17" notebook coolers?

Hey forum members,

I know there are a lot of threads about notebook coolers etc. but I wanted to start my own thread for a reason.

After reading about a F&S Amilo Xi1554 with X1900 I am very interested in this notebook. Like a lot of members know, I am an overclock geek But I will never overclock without a notebook cooler.

So I am looking for a 17" notebook cooler that cools good. Sound is no problem with me, I play with a headset.

I now own a Spire Pacific Breeze cooler and use it with my M1437G, and it cools great. CPU temps are 10 degrees lower (100% full load) and HD temps are also 10 degrees lower (after playing Oblivion and BF2 for 4 hours).

But this notebook cooler will be just too small for a 17". Here are some pictures I made of my cooler with my M1437G (15.4"). As you guys can see it looks good, but it is too small.

I am interested in the Notepal W1 with 3 fans but does this cooler really cools good? My cooler has a CFM of 23.8 (fans run at 100% speed) while the Notepal W1 has a CFM of 9.5 (link)

I also read a post of a forum member that said that letting the fans work in reverse cools much and much better. How can I do that? Do I need to open and replace wires for that?

Sorry for the long thread, I hope someone can answer my questions.

Charlie

 

I used the Notepal on 17" Fujitsu and I wasn't impressed and I actually returned it. It just didn't seem to cool the way that I thought it should.

I went back to using Targus Podium CoolPad. This seems do do the trick, well at least or me it does.

 

I decided to post here for everyone to see... and thanks, it's good to have you too.

My Xi 1546 didn't fit perfectly on Coolermaster Notepal W1 cooler when I got it. I had to add two little rubberleg stickers of different height on the cooler because the notebook rocked on it without them. It was unbalanced because notebook's own legs came over from the back end of the cooler and the notebook's base is not even from every spot. Now I think it fits quite nicely and those rubberlegs keeps it well on it's place.

My CPU temperatures are lowered about 5-7C from the original. Without the cooler my temps were 54C idle and over 70C in heavy load(gaming). With the cooler same temps were 50C and 64C. Now that I have overclocked same temps are 51C and 67C. HD temps are lowered about 5C, from 45C to 40C. My GPU does not have temperature sensor so I can't say how it's temps are.

This is quite quiet cooler compared to the Spire Pacific breeze. This still overrides the sound of notebook's own fan in regular use. But when in heavy load the notebook's fan is propably a bit louder.

You might also want to take a look at Akasa AK-NBC-02 or Bytecc NC-500. They might be a better fit right from the start.

 

Thanks for the reply guys.

Ronkotus, are the fans now blowing air onto the case or are they sucking away the hot air? A forum member has let it's fan turn in reverse and he claims that his temperatures have dropped significantly.
Have you ever tried that? Or do you really need to be technically to do that?

Those temperatures look ok. But a downside is that you had to use rubberlegs.

Charlie

Edit: Here is the post of that forum member:

 

As he stated, in a way in his post, cooler's fans should blow in the same direction as notebook's fans. If I understood correctly his CPU fan sucked the air from inside the notebook. My notebook fan sucks the air in from the bottom and blows it out from the back of the notebook. Now the cooler's fans blows cooler air for the notebook to suck in.

 

So your cooler works the way it should work, that's great to hear. The thing I am worried about is: what if the internal fan would not run anymore (because the temps are low). Does that mean that GPU and motherboard will overheat or do they have their own fans at the Xi1546?

Thanks in advance.

Charlie

 

I'm not quite sure what do you mean... At least this notebook's internal fan is supposed to run all the time, but of course, not in maximum speed. Even if there isn't any noise to be heard, it's running, just very slowly and quetly. GPU and motherboard should not overheat if the heatsink is correctly in contact and has some heatpaste in between the GPU and the fan is working correctly. When the CPU and GPU is in load they generate more heat, which the internal temperature sensors detect, making the fan run in higher speeds and more louder.

Oh, forgot to mention. Now that I use cooling pad, when I stop playing a game or other heavy task, temperatures start to drop very quicly towards the low idle temperature. Without cooling pad this happens very slowly since the air under the notebook has become very warm and the fan is sucking it in.

As you can see this notebook has only one fan taking care of all the cooling:

 

So just to add my 2cents here. The Spire is more than enough to cool the laptop you mentioned. I use it with my 17" Toshiba and it cools everything down about 10C with fans on high. I have a spare Spire for when this one dies as I can't live without it.

 

i put in my two cents for the Bytecc aluminum cooler. You can check out the review in my sig but its pretty much aluminum, doesn't look as nice as the coolermaster but it gets the job done and you can always reverse the fans just by unscrewing them and rescrewing them the right way.

 

This is from Kilim's Sager 5760 Review (and Accessory Review) for his Clevo M570U (Sager 5760)... arguably the best 17" gaming notebook on the market:


Note: I actually have a Cooler Master NotePAL W1 as well, it does not work well for my big notebook (read my sig) because it scratches up the front panel. I got this Vantec LapCool4 and am very happy with it, very sturdy and portable (it folds up and fits in any notebook bag easily). It even supports my 14 pound notebook very well.

Vantec LapCool4:


LapCool4 front view ( view large image) LapCool4 under the 5760 ( view large image)

LapCool4 w/ 5760 back side view ( view large image) LapCool4 w/ 5760 front side view ( view large image)

LapCool4 w/ 5760 left side view ( view large image) LapCool4 w/ 5760 right side view ( view large image)

What I have here is the Vantech LapCOol4 LPC-430. This is the version with an 8-in-1 card reader. I got this because I wanted to have some additional cooling for my 5760 and also use it as a hub and help tilt the notebook for ease in typing.

