Cooler Master NotePal Widescreen Notebook Cooler ( R9-NBC-AWAK ) Reviews

• this cooler is too small for an HP 17" laptop

  
  By A3PZE05UUR7SRG on 2007-10-31
  Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R316MSVJXBTOUY With an HP Pavilion ZD8000 17" laptop, this cooler is not stable, see video. The design seems strong and sturdy, and the fans good, but the platform is too short for a 17" laptop, the back end of laptop hangs over the back edge of cooler too far and is unstable.
  
  

• Efficient and effective cooling system offset by design problems

  
  By A2US0QBGZ6BIMB on 2006-07-08
  JULY 7th, 2006: After upgrading to a 15" MacBook Pro, I was looking for a replacement for the cooling pad I had for the old 12" PowerBook. After finding out that the company that made the plexiglass pad I had was apparently out of business, I researched the various options and decided on the CoolerMaster Widescreen Cooler as it was the only one that seems to be made for a widescreen laptop and the design was the closest to the old cooler I had. Plus it had good reviews and a nice design.
  
  First of all, the only CoolerMaster cooler available at this time is a two fan, black metal design. The box and the web site show an aluminum version with three fans but that is not sold in the U.S. The cooler is a one size fits both the 15" & 17" MacBook Pro with the cooler the right size for the 17". It's not terrible but I would rather not see the black edges around my 15" laptop. Second and a more serious problem is the metal wrist support (which is helpful and well constructed) covers the latch and the DVD drive slot! This means that everytime you need to access the DVD drive you have to raise the laptop up and pull it forward to lean it on the wrist support. Don't make the mistake of ejecting a disc until you lift the laptop up. The latch you just need to tilt the laptop up and set down again. Given the design of the 15" MacBook Pro, I'm not sure how CoolerMaster could redesign the cooler without changing it considerably.
  
  How does it work? The laptop is much cooler then if you use a non-fan cooler. I tested this out. The fans are much quieter then on the previous fan cooler I had. A pleasant air sound. If, like me, you are not using the optical drive much then I can recommend this highly.
  Aesthetically, if a little brushed metallic black with your brushed aluminum MacBook Pro doesn't offend your eye, it's fine. I still am not sure if I like the look or not but I am keeping the cooler since it's doing the job quite well.
  
  UPDATE SEPT 2006: The cooler is still working fine but after a recent session of CPU straining work I noticed the laptop was getting warmer than I've noticed before. The fans were working but the air just wasn't getting around the underside of the laptop enough. I happen to have some 1/4 inch high self-adhesive rubber feet used for the bottom of items you don't want to slide around on slippery surfaces. I took eight of them and stuck them to the cooler; six on the tray surface and two on the vertical part of the wrist support that the laptop tilts against. Raised up, the laptop cooled off immediately and a repeat session of CPU straining tasks has not created the same heat build up as before. And the laptop is actually at a better level on the cooler now.
  
  Also, I still don't really like the black metal around but it has one benefit for the 15" laptop: the cables are less likely to accidentlay get knocked around.
  
  I still recommend the cooler.
  
  

• Not Bad

  
  By A1GRAZKXB50ZM1 on 2006-06-21
  The Coolermaster seems to be a good laptop cooler. It does appear to keep my wife's laptop cooler than before as the fan does not run on high for as long.
  
  The one thing I don't like about the Coolermaster is it's size. It's plenty wide enough, in fact just right. From front to back though it's not big enough. My wife has a Dell Inspiron and it extends passed the edge of the coolermaster about an inch. I don't believe that her computer is any bigger than normal. As the coolermaster is a bit short from front to back, the laptop can not sit on it's back legs, but must sit on the body of the laptop, but only in the back.
  
  If they would have made it an inch longer from front to back, it would be perfect.
  
  It does sit the laptop at a nice angle for typing.
  
  

• The Best Cooler among all other brands

  
  By A2BUF95KDMIK03 on 2006-08-23
  
  1. It is sturdy, so you don't have to worry about the weight of your laptop that might press the cooler too hard to let the fans work in a normal way.
  
  2. It is much better than the ones without fans. Laptops get warm, even hot very fast. Leaving some little space between a desk (or your legs) and a laptop is not enough to pull away the heat generated by the machine, so the laptop will still get too warm when you let it turn on for long time.
  
