Cooler Master Notepal U1 / U2 Notebook Cooler Review | Pics, Stats and my take on the cooler

Cooler Master Notepal U1 / U2 Notebook Cooler Review​

THIS IS AN INDIVIDUAL REVIEW!

Bringing together the benefits of both passive and active coolers, the Cooler Master U Series takes the adjustable cooler to a new level. Portable, adjustable and efficient the Cooler Master U series teases perfection but just isn’t quite there yet.

Specifications
In this review I will be reviewing both the U1 and U2.

Note: There are two versions of each individual U series coolers. One version comes with a fan, while the other is just the stand

Cooler Master Notepal U1
Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.3 x 2.1 inches (269 x 210 x 53 mm)
Weight: 355g (Fan edition)
Material: Aluminum and rubber
Noise: 25dBA
Input Voltage: 5V / 500mA (Connects with Notebook USB Port)
Colors: Black and Silver
Supported Size: 7″ – 12”” (I recommend up to 10”)

Fan
Fan Quantity: One
Individual Fan Size: 80mm (17.4 CFM)
Bearing Type: Sleeve Bearing
RPM: 2000 RPM

Price: 15$

Cooler Master Notepal U2
Dimensions: 13.5 x 10.5 x 2.3 inches (343 x 266 x 58.6mm)
Weight: 725g (Fan edition)
Material: Aluminum and rubber
Noise: 25dBA
Input Voltage: 5V / 500mA (Connects with Notebook USB Port)
Colors: Black and Silver
Supported Size: 14″ – 17” (I recommend up to 15.4” W)

Fan
Fan Quantity: Two
Individual Fan Size: 80mm (17.4 CFM)
Bearing Type: Sleeve Bearing
RPM: 2000 RPM

Price: 20$

First Impressions
Inside the clear packaging I found the cooler, fan(s) and a large band. Leaving instructions only on the back, Cooler Master appears confident that the cooler is relatively easy to operate

For larger images click here...





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Cooler Master designed this cooler to be light, versatile and effective. With a thickness of only one millimeter, Cooler Master clearly achieved its goal of designing a light cooler. Unfortunately the lightness came at the cost of stability.

The Cooling Surface and System
The cooling surface resembles that of a Zalman notebook cooler. Circular vent holes cover the majority of the brushed aluminum surface while the upper corners and bottom center area are wrapped in rubber. [Later on in this review, I will touch on the rubber sections in more detail.]

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The cooling system is the seller of the U series. Like your average notebook cooler the fans intake at the bottom and push cold air out the top. What makes the U series stand out is its unbeatable adjustability. With nearly no limits on the location of the fan on the cooling surface the U2 allows for the user to get the best cooling. However, this method is only effective if there are vents above a specific component. For example, the cooler was unable to drop the temperature of my hard drive (15.4” notebook) as there were no vents located around the hard drive. Furthermore the spottiness of my vents caused issues as only two fans were provided for the U2 allowing only two areas to be covered.

Furthermore, a design flaw on the cooler is the angle at which the cooler is slanted on. If the fan is not set in the furthest rear position possible the air flow becomes restricted. To remedy this I highly recommend you put something solid under the front to raise it up to the same level as the rear. This will tremendously increase airflow without raising the noise level which is overall quieter than on average but can still not be considered silent.

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To adjust the fans Cooler Master has fitted each individual 80mm fan with a special latch mechanism. On the side of the fan there is a button, when pushed two of the hooks retract in the direction of the other two hooks (which are immobile). This allows you to fit the fans on to the actual stand.

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The Sides

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The Bottom and the Rear
There is not much to the underside though it is designed to protect your notebook on the go. I will touch on this later on in the review under “Portability”

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Statistics
Notepal U1 test with a 10″ Netbook

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Notepal U2 Test with 15.4″ Widescreen

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Portability
For their size both the U1 and U2 are both far more portable then you would expect. In my opinion they are both nearly the most portable coolers on the market.

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Here is why: If the fans are removed from either of the U series coolers, a notebook can easily slide in on the underside of the cooler. The elastic band lets you cool and protect your notebook anywhere you please. Although not the most protective, when put into a notebook sleeve or bag the extra rigidity created by the cooler can help protect a notebook from being crushed. On the downside the elastic provided is too large and stretchy in our opinion. Even with our 15.4” test unit there was far too much lax on the elastic to hold the notebook on to the U2.

