the feet of the pad area wise, and about 2 inches tall, making a kind of 'cave' underneath my laptop and giving it some serious height. (Which I didn't mind at all, because frankly, looking at the bottom of my screen for certain things all the time was starting to give me neck problems. So my screen is actually somewhere near a good level now for comfortable use. An added plus. lol)
  
  5) With this pad pointed directly at my laptop's bottom air vents, and propped up about 2 inches on the wooden craft boxes... I finally got decent cooling with this pad. My average temp for minimum use is in the 80 degree range, going into the 90s if I have a lot of minimum use operations running at once. With demanding use, it creeps up into the 100-110 degree bracket. According to the program I've got, my laptop hits "self destruct" temps at around 127 degrees. So 110 degrees is NOT good. But it's better than the 117 or so my laptop used to hit pretty quickly when I asked too much of it before. HOWEVER... when I have lower usage, the temp actually drops, and fairly quickly, and sometimes even gets back into the 70s. Without this pad, my laptop stayed roughly in the 90's bracket no matter what I was doing, and would overheat after a couple hours of even low end usage on occasion.
  
  BOTTOM LINE:
  So the good news is, if you're poor, you can rig this machine to do what you need it to do, BUT... while my average running temp is now comfortably below even my minimum-usage temp was before, even with some heightened use, it still will overheat if I do too much heavy downloading or demanding game play. (We're talking those online MMORPGs with 2d graphics... it still overheats, going into the 110 bracket...)
  
  The major disappointment for me was, when I got it and looked at it, finding out that all those little black dots on it are NOT holes. The reason I bought this pad, was because I thought they were, and I was thinking, "gee, even if the fans aren't blowing right on it, this would be giving it major ventilation!" ... No such luck, people. The black dots are solid plastic, not holes. So if you're thinking this pad will give your laptop's normal exhaust fan more room to breathe, it won't. On the other hand, this is true of pretty much all cooling pads I've seen. (Not a lot of room for the laptop's natural fan to do it's business, as is the case when you set it on a hard, flat surface.)
  
  Finally, the next and last con (besides that it didn't cool as much as I would have liked), is that the cable for it is really, really short. I would have rather had a power cord to deal with than a super-short usb plug, but... then again I do most of my business on a table near an outlet. So that's just me.
  
  SO, I'd say this pad probably isn't much better or worse than any other. Ultimately it can work to an extent that will allow you to do more with less heat, but... it won't keep your machine cool when you're playing those awesome 3d games on it. (Again, I'm going by internal rather than external temperatures.) You might want to find something to prop it up on (something a bit bigger than the pad's feet, that will give it at least an inch or two of breathing room underneath, and sturdy enough to hold the laptop and pad, and which you have 4 of. ^_^) I don't play many games, so this pad is pretty much good enough for me the way I have it set up now. If you're a gamer, you might want to look into a high end pad with rave reviews from other hard-core gamers.
  
  It's OK... but don't expect to run your computer full throttle for a long time and keep temps under 110 degrees, no matter what you prop it up on.
  
  
• Works somewhat, but don't believe the product literature
  By A23883Z52CSIMJ on 2004-07-16
  This makes a modest difference in the heat my Dell Laptop builds up, increasing the time until the fans on the laptop turn on by 30-50%. However, Antec decided to use small, high rpm, fans with cheap bearings- meaning that this thing is much much louder than the supposed 25 decibels that is claimed. (More like 50-60).

  I wouldn't buy this again.
  
  

• Phenomenal product for hot-running laptops
  By A2N2CI3F2LB32S on 2007-05-16
  The title of the review about sums it up: what a PHENOMENAL product. Just the right size to transport in the inner sleeve of a laptop bag and powerful enough to keep my Dell Inspiron 600m markedly cooler (prior to using the Antec, my laptop was running inordinately hot on the underside of the casing to the extent that there are scorch marks on the plastic). Having already lost a motherboard from over-heating, the search for a cooling solution carried some urgency. After eight hours of trial operation, I found the Antec USB-Powered Notebook Cooler did the job quietly and efficiently, reducing internal and ambient laptop temperatures by at least 10-15 degrees.
  
  As far as construction, the Antec is lightweight and durable (an aluminum faceplate aids in the heat dissipation, while other manufacturers tend to use a less-efficient plastic design). Fan noise, even on the highest setting, projects no louder than the internal processor fan of my laptop. A few online forum complaints have arisen pertaining to the USB cable and some clarification is due. While the cable is of a lighter gauge, it should hold up without incident under normal operations. A pass-through USB connection bridges off the back of the Antec cable also: a well-thought-out consideration for those needing that extra port for peripherals.
  