  3. It is quiet, will never annoy you.
  
  4. The material is aluminum, which is a cool material.
  
  5. It has an extra USB port.
  
  6. The front twist part makes your wrists feel better when you do some typing job. But, I prefer to put the front of my Dell Inspiron E1505 on the higher part: the twist part(I have another keyboard.) That way, it leaves more space between the cooler and the laptop. Plus, the fans run quietly once the laptop turned on. If you put your laptop as I did, you will notice that the inside fans of the laptop will never turned on since it won't get hot for very long time.
  
  7. It is black, not quite fit for my Dell E1505, but I don't care about the color.
  
  8. It is a little larger for my 15", but I don't care about it either.
  
  
  This product is highly recommended for all laptop users.
  
  

• Not a well thoughtout design for some laptops

  
  By A3PEN6PH24S5DU on 2007-09-25
  After several hours of use, my Dell Inspiron 9300 ends up generating enough heat so the keyboard can be uncomfortable. Additionally, it is very hot on the right hand side of the laptop (where the screen and laptop hinge together down to the SSD card reader). So I started looking for a method to cool my laptop.
  
  I was hoping to find a cooling method using some type of refrigeration (e.g. Cold Metal Plate). All I found were plates with and without fans.
  
  The Cooler Master R9-NBC-AWAK is the only one I found with fans, a metal plate, and suppose to work with for 17 inch widescreen laptops. So, as they say in the Pokemon world - I choose you!!
  
  Now for the positive: The cooler's width is just right at 17 inches. OUTSTANDING!! My laptop is cooler.
  
  The problem is the depth is too short by 3 to 4 inches. The laptop's rubber feet can't hold it up off of the chill plate and thus allow the air to flow under the laptop.
  
  So, the fans are not providing air flow under the laptop. The chill plate becomes simply a chill plate and not a cooler (e.g. plate with fan).
  
  I call this a poor design considering Dell is a major PC producer. The designers missed the mark when not thinking about how to support Dell's 17" wide screen laptops.
  
  What could they do TODAY other than stopping the manufacturing line?
  
  How about shipping their own rubber feet (say 4 of them) to place on the top / back edge of the plate? This would hold the laptop up off the plate and allow air movement from the fans to work.
  
  Overall I'm happy with the item. I'm using two Jolt Mint Flurry tins (metal cans) to hold up the laptop. The air is flowing around the laptop and it is even cooler now that the fans can actually work properly. The downside is these Jolt tins are thicker than rubber feet.
  
  The acid test for me is would I buy the item again? The answer is yes. Why?
  
  1) It is the only 17" wide screen cooler (metal or plastic) on the market I could find.
  
  2) It is made out of metal.
  
  3) I was able to fix the design flaw / problem on my own (see remaining problem below).
  
  4) My laptop is a lot cooler in some areas.
  
  There are two remaining problems:
  
  A) The largeness of the Jolt tins are blocking air from getting to the really hot area in the upper right (and left) hand corner(s) (hinge and SSD slot). What the cooler needs are small items to separate the laptop from the metal plate (e.g. rubber feet).
  
  B) The Jolt tins work well when everything is still, but considering laptops are mobile (e.g. planes, trains, cars, beds, etc) their use has limits. What the device needs are rubber feet one can attach to the plate.
  
  Overall, I'd say buy this item but be aware of the its short comings. My rating is 3 out of 5 stars considering the design flaw and that I found a solution that kind of works.
  
  Oh, while there are two USB ports on the device only one is free to use for other devices. It is nice they thought ahead to replace the port the device uses for power. Why they couldn't think about air flow for laptops deeper than than their device is beyond me. After all they designed a device with fans!!!
  
  
• Excellent Cooler!
  By A50YZQVBJQ07E on 2006-03-11
  This cooler not only keeps my 17" beast really cool, it provides a sloped typing surface. Other coolers just raise the entire notebook half an inch or more off the desk and hurt your wrists, but this slopes to create better typing ergonomics, plus it's aluminum, so it won't bust like my old Targus Chillmat did.
  