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Furthermore, the “rubber” used to protect the notebook while in a bag and to hold it to the desk was not the greatest quality. It feels like a cheap kneaded eraser (image below). It tears rather easily, absorbs body oils and lacks grip.

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Conclusion Cooler Master has come up with an amazing design on paper, though in practice it would have been nice if they put a little more thought into the practical design of the product. As a cooler the U1 and U2 are nearly unbeatable and for that it is rather easy to overlook the shortcomings of the build and other flaws I have mentioned.

Pros:

• Adjustable fan location
• Comparatively quiet fans
• Portability

Cons:

• Build quality
• The angle

 

Excellent review X2P. I am thinking of buying a cooler myself for my Acer 6930G and I was between Notepal Infinite and X2. But now there is one more option on the table and that is the U2. My only concern will be the wideness of U2 as my laptop (16'') is 38.5 cm wide.
Do you know if there is a wider version of the cooler?
I guess it is a great thing to be able to place the fans (almost) wherever you like making the cooler suitable for more laptops (my laptop's vents are on the left side).
There might be something that I missed but if you have the U2, do you need to use two USB ports or one (by placing both USB cables in a serial manner in one port)?

Also a mistake that I spotted, your first graph for the U1, you've written as a title 'Average Load Temps', I guess those are the Idle temps.
I would also add in the pros the price cause the coolers are really cheap as chips.

 

There is not a wider version available. Ill talk to my sources about it and see what comes up.

The U2 only takes a single usb fan.

IMO its a good step but there is a major flaw with this system. It was unable to cool off my Clevo too well as it was not able to directly cool the parts as they were not directly above the vent. It only cools what you target.

 

Whats that 3/16" perforated steel?

I like the idea of being able to move the fan and position it where ever you want
However coolermaster is a poor fan at best (unless its a delta rebrand) -usually its Y.S.Tech, or top motor

I wonder why these manufacturers continually place the fan right up on the grating, its a great way to loose more than 50% of the air volume, and drastically increase turbulence

K-TRON

 

Its so they dont make a notebook cooler that is not half a foot tall. You get more airflow in a concentrated area by putting the fan up on the metal. but by having more space below the fan can suck up more air. Try putting a fan on a table and feeling the output then lift it an inch or two... major difference

And since the fans are positionable its fine to have the airflow concentrated. That is the whole idea of the U1/U2

 

X2P!!!

Awesome Review & Pic's
For $20 I would try the Notepal U2

I always enjoy reading your Notebook Cooler reviews.

You can tell you put a lot of effort into them. They are very well thought out, thorough, and appear very accurate to me (a Cooler NoOB).

I don't know a lot about Notebook Cooler's, but I have always relied on you as a resource when it comes to questions about Notebook Coolers, as such!

Kudos on another job well done! +Rep

Cin...

 

I just bought the NC2000 for my np9262, and it has not improved my temps what so ever. Well maybe 1c if that.... I might return and try this option.

 

I would not recommend it for your notebook as your notebook is just too large for it. Make sure your fans are on the cooler part of the NC2000 (slid your notebook down) or flip the cooler around and boost it on the back so that its level.

Also take a look at the NZXT Cryo for that laptop it should align quite well.

 

Youve got a PM, I strategically asked you those questions in response to your PM's I received months ago asking me how heatsinks are made

K-TRON

 

FYI - returned the NC2000 and might get the NZxt. Looking at the dimensions at the U1/ or U2 it's to small.

 

I own a Gateway P7809u and I am interested on this laptopcooler and have some questions. Is it too small for my notebook to fit under and above it? Are the fans push or pull?
Thanks for the help.

 

is the P7809u a 17" notebook?

 

Yes it is a 17" laptop.
Dimensions: 15.75" x 11.75" x 1.3-1.7"

 

Your notebook would be far too small. You would have major overhang and issues hitting your fan locations. I recommend looking at larger coolers such as the Zalman NC2000 and NZXT Cryo LX

 

Just curious how well this will fit 14 inch notebooks like N81V/X83VP?

 

the bigger one will fit like a charm im sure.

 

Looks like I'll be getting a U2 soon. I love the fact that you can choose where to put the fans.

X2P: do the fans light up?

 

no they don't...i have the u2...it woks well for the all metal chassis of the envy.

 

Oh good, I'm putting my order in on Amazon soon!

 

Would be nice if there was a wider version for my laptop

I might just get a wire rack and take the fans out my current cooler, and attach them to the rack itself.

