Cooling pad for my Dell XPS 14 (L401X)

Hi folks,

My XPS gets pretty hot, especially on the place where the heat sink is located.

The exhaust vent is on the left side of the laptop.

So I'm looking at these cooling pads:

Cooler Master Notepal X2
Cooler Master Notepal E1
Cooler Master Notepal A1
Cooler Master Notepal Infinite
Cooler Master Notepal U2

I'm confused on seeing all these cooling pads. The X2 seems to have a silent 140mm fan and configurable fan speeds, whereas the E1 has a bigger fan.

And the A1 has several air intake vents, and the U2 has customizable fan positions.

Fan noise is not much of an issue.

All that I need to know is that which one gives the best superior airflow? Since what I want is biggest decrease in temperatures, so which one can bring the best decrease in temps?

Guys, I have to buy one urgently, so I need replies at the earliest. Thanks.

 

I'm desparately looking for a good reply. Thanks.

 

Cooler Master Notepal U2 (owned one for a few days)

Pros:

you do not lose a usb slot because the USB that powers the fans has a
usb port on it.

The customizable fan location is great

Build quality was adequate for the price, (fans felt cheap though)

Con:

The thing I did not like was that the usb needed to power the fans would
stick out of the USB (pretty long, I want to say an inch) port and I was
afraid I might hit it.

The cooler is designed for notebooks up to 19" and you specified you had
a 14" notebook, so this cooler not be right for you.

Not very portable

 

Thanks for replying.

Portability is not an issue. Since you said that the U2 is not good for my laptop (14-incher) so can you suggest any other one out of the above mentioned cooling pads? Thanks.

+Rep for your help

 

I have a 15.4 inch laptop with a 19 inch laptop cooler (Cryo LX) which the cooler sticks out 1 inch from the laptop (I like it)

You said that protability is not an issue, so I am assuming you do not mind carrying the cooler or plan on leaving the cooler at hom?

Cooler Master Notepal U2

Pros:

black color (matches alienware)

2 customizable fans

Can adjust fan speed

Cons:

Very big (up to 17 inches), big 1 inch usb sticking out that powers cooler

Sorry, I had the U3, not the U2, but it looks exactly the same, fortunately, its just a smaller size



NotePal X2

Pros:

the fan is at the center, depending on where the openings are at
underneath your laptop, it could be good or bad

Accomodates up to 15.4 inch laptops, I like having a cooler that is alittle bit larger than the laptop itself, but that is just a preference thing

The blue light looks cool, but a small laptop sitting on this cooler would probably let the blue light out which could be annoying.

Can adjust fan speed

Cons:

Blue light (looking up the product briefly, did not say if you can turn it off or not)

Fan is in the center

1 inch USB powered that sticks out of computer


NotePal Infinite

Pros:

I am looking at the cooler master, there is a new version out that has 4 usb outlets, but only comes in white.

able to control fan speed

Powered by 3 fans, but it is stationary

4 additional USB on the cooler

Cons:

Lose 1 USB outlet to power on laptop, but gain 4


NotePal A1

Pros:

Color

Cons:

I am looking around the web, but do not see an adjustable fan speed, I may be unlucky, but I do not see one



My opinion on what I would get:

Out of all the laptops, I would be interested in the notepal U2 due to the ability to adjust the location of the fan.

You do not lose a USB port, but it does stick out

If feels cheaply made and if you plan on moving it around with you alot, I would not get it because it would probably break. However, if you plan on keeping it at one spot, it would be great.

I had to get a laptop cooler because it would overheat and shut itself OFF. I had to take the covering off the hard drive and the cover off my ram to keep the laptop cool, unfortunately, it was no longer enough. The heat the ram was giving off would yank your finger off if you placed a finger on it for 2 seconds. Palm rest would get uncomfortably warm.

The laptop cooler U3 (not U2) cooled my laptop and I was satisfied with it excpet for the USB sticking out alot. Although that is with every USB plug, I would have to keep it on essentially 24/7 and I could not do that.

Sorry, I am in school, I am trying to answer this as soon as possible, so the format, spelling, is probably off

 

I own the Cooler Master Notepal U2 and I'm pretty sure you can't customize fan speed.

But over all it's is good, I find it's portable. I can fit it in my backpack and my notebook fits inside the Notepal, so it doubles as a laptop protector xD

Size isn't an issue either, I use an M11x which is 11" and it barely fits, so I imagine a 14" notebook would be perfect

 

In any case I would not get a Notepal Infinite. I received one yesterday, sent it back today. It simply doesn't cool very well.

When I started it, I didn't get the impression my laptop felt any cooler. Then I performed a few tests and temperature measurements while gaming. Okay, it is cooler than having your laptop flat on the desk. BUT! elevating the back about 2cm with a small block of wood -which I usually do- actually cooled it better!

While running Dragon Age 2 with 2nd monitor attached:

CPU: HDD: GPU:
Without cooling:
73 'C 46 'C 110-120 'C
With:
71 'C 45 'C 106-108 'C
Block of wood:
68 'C 45 'C 104-107 'C

Used a Dell Studio 1557
Room temperature 23 'C

I'm anxious to see if people have better results from different coolers using a Dell.
If not then: get a block of wood or whatever and simply elevate the back of your laptop...

 

I dunno i have the logitech n100 on the hp g62 works well to me cooler than without it. Very simple and very very light, cost only 20 bucks may want to try it. And also a cooler will not make your laptop cold it will only bring it down a couple degrees but it should do better then a block of wood. My temps stay a 40-48c on the web and 50-58c while gaming.

 

I know, but if it can get the GPU of a recent Dell below 100 'C and the HDD at 43 'C or lower that would be awesome. The threshold for the GPU is 120 'C,before it overheats and shuts down. Above 110 'C it already starts acting up with frame drops. I took the measurements with a room temperature of 23'C; you can imagine what happens when it's 30 'C+ in the middle of summer or in Southern-Asia.

Though this is for the Studio 15 variants with an ATI GPU. I don't know about the GeForce GT420M in the XPS 14 mentioned above specifically, but my friends with a XPS and nVidia also have overheating GPUs. They really cannot work without a cooler. I hope to get in touch with them to see what they're using. They have an XPS 13/15 with 9-cell battery though.

 

Thanks to everybody, I ended up with the Cooler Master ErgoStand, as there was not enough variety to choose.

NZXT Cryo LX is too costly in India. So it exceeded my budget.

Btw I got a good decrease in temps. Thanks again to all for helping me.

Will get in touch and share my results with the ergostand here.