  
• Good overall performance and design
  By A3L5C4QAFEXP3Z on 2006-05-06
  I have a 17" inspiron 9400 that fits very well width-wise with about a quarter inch to spare on each side of the cooler. The notepal's slanted design is well thought-out and makes for a much more ergonomically friendly typing angle, it also works well for gaming. Before I got the notepal I could not use the computer on my lap for more than 10 minutes without my legs burning up. With the cooler I feel no heat from the machine whatsoever, and it rests fairly comfortably when I get settled in the right position. The aluminun design is rock-solid and the fans make no noise at all.
  
  The only negative I can find with this device is that my laptop overhangs the backside by about two inches making it somewhat unstable. I never had my computer fall backwards with the screen open as my hands hold it down in front, but the whole computer teeters backwards if I push the screen back without holding down the front. A minor inconvenience that does not detract from the overall value of the unit.
  
  
• Does the job well
  By AQRNNR3OZ7I3E on 2007-02-01
  I bought this product to use with my 17" wide screen Inspiron 9300, which became blazing hot with heavy graphics card load. Now, my laptop barely gets warm.
  
  The only problem is with the size. The width fits perfectly, but the front to back length is about 3 inches short. This short length has the benefit of allowing the notebooks built in fans access to good air flow, but it also means that the notebook's back feet have no support. Also, the extra weight on the back of the notebook, due to the monitor, can cause the computer to tip back when using this on your lap.
  
  
  
• Not So universal
  By AWJNFHEFXWCP2 on 2007-06-27
  Well Built, Looks Great, Won't Fit Some 17" Laptops.. Wont fit Hp Dv 9000 Series computers... Base is not deep enough..
  
  
• Almost large enough
  By A3GORZ65KIXK47 on 2006-12-14
  Bottom line: this product cools your laptop. You can't help but notice the huge difference. After several hours of use I was astonished that the bottom didn't even feel lukewarm, whereas before this laptop was the next best thing to a roaring fireplace. Not only do the double fans help the cooling process but the aluminum construction itself is a great conductor of heat. The company advertises that this product accommodates a 17" notebook. That's true. The problem is that if you have a huge notebook (like the one I have--A Dell Inspiron 9300--the depth of the cooler shelf (about nine inches)is a couple of inches short of the Dell's depth. As a result, if you push back the notebook's screen you have to hold down the front edge so the computer won't tip over backward.
  
  
• Sturdy & slick
  By A186E1UIXFULZ8 on 2007-03-14
  Just bought this for my 17" HP dv9000t. Plenty wide, but as other reviewers remark, the unit hangs over the back about 2 full inches. I'm not especially handy, but I fashioned a support out of the styrofoam which comes with the cool pad. I also added some vinyl bumpers so that there's more air circulation between the laptop and platform. This minor work was worth the trouble. The Notepal is made from quality material, and the fans seem to be situated in an effective position for this particular HP.
  
  
• Simply the best cooler out there...
  By ASJLXOX1VD4DF on 2007-07-23
  I have a 17-inch HP Pavilion that gets very warm. This cooler is great. It is built substantially, looks decent, and works quietly and easily. While it could stand to be a bit "deeper" from front to back, I rest the front of the laptop on the edge that sticks up -- personally I think that might also improve the cooling. Because it is made of cast aluminum, the laptop is not "wobbly". I had a Targus chill pad which was a piece of junk because it was too small, cheaply made, and the laptop was always unstable.
  
  While some might find the edges a bit sharp, I usually use a wooden lapdesk. However, I often let it just sit on my lap as well.
  
  I don't know why coolers are so hard to find for larger systems but this one is definitely light years ahead of the competition.
  
  
• Beware, two notebook computers damaged
  By A7P3DUEE7INKF on 2007-12-08
  I have two 17" notebook computers, each about a year old. My old cooler failed and this one look very nice. Even though it is wide enough for a 17" notebook, it is 'short' so the notebooks had a disturbing habit of falling back when used on the cooler.
  There was, however, a much more expensive price paid for the use of this cooler. It plugs into one of the notebook USB ports for power. After 6 hours of use, I noticed that my USB ports had become non-functional so I set the first notebook aside for later troubleshooting and moved to use my second notebook, the cooler was plugged into the second one. 6 hours later the USB ports on the second notebook failed.
  The only common, and new factor, with both notebooks was the addition of the cooler. Both notebooks had to have their system boards replaced. I did contact the manufacturer of the cooler and although they expressed an initial desire to examine the cooler for malfunction, they never sent an RMA number to return the cooler.
  Maybe the one I got was the only malfunctioning one out there but you may want to think twice if your notebook is not in warranty.
  