 

I actually bought the U2 cooler after reading X2P's review shortly before Christmas. My main lappy is the NP8662. People in the forums have heard of some users grumbling about the hard drive temps in these machines.

I've actually cut out a circular hole and glued a black metal metal mesh on the inside of the bottom cover to help cool the hard drive. With the U2's fan system, I can target specific parts and that helped immensely.

Oh, and a long overdue thanks goes out to X2P for the review.

 

Does the U1 come with a fan? On the website it lists a 'fan edition' which suggest there are two versions but i can't find the 'fan edition' anywhere. I've looked on a few sited and a fan is not mentioned in the spec. Also some have a pic with a single fan attached.

Nevermind, just saw this in the OP Note: There are two versions of each individual U series coolers. One version comes with a fan, while the other is just the stand

Where can i find the fan version in the uk?

 

Anyone? I'd get the U2 but i don't have the deskspace. Can't seem to find a U1 with a fan anywhere.

 

Does the envy actually fit? The dimensions don't quite match up. Care to post a pic?

 

Picked one up for my wife's Vostro 1720 since her Cryo-LX was stolen with the old laptop. The ability to place the fans to match the vents actually made this cooler, even though much smaller, more efficient for cooling the 1720. Even though it hangs over the edges, the fans line up with the vents just peachy.

Decided to pick up a 2nd one for my new E6400 for mobile use without fans. Love that I can tuck the laptop into the cooler for travel and it is VERY light weight. Works great even without the fans for mobile use when I'm at a friend's house, etc.

 

^That's why i want one. So the cooling is substantial? I need it for an M1330.

 

Even though the Cryo-LX was massively oversized, that's what I used for my (now-stolen) M1330 and it worked great.

On the 1720 the U2 made several more C difference in cooling with the fans placed just right for the vents (over the Cryo-LX). On the E6400, even without the fans, just getting it off the desk for better airflow makes 7C difference at idle. (at ~74F ambient).

I'm surprisingly sold on how well this light, affodable cooler works.

 

Thanks. I wasn't sure how effective a fanless stand could be. I have
a stand so can elevate the laptop anyway but if i add my own fans or can get them from Coolermaster it would be worth it. Wish i could find a U1 with a fan but the nearest i have found was on ebay india! http://cgi.ebay.in/Cooler-Master-No...tDomain_203?hash=item563af3f12a#ht_5363wt_939

 

Review is pretty accurate, I picked one up a week ago after looking around and comparing. I do agree that the angle is fairly steep compared to what I'm used to, but for $20 I don't mind sticking a ruler under the front to prop it up a cm.

Cools 9c better than my old as crap targus did and is at LEAST 10db quieter... you could easily take it into a library and not think twice about making noise. I wonder how far a G73 would hang over it though.

 

I am planning to go for U2 for my HP DV5z, Is it right choice? my Hp DV5z is like fryin pan... gettin too much hotter.

 

Have you cleaned the vents or undervolted the CPU? The AMD CPU in that dv5z undervolts pretty well. Check the undervolting guide in the hardware section.

 

First off, thank you for your cooler reviews! Have helped me more than any other source for picking the right laptop cooler.

Don't know if this has been mentioned anywhere, but when ordering this cooler off of Amazon I noticed that Amazon.com: Thermaltake Mobile Fan II External USB Cooling Fan - Us: Electronics and Amazon.com: Thermaltake Mobile Fan 12 External USB Cooling Fan… are often bought together with it. That's actually exactly what I had in mind! Adding a third usb powered fan to directly hit whatever vent area the other 2 fans miss. Wouldn't be hard to rig an attachment underneath the cooler and with that 3 pin to usb adapter I think you can basically use any 3 pin 5V fan you want.

Thoughts?

 

i am looking into U1/U2 and my laptop is smack right in the middle in terms of dimension. 12.4x9.2x 1-1.3 inches. which one should i go for? i want the U1 but i think it may be too small... i heard U2 is too big and causes sliding problem for even the 14" laptops... any advise would be appreciated.

 

Go for the U2, the U1 will be far far far too small. If you need more grip just pick some sticky grip bits at a local hardware shop

 

I picked up a U2. Great cooler for $20. The fans are audible, but they create good air flow considering they are running on USB (5v). I made my own usb fan power adapter and tried some 80 and 92mm fans I had laying around and non of them performed as well with the 5v of power as the stock fans.