I noticed that the tilt made by the LapCool4 helped in using the laptop by putting it on an angle. When I used my 5760 without the LapCool4 it made my hand and wrist hurt during my 8 hour shift because I was using it on a flat level. This all stopped when I have the tilt angle provided by the LapCool4.

The 3 extra USB 2.0 ports are nice when you need them. The 8-in-1 card reader is practically pointless for me due to having a built-in card reader in my 5760. (Hint: Buy the LPC-420 version if you want to get the LapCool4 for your 5760).

 

Wow, that LapCool 4 does look really nice.

Is there something to change the fan speed?

 

yes, theres a dial on the back to change fan speeds.

 

Thanks for your support (pictures etc.) but I have a comment: this Lapcool 4 is too small for your 17" notebook. I am searching a notebook cooler that perfectly fit's a 17" widescreen notebook. How did the Notepal W1 work? Did you have the 3 fans version? How was the cooling?

Thanks in advance.

Charlie

 

I just got a HP dv9000t, 1.83 Ghz Core 2 Duo, 100 Gb 7200 rpm HDD, and Go 7600. I got the Valman NC1000 notebook cooler. It has about 680 holes that are spaced right where my notebook gets hot. Many of the other coolers have the fans placed to the top of the cooler, away from the hot spots.
It lowered my CPU and HDD temps 10 degrees C. Not cheap=$50. It's about 1" narrower on each side than my laptop. Fan is adjustable, 1000 rpm is silent, and 1500 rpm can just barely be heard. Surfing the net CPU=27 degrees, HDD=32 degrees.

Ron

 

You propably meant Zalman NC-1000. It has a very good idea and looks pretty good too. It would be great if it was a bit wider for 17", but that's not propably a problem?

 

It fits fine actually, i dont need to see the entire "stage" to be under the notebook. It its support very well by the LapCool4's stand-offs.

Cooler Master NotePAL W1 is not recommended for the current 17" notebooks because the stage will not hold the notebook up correctly because it will tend to fall backwards due to the weight of the back and not getting the correct back support.

 

I totally agree with you Ronkotus. I was also looking to that notebook cooler, it looks great but too small for a 17" (30 cm, it had to be 40 cm).

Wow that's pretty impressive. How are the gaming temperatures?

That's bad to hear I wonder if Ronkotus has such problems. Maybe it is because your 17" is very heavy?

Charlie

 

No not really, I tried other 17" notebooks on the market as well. The NotePAL W1 needs about 2 more inches in depth for the stage, then it would be a great notebook cooler, which would support notebooks much better.

Since it is literally short to support, I would NOT recommend it.

 

After seeing this picture I completely understand what you mean.
This is tested with an Acer 15.4" I think. Even then the notebook is sticking out on the back.

But in this picture we can see how beautiful a 17" widescreen fits...

Charlie

 

As I stated earlier, it's just as in that first pic, it comes over from the back. Yes, it would be propably too heavy if I had the battery plugged in. It gets a bit shaky when bending the screen, but for me, it's in right angle. Haven't really even tried it with battery(forgot I even have one ), but yes, I think that would propably make the notebook crashing backwards. Going to test...

 

Thanks for the information mate!

I am very curious: how come that they make a notebook cooler that fit's perfectly in length (for 17") but not in depth? I just hate these designers that do not even know the size of a notebook!
I was really planning to buy the Coolermaster, but after hearing from you guys that it could be unstable... I don't know

Charlie

 

Well, if the size matters how about that Akasa then? I know that alexejrm uses it with the same notebook as mine. He holds the overclocking record with X1800..

 

Specs Notepal:

Specs Akasa:

So the Notepal is even longer in depth. By the way did you already tried it with your battery?

Charlie

 

Did you notice the Akasa doesn't have any sloping on the back like Notepal does. If there was no slope in the Notepal and was all even like Akasa, my notebook could propably hold on with it's own legs, without those rubberlegs I added.

Yes, I tried with the battery. It gets too heavy from the back as I presumed. The screen can only be bent about 90 degrees relative to the notebook. Not good, throwing the battery back to closet..

 

I see what you mean, the resting area of the Coolermaster is less then the Akasa. I really wanted to buy the Coolermaster Too bad it does not even fit a 15.4" perfectly...

I wonder if Akasa cools good, I saw results of the Notepal W1 cooling 10 degrees!

Charlie

 

If the notebook's intake was nearer the cooler's fans, that 10 degrees would be quite possible. Whatever cooling pad you decide to buy and it's fans blow in right direction your temps will definitely lower much quicker towards the idle temp after heavy CPU/GPU usage.

 

Well, i dont know if Akasa 17" notebooke cooler has a better cooling then others coolpads, but it fits my XI1546 perfektly.

 

I have tried out so many notebook coolers... and to tell you the truth the only one that worked out right was the vantec lapcool 2. I have tried the lapcool4 which was horrible.. they decided to use more plastic and way less alluminum. The lapcool 2, has a large piece of alluminum in the middle which stays cool.. no matter how hot your laptop gets(i used it on the first mbp model...which was burning hot). The lapcool 2 also has 4 usb ports and a fan controller... what more can you ask for.

I have used it on a 15.4" mbp, 12.1" powerbook, 17" dv8000t, and 15.4" acer 5672. I did play alot of games too...

 

Sorry, this is not on the topic, but i'd still like to ask...

I cannot find ANY shop which would sell Fujitsu-Siemens Xi 1554...
Does anyone here know about any shop (online or not) selling it?