  
• It's the coolest!
  By A2A7MCB3CUC8OP on 2006-07-18
  I use my laptop 10-12 hours a day and it gets hot. I have used the Coolermaster for two weeks and have noticed a huge improvement in temperature and overall performance of my laptop. The Coolermaster is very quiet and simple to use. I highly recommend this product and hope all experiences are as positive as mine.
  
  
• Cooler Master Notepal Widescreen Notebook Cooler
  By A2HGNX6FQ1SOC0 on 2006-08-28
  I purchased this cooler because I was having lockups on my Dell Inspiron 9100. I believed these were caused by overheating. After cleaning the internal fans which were extremely clogged. I still would get frequent lock ups when playing games. After adding the cooler I did not get a lock up for a month. Now I have gotten a couple, but I think I have to clean out the laptop fans again. They are defninitely less frequent. I also saw FPS performance increase with the use of the cooler.
  
  My laptop is used mainly to play games. I generally sit in a recliner with the notebook on my lap. It is a little less confortable with the cooler and if it is not positioned correctly you can hit the fan with your leg. The cooler defninitely works best on a flat surface, but lap use is still doable. I would recommend the cooler if you are experiencing heat related lock ups. If you are looking for a cooler surface to rest your notebook on your lap, I would try something else.
  
  
  
  
  
• Worked Great for 2 months!!!
  By A1R3GL71O3AXAY on 2006-10-20
  Thought this thing was the best thing ever . . . until it went kaput after only 2 months. Worked like a charm up until then. Not sure of the life span for these things, but if it's only 2 months, I recommend going with something cheaper. Works great though.
  
  
• Coolermaster Widescreen Cooler
  By A162Q5QJXX5EVF on 2007-01-10
  Nice product -- very sturdy with aircraft-grade metal. I only have one gripe--it is a bit too small from front to back. Check the dimensions before you purchase. It does keep my hot laptop quite cool, even though I had to install some rubber pads to support the back part of my laptop.
  
  
• Notebook Cooler-Design needs work
  By A26IRPS2JAP5I2 on 2007-03-20
  The cooler does seem to keep my computer cooler than just sitting in my lap, and the design seems pretty rugged. However, it is not nearly large enough (front to back) for my HP Pavilion zd8000 laptop, and it really is not comfortable at all. I continue to use if for the good of my laptop, but it is not nearly as comfortable as just the laptop.
  
  
• Nice Design - is flawed though as well as substandard parts
  By A27QXQQOLAMRRR on 2007-05-29
  I have had this item for some time now. I wanted to wait before I offered my review of the NotePal - Cool Master. I really like it's angle as well as the fact it's made from aluminum and has some nice rubber feet to hold it on the desk properly.
  
  CONS:
  1. It is too short! I have a laptop that is a widescreen 15.4" monitor and this device doesn't fit on it the way it should. The depth for were the laptop actually sits in only 8 3/4 inches. After that it slopes down and makes the last inch or 2 of this device USELESS in supporting a laptop properly. VERY BAD DESIGN CHOICE ON THE MANUFACTURES PART!
  2. The fans are worthless peices of junk. Mine are already rattling and I've only had it a few months. I now have to purchase new fans that are of better quality and install those on this device.
  3. The front of the laptop support area were the front edge of your laptop will rest is angled in too much. Even though my laptops front is angled it still hits right on the speakers of the laptop. I don't like this at all. put some 3m foam tape in there so it wont scratch up the front side of my laptop as well as block the speakers or sensor for my remote.
  
  Pros:
  1. The simple on off switch on back is easy to hit and is a nice add to the notepal.
  2. It's wide wich is a great help, would just love it to of been deaper.
  3. It's built in a way that the fans can be replaced when they die which unfortunately I already have to do.
  4. the aluminum construction is the best point of this device. It's able to take the abuse that can accur at the desk, so the frame will last.
  