  From where this appreciative consumer stands (or sits, as the case may be), I have absolutely no complaints whatsoever. Thank you to Antec for offering such a remarkable cooling solution for mobile users who need to keep working long hours.
  
  
• Check for cooling direction
  By AGEC31N0DZT4E on 2007-03-05
  While the Antec cooler is a very good product it does not serve every notebook computer equally. Before you buy this product ensure that your computer exhausts the hot air to the bottom of the computer. My computer's 5 fans suck air from the bottom and exhaust the heated air to the sides and rear. The Antec only limited the airflow rather than increasing it and resulted in a cooked CPU and motherboard. I still use it to raise the computer up off the desk but do not turn it on.
  
  
• Poor power supply design
  By A1DRZLOC95ZHKP on 2006-05-30
  I have a Dell Inspiron and the cooler works very well.
  
  HOWEVER, the design of the USB plug (for powering the unit) is terrible. In less than a month I am already on line seeking to find a replacement. Their intentions were good - provide a USB that another USB can be plugged into so you don't lose use of the port (useful if you only have one port). The problem is in the design - the plug sticks straight out of the USB port - in my case in the back of my computer. I truly use it as a laptop (i.e. on my lap - or stomach if I am lying down), so there is movement of the computer. The USB plug bends easily and already something inside broke and it no longer works.
  
  If you use the unit on a desktop, it probably wouldn't be as much of a problem. However, it would have benefitted them (and me)to make a more right angle design with stress points for movement if the USB does come up against something. Or, just make it much stronger.
  
  
• Alternate Use
  By A21UXBO1A67KP5 on 2006-07-22
  An online tech board's topic dealing with excessive heat eminating from the DishNetwork vip622 HD receiver/dvr combo pointed me to a sale on this Antec cooler.
  
  As luck would have it, the Antec perfectly receives the four pads of the satellite box, which conveniently offers a USB port in which to plug the Antec.
  
  Within hours, it appears to have dramatically cooled the satellite receiver/dvr combo that sits within component furniture.
  
  
• Not powerful enough
  By A1EZL8YC91Z631 on 2007-04-01
  After reading the reviews here, I was really excited to pick up a pair of these for my husband and I. So when they failed to perform, I was crushed. I would just say I had gotten a lemon, but both units I bought failed in my expectations at the same time. Unless there's a rip in the space-time continuum, I'm just going to have to assume that they don't meet the needs I have. Don't get my wrong, I'm sure they're great for computers that get marginally warm, but as hot as our laptops are running, the Antec just couldn't keep up. The air output was pretty puny. The "hi" setting should have been the "lo" and the "lo" was practically nonexistent. Our laptops continued to overheat. As much as I disliked the Targus Chill Mat for falling apart after a couple weeks, its output was the right amount.
  
  Other complaints I have to point out:
  The glaring blue LED is unnecessary. It's nice to know the unit is on (especially since the air output was so puny it was hard to tell), but no matter where we sat, one of us was going to get a blue LED glaring in his/her eyes.
  
  The USB cord is way too short. My laptop had no problem because I have a USB port on either side, but my husband's computer has USB ports on the right side and back right. Since the cord comes out of the pad's left side, this made it difficult for him to use.
  
  This pad is NOT designed for laps. Since our home office is unaccessible, we have to use our laptops on, well, our laps. It's awkward to use on a lap or any place where it might be moved a lot. It's great for desks though, especially how it's raised on little "feet" to increase airflow.
  
  This cooler is great to use on a desk for a computer that doesn't overheat too much already, but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone who has a laptop with a broken internal fan or one that just overheats a lot. Which is too bad, because I was really looking forward to it.
  
  
• Works well on smaller laptops
  By A11QLMP3YBNZ17 on 2007-04-16
  I have two laptops. This works perfectly for my 15" LCD IBM Thinkpad. The 17" HP laptop is simply just too big for it.
  
  It works well, I can feel my entire laptop cooling down. My wrist resting on the laptop doesn't feel warm anymore. The blue neon light looks cool too.
  
  You also won't lose an USB port because the USB cable that comes with this let's you plug another USB device to it. USB powered so no power cables needed.
  
  
• Horrible design!
  By A34CUDO4E8QNW9 on 2008-07-30
  Purchased this notebook cooler about three months ago for my Dell Inspiron 1420 / Dell Vostro 1400.
  
  As the other people whom reviewed this product said, it seems to create a vacuum and actually makes my laptop run hotter.
  