 

i just got the U2 cooler for my 13.3" vaio. w/ my laptop size, the paddings on the corners are definitely too far away to hold my laptop in place. the rubber feet on my laptop can still hold on the metal mesh without the fans installed. with the fans in place, the nubs on the fan clip pushes the laptop even higher causing dramatic sliding and instability of the laptop.

my solution is to place several velcro stickers on the U2 pad and allow the rubber feet on my laptop to slide to the proper position and be stopped by the velcro. stability improved dramatically. now i need to do some cooling tests.

 

Just got my Notepal u2 today and one of the fan stopped working already WTH ??

Anyone experience this before??

 

Will the U1 be too small for a 11.6" netbook? Would kinda like the cooler to exactly fit the notebook dimensions.

 

So, I bought the Notepal U2 a few days ago, and after testing a few configurations with the fans, I can't get any noticable improvement on this cooler compared to my brother's cheap $5 cooling pad bought from FiveBelow. At some times, that cheap fan does better than this U2.

Uhh. All the fans and computer vents are clean (the laptop itself is only a couple weeks old). The front of the U2 is lifted up (I used 2 old N64 cartridges to prop up the front corners). There's sufficient air circulation in the room I'm in. Am I possibly forgetting something?

Here's a pic of the bottom of my dm4t:


Any suggestions on how I can get more noticable improvements with the Notepal U2?

 

I was shipped the Notepal U3 about a week ago for my 17-inch M570RU. Got it delivered for under $27US from COOLER MASTER R9-NBC-8PCK-GP NOTEPAL U3 9IN-17IN (ORDERED AS NEEDED FROM MFG) - BLT Catalog

This is the first laptop cooler I've ever owned.

The price is great, but I'm underwhelmed with the performance. I aligned 2 of my fans with the CPU and GPU heatsink vents, not the heatsink fan intake vent, and the other with the passive vents for the mobo. There are no vents directly for the HDD or any other vents along the bottom.

Under 100% load (prime95) I saw really no difference in CPU temps with or without the cooler. This is not too much of a problem because I only get to 62C at 100% load anyway.

Under 100% load (furmark) I saw about 2-4C drop in GPU temps with the U3. The GPU is what I wanted the cooler for because I have my GPU overclocked with added voltage and it gets hot. I was hoping to get more of a drop, say 6-8C so I would either have safety/longevity headroom, and/or I could OC the GPU some more.

Did I align my fans wrong?
Am I expecting too much from the cooler?

I will say the stock M570RU fans have Fn+1 speed control and they really rev up (and get loud), so maybe it is hard to improve on stock.

The 80MM fans on the U3 seem a bit weak but silent. I had to lift the U3 up to ensure they were spinning. I like the pad itself; with rubber feet on the top front and back, keeps the laptop from shifting; rubber on the bottom front and back keep the cooler from shifting. I also like the portability of it. Overall I would rate it high. I really like Cooler Master products. If I can get a bit better cooling, I would give it perfect marks.

I haven't really tested it too much. Maybe there is a way to change fans and reuse the nifty mount system to attach it to the underside of the pad. I would get one more stronger fan for my GPU at the expense of a little more noise, especially since the stock M570RU fans are loud already.

 

Test results!!!
Test software: HW monitor to monitor temps and 9+ minutes of ORTHOS to allow laptop loading pass max temp.

Test Components - initial temp - Temp w/o U2 - Temp w/ U2 no fan - Temp w/ U2 fans on
ACPI ---------------- 42'C --------- 86 ------------- 86 ----------------- 84
CPU cores ----------- 36'C --------- 75 ------------- 75 -----------------73

Under the tests I allow the computer to cool down back to initial temps before restarting a new test. there was no difference between not using U2 and using only the mesh in this test. I believe the 9 minutes of torture test has allowed the heat soaked and causing the max temp to be the same. however, the fans prove to be useful in lowering temperature by 2'C even through the 9 minutes of ORTHOS load.

overall, I am happy with the product. but it would be better if cool master includes attachable stops on the mesh to prevent smaller laptops to slide off

 

Honestly the U2 is not the best cooler for your notebook but I would put one fan on the two vents in the middle and one towards the one in teh front then lift of the front of the u2 an inch to match the back and see how it goes.

Great to hear that its been treating you well!

Once again good to hear!

 

My U2 fans is making irritating squeak/whirl sounds. Anyone else have this problem ?