  OTHER: I would of liked to of had some USB ports added to the sides near the front (would have been a nice little addon). I also would have liked for some better quality fans as both of the ones on mine rattle like a son of a gun now and I now have to replace them.
  
  Fix for shortness. I did a bit of a getto fix for the short laptop support area of this notepal. at the back edge just before it slopes down there is a grove. I just took 2 old pens of the same style and set them in the grove and the laptop ontop of those to creat enough room under there, I will fab up a metal shelf later on when i get the time.
  
  If this device wouldn't have been really needed at the time as well as cost a lot to send back I would have sent it back for the shortness of it as soon as I went to test it out and found that it was too short. But now that I have kept it I will be modifying it to suit my needs as it's metal and this can be done more easily than with all the platic peices of junk out there.
  
  
• Good product, but !.
  By A1JMZ6ORGYEB1I on 2007-06-27
  This product is everything it proclaims to be, works well, does excellent job of keeping laptop cool and is completely silent Its construction of extremely
  durable aluminum should make it last a lot longer than the laptop, "BUT" it is to darn narrow in the depth and the notebook tips off the back at the slightest movement. I am going to have to design a bracket or something to brace the laptop to prevent this.
  Sorry I couldn't give this well built item a 5, but the design needs to be improved.Cooler Master NotePal Widescreen Notebook Cooler ( R9-NBC-AWAK )
  
  
• Close But No Cigar. No Popsicle Either.
  By A2L9N5V5UEN45N on 2007-10-15
  I have a widescreen 17 inch HP laptop and this was the only widescreen cooler with fans that I found on Amazon.
  
  I agree that you need a fan. I don't understand what the point of wasting money on a STAND is. A STAND is not a cooler. If it doesn't have fans, you might as well save your money and stack up some books or do what another Amazon-er did and use Altoid tins as a STAND.
  
  Pros:
  1) Definitely quiet. So quiet that I had to check 3 times that it was working. You can't even see the fans turning, you have to turn on and off to catch that they are indeed spinning.
  
  2) Is it working? I notice a slight difference, but the heat from my laptop was never on the underside and always on the keyboard surface. The surface still gets warm but takes longer to get HOT and is not as HOT as it used to be. I guess I was expecting much more. Like for the laptop to stay COOL if I'm using a COOLER.
  
  3) The primary bonus of this cooler is the 'ergonomic tilt' it gives your laptop. Of course, as I said earlier, I could have achieved a similar effect with the use of books and some creative wadding of cardboard.
  
  
  CONS:
  1) Does this fit my laptop? NO. It is wide enough but definitely NOT long enough and so when 'fitting perfectly' my laptop perches precariously over the edge making it difficult and dangerous to type. Also, my laptop has headphone plugs in the FRONT of it and if I have speakers or headphones plugged in (which is always), the laptop does NOT fit on the cooler.
  
  I solved these 2 fit issues by perching my laptop on TOP of the lip of the cooler instead of inside the groove. If that makes sense.
  
  Conclusion:
  So nice try, but as consumers we'll just have to wait until someone gets it right. This is why it's annoying to be the first to buy new products -- and widescreen laptops aren't even that 'new' are they?
  
  For the price, I am not impressed. If you are a broke student, your computer probably didn't cost that much anyway so save your money and don't get this cooler. Otherwise, it's not a great product but it's possibly your only cooler option for your laptop.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Cooler Master NotePal Widescreen Notebook Cooler ( R9-NBC-AWAK )
  By A1R747QVPFXYSV on 2007-11-12
  This product works great for keeping the laptop cool (at least cooler), but is not very good for using on your lap. It is made out of medal with sharp corners that dig in when you use it on your lap. If you are looking for a tray to keep you laptop cooler while working at a desk, this is pretty good. If you are like most of us, and use your laptop on you lap, this is not the tray for you.
  