  The cable that connects from the cooler to the USB port on your laptop is also really cheap. After three months of real light use, the cable came loose and doesn't power on the cooler anymore. I have to wiggle the cable for it to power on and it would only stay powered if I hold the cable in place. If I let go, it'll power off. Real cheap parts. I've read about people complaining about this before and should have listened then!
  
  The blue LED light that illuminates from the side is also very bright and annoying with no way of turning it off. Very poor design.
  
  I've always liked Antec products but this one has really let me down. This notebook cooler is a waste of money. Definitely stay away from it.
  
  
• Performs acceptably, not much more
  By A2E9DZ9YUKKGID on 2005-03-01
  I wouldn't be as critical if this didn't retail for $40 US. It's really a $20-$30 device. The fans are loud (louder than most 80 MM Antec case fans I've used). They're not unbearable, but not as quiet as Antec claims. The design is sleek, but once covered by a laptop, who will notice? I would have preferred a more basic design with better airflow. And that's the real problem.
  The cooler needs a set of 1/4" rubber feet on its topside in addition to the existing ones on the bottom. The laptop sits directly on the top surface with no spacing, blocking all airflow (I could hear the fans straining to maintain their speed).
  
  MY SOLUTION: Stick four self-adhesive velcro patches on the corners of the laptop. This accomplished two things: 1.Raised the height of the laptop, fixing the flow problem 2.Allowed me to carry the laptop&cooler around as one unit.
  
  Pros:
  -Sleek design
  -Passthrough USB (good for older laptops with one port)
  
  Cons:
  -Loud fans
  -Poor airflow
  -You can't see "pretty" underneath a laptop
  -Overpriced
  -Hard-to-reach power switch
  
  
• not a miracle, but still a good gadget
  By A16FDY0JXDG6E4 on 2005-05-09
  I looked into buying this gadget because of all the heat that my laptop was generating. the weather was already getting hot in the middle of April, and my folks weren't going to turn on the air conditioner -- and so my laptop was billowing out heat like a furnace! My computer wasn't starting to fail or anything like that, but I was worried about it. I ended up buying this cooling pad,and it does help a little bit. I don't completely agree with some of the reviews here that mentioned that it doesn't help any if you have a laptop that has its cooling vents on the side, because I think it can -- the bottom of my laptop usually gets very hot, and putting the pad underneath has helped. Before I put that pad in, the air coming out of the side vent was very hot, and the fan always had to kick up into its fastest mode. After I put the pad underneath, the fan didn't have to kick up into its fastest mode anymore, and it didn't feel like it was pushing out fire anymore. LOL
  
  I'd have to say that this gadget has helped a bit, but it's not a miracle. Still, though, if you really care about extending the life of your equipment, and possibly making your equipment less sluggish, it's probably worth the 30 bucks.
  
  PS: I use speech recognition software on my computer on a regular basis, and I have noticed an improvement in the recognition time between when I say words, and when they come up on the screen. I don't know if this has to do with heat being taken away from the processor, but it may. I've heard that heat can cause a processor to slow down.
  
  
• Pretty Good Notebook Cooler overall
  By A1KS8B0EVCOR3M on 2005-10-02
  I purchased this notebook cooler not too long ago and it works very well. Lightweight, durable, and does what its meant to do. Bottom of notebook stays at a pretty stable temperature and does not overheat and there are vents to let the heated air escape which is sucked in thru the 2 fans. I especially like the way you can store the USB cable in the little storage compartment. I have a fairly large laptop and the given surface area fits well. I'd recommend a notebook cooler and as my first notebook cooler purchase i'd recommend it.
  
  
• Great Coolpad
  By AAN5EHVQY47M2 on 2008-02-05
  I recently got this to replace my old Targus Coolpad. This one is a lot bigger than the Targus and fits very nicely under my powerbook 17" G4. I love the fact that it's USB powered and has two settings, so I can have it low when I'm just surfing the net and then high when I am playing games or movies.
  
  The one drawback is the switch to toggle high and low is very hard to reach under a big laptop, my fingers almost don't reach it. Also, the LED light is very very bright, and so I end up unplugging it at night when I want to go to bed. It is seriously bright enough to make hand puppets with.
  
  But overall, I think I am sticking with this Antec brand when it's time to buy a new one.
  
  
• Not worth the fifty bucks
  By AVRAHBLJC79JQ on 2008-03-03
  Had it about a year and the power cord has become very tempermental and only one fan spins.
  
  USB cord is angled thus requiring me to unplug the cooling pad anytime I need to have my CD-ROM drive open.
  
  Will ntot be replacing it with an identical unit.
  