  
• Nice design, strong construction, but not for my 16" laptop dimensions
  By AHRMG8V8Q6QHQ on 2006-07-10
  This didn't fit my uncommon 16" Fujitsu Lifebook N5010 laptop. The Coolmaster (widescreen model) was wide enough but not deep enough. My laptop would fall off the Coolmaster backwards when lifting the screen up from it's closed position (unless I used my other hand to hold the front of the computer down). More importantly, the fans hit only mid way up the laptop's underside, whereas they needed to be much further up (about a 2-3 more inches) to be fully effective at drawing heat from the hot spot of the laptop, which happens to be at the far most left corner (where the on/off wireless switch happens to also be). Anyway, I thus had to return this Coolmaster and got a Kingwin (3 fan) instead.
  
  
• Worked Great
  By A25E0OEZTGO1WV on 2007-03-09
  I was having issues with my laptop shutting down due to overheating, so i bought this product as a quick fix. Its worked wonderfully, It keeps my laptop cool and saves me a bit of worry.
  
  
• Good, solid product
  By A2MOFX50566X7D on 2007-05-07
  I bought this as a gift for a family member's Toshiba 17" widescreen notebook, and it fit perfectly. The fans didn't quite hit the right spots, but it was good enough. Added small rubber bumpers (from the hardware store) to raise the laptop a quarter-inch in order to improve airflow and prevent scratching.
  
  The aluminum frame is solid, with sharp but polished edges. I don't know if notebook cooler's really do the trick of extending laptop life by reducing heat, but I would trust my laptop to a well designed and well made cooler like this, rather than any of those cheap plastic doohickeys.
  
  
• Depth of cooler is to short
  By A2R7QBS5W73KDO on 2007-05-14
  This cooler works great with one exception. The depth is not long enough to support a laptop that is deeper then about 12 inches. Every time you touch the monitor to adjust the angle it will do a back flip off the cooler, if you are not holding onto the base of your computer.
  
  
• Notebook Cooler - update
  By A12JTC6PPF2DBM on 2006-11-10
  My first review is below. After having some major computer problems I felt I should amend my reveiw.
  After using this product for a while I started to have electrical problems with my HP notebook. My notebook has since bit the dust - burnt out hard drive but no real explanation why it just up and died. I thought it might have some relation to the cooler but no proof. I replaced my notebook with a desktop and passed the cooler on to my daughter. She tried it once and noticed that she started experiencing some electrical problems also. Screen going blue, crashes, etc. We have since disconnected it from all computers but it does make a nice support for her laptop. Now, maybe it is just coincidence and maybe it's not. But, I felt a moral obligation to pass along my hunch.
  
  First Review:
  This worked pretty well with my HP notebook. The only problem was that the HP has its cooling fans on the left side and this Notebook Cooler has its fans along the top. I just propped my notebook up on the edge to keep the air flowing and there was a noticeable improvement in the temp of the notebook. Another nice feature was that you did not lose a USB port when plugging this in. You plug in to your computer and the Cooler has a port available for connection.
  
  
• Works nicely
  By A37UZVF1FZMWRM on 2006-11-10
  My Toshiba laptop was repeatedly overheating and shutting itself down. I have noticed a significant improvement with the Cooler Master. It does the job, is quiet, and the USB ports are a nice additional benefit.
  
  
• Cooler Master NotePal Widescreen Notebook Cooler
  By A2TMX22A2LOGUX on 2007-03-28
  I bought this for my Dell XPS M170 after I was having issues that seemed to be related to heat. When I play my game, my laptop gets extremely hot. I also usually have my laptop on all day long. I ordered this in November of 2006 and it still works great. I like that it has an extra USB port. The fans are very quiet that I forget they're even there. The black matches my XPS perfectly and the width is perfect for my 17 inch. Only thing was...as the other reviews said...it's too short in the back. Mine is short almost 3 inches. I have to be very careful when I move the screen because I have my laptop set on a small laptop cart and if it tips over, it's going to hit the floor. This is the only reason I took away a star. If it was just a little bit longer in the back, this product would be perfect in my opinion. And it definitely keeps my laptop a lot cooler. There is a noticeable difference in temperature. I would recommend this product to others.
  
  
• Cooler Works Well
  By A15YBPI1V7HQ44 on 2007-05-06
  I know that this cooler works because with it on I notice that the fan motor on my notebook computer runs less frequently. I like the slight slant to the keyboard when it sits on the cooler.
  
  

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