  
• Great While It Lasted
  By A4NARPZBSQHYA on 2008-06-03
  This functioned to my full satisfaction for 5 months. In the sixth month, the USB connector ceased to make firm contact with the cooler. I've jiggered it around for the last two weeks to no avail. This supposedly has a guarantee, but I resent having to put the effort into figuring how to make them honor it. I just want things to work and work for a reasonable length of time. I fear this item is just not well-engineered.
  
  
• Perfect Match for IBM / Lenovo - with noise now, though
  By A2HSMOBM5PCIF1 on 2008-07-13
  UPDATE 10/20/08: The Antec cooler is still keeping my IBM nice and cool but it has developed some irritating noise. It appears that the fairly inexpensive plastic and thin metal top have separated enough that the fans cause vibrations that in turn generate unwanted noise. Push your finger down on the top and the noise goes away. So maybe a bit of epoxy or other goop will reseal things and damp the noise (hopefully without killing the fan!). I can live with it as is, but it is nothing like the quiet unit that came out of the box!
  *********************************
  
  I have an IBM T42p with maxed out memory and graphics. In other words, it runs HOT! So hot that I had the motherboard serviced by IBM twice in 3 years (under warranty, thankfully!) and recently had the fan fail (not under warranty). This while the unit was not being used for days at a time and with the laptop angled to allow ventilation when on. After reading far too many reviews on the endless laptop coolers out there, I picked up this Antec and it is like it was made for my unit.
  
  Pros:
  * As noted above, it fits the T42p like a glove. Put the rubber feet in place and the IBM sits 1/4" above the aluminum surface and you can just see the outline of the Antec under the laptop. (The T422p is a traditional 15" screen, not a widescreen design.)
  * Quiet: Do you know it is on? Yes, but that is okay. The fan noise is not obtrusive, even if you turn it to high.
  * Effective: The T42p exhaust is out the left side of the keyboard area and historically, the laptop fan exhausted air that was very hot to the touch, even if the laptop were not actively processing anything. Now, I can have multiple programs loaded, actively run numerous programs simultaneously and the exhaust temp is subjectively about half the temp it was before the Antec. I do not have specific data of the precise temperatures, but I can say that I have never felt the exhaust temp this low ever. One one occasion, I intentionally ran two high CPU usage scans simultaneously, insuring that the CPU and HD were running almost maxed out. I did switch to the high fan speed, but at no time did the unit feel any warmer than normal. It just seems to work.
  
  Cons:
  * I have put tape over the blue LED. Blinding otherwise!
  * Not so much of a con, but it would have been nice if Antec had built in a small piece of software that automatically switched the fan speed if needed. Not that I have used the higher fan speed other than my intentional scans noted above, but it would be nice.
  * I would have preferred a couple of USB ports on the Antec body rather than the one that is integrated in the USB cord. The T42p only has two USB ports to begin with, one of which has my Logitech Nano receiver occupying it. So while the Antec gives back the one port it uses, having a few extra USBs would have been a nicer solution.
  
  Overall, for the price I have to say that this is a winner. I do not use the Antec portably - my T42p is a desktop replacement that occasionally goes portable. But given my usage needs, this simply works. And more importantly, it seems to let my IBM work without fear of frying!
  
  
• Works for me!
  By A3JBJKOB6U1FBE on 2003-11-07
  I have a Compaq Presario X1030, which has its fan and vents on the bottom, so this product does a GREAT job of cooling the processor. If you have a notebook which has it's fan and vents on the sides this is not a great choice for you. I noticed an almost instant running temp of the computer. The only drawback is now my notebook is almost too high off the worksurface.
  
  
• Antec Notebook Cooler a Laptop Saver
  By A20OR7R4IBLO6C on 2004-05-14
  I have an IBM Thinkpad T30 that gets very hot, especially since it is my primary computer and I play quite a few 3D games that really tax the graphics card. I've tried several different cooling trays and racks and none of them worked except for a wire shelf that was 7 inches off the desk but when I went to a docking station and external monitor I really didn't want my laptop sitting on a white wire shelf 7 inches off my desk. So I invested in the Antec Notebook Cooler with much skeptism about how it could possibly work being so close to the desk.
  IT ROCKS. I keep it on all the time and the fan noise doesn't bother me at all. It isn't any worse than the white noise you'd get from a desktop computer. I can play games all day long and I haven't overheated once since I got the Notebook Cooler. I highly recommend it for all heavy duty laptops users.
  
  
• The notebook cooler that works as advertised
  By A3L0TYX0EBMMN3 on 2006-02-21
  I have had this cooler for a couple months now and use with the Toshiba notebook. If anyone know Toshiba notebooks, they run fast and they run hot. This cooler does cool down the notebook bottom considerably. I fully recommend this cooler.
  
  

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