For my Vostro, NZXT CRYO LX or Zalman's ZM-NC2000?

I'm looking for a cooling pad that'll suit my Vostro 1500.


The notebook has 3 vents, all distributed as a positioned away from the front and back portions of the bottomside.


Anyone have any experiences with using either for the Vostro and the temperature improvements they gained?

 

Highly recommend the Zalman, take a look at the Zalman Review in my sig, its done with a Vostro 1500

 

Yeah, definitely the Zalman. I have been reading a lot of good reviews about the Zalman and I'm considering to get one of those. I have three different coolers to choose from but the Zalman is the preferred one.

 

As I matter of fact, I used your review and your temperature benchmarks for my considerations.


But...upon seeing significantly higher benchmarks on a youtube review, I've decided to go with the NZXT.

I know that the reviewer's notebook is different from mine. Its vents are located at different points. But I've found that in the environment I'll be in is much more humid with temperatures fluctuating greatly through the seasons. At the hottest temperatures, higher air output is more desirable.

I've done some research and have decided to pair a 12v AC adapter with the NZXT. I won't be doing any custom fan mods which would bring the total cost of the cooler including the AC well into the $100 range.

The Zalman was a worthy competitor from a company well-known for its cooling technology. However, I've heard more negatives than positives about it. On the plus side, cooler's aluminum vent positions are slightly better aligned with my laptop's than the NZXT. One could say based on photos on NBR that the Zalman fits like a glove." But on the other hand, I didn't like the fact that the fans indirectly blow air via a slanted angle only after pushing against a holeless area, which doesn't allow for equitable distribution of air pressure. This itself is a huge negative for me as my 3 vents are located close together in a scalene triangle formation. Having well-positioned vents but airflow that isn't distributed equally across all 3 of my vents isn't going to cut the job for me where I'm going.


Thus the Zalman was a close runnerup in my selection of coolers. It received top Amazon.com scores and the Vostro 1500 benchmarks I found for it on NBR were notable but comparable to my current free after rebate antec cooler's which I will soon discard in 3 months.

The Antec Unbeatable Notebook Cooler 200 however, was a distant 3rd. The glowing reviews were clearly from either people who had never used coolers in the past or were simply posting a review for the sake of posting (Always take reviews with a grain of salt). One reviewer kept repeating how fantastic the cooler was and how it was "worth every penny" without giving a specific reason. Also, I was hard-pressed to find any reviews with convincing temperature tests and the only one I did come across was posted on a less well-known website showing mediocre results when it came to idle/load temperature differences.



On a final note, please be sure to take some of the negative Amazon.com reviews for the NXZT Cryo LX with a grain of salt. Many if not most of them are coincidentally from Macbook Pro owners who complain that the cooler resulted in little or no difference in temperature drops. Further research into this issue reveals that the NXZT simply isn't designed to accommodate your typical MBP vents let alone the vents of every notebook on Earth. In effect, these reviews go to show not only that not all coolers are made the same, but some serve specific notebooks better than they serve others. To them, I say if you're going to pay $2,000+ for a notebook just for surfing and watching movies, you should NOT need a cooler. If you're gaming, that's a completely different story, but do your own research before giving 1-star reviews.

 

great choice. we have similar vent locations. i use the cryo LX for my m1530 and i couldn't be any happier. there are a few vostro 1500 guys that are already usin the cryo LX. check out the dell section and some of them might be able to give a few words of wisdom.

with notebooks that are smaller than 17", yur results will greatly depend on how u place yur notebook on top of the cooler cuz the cooling surface is so big. since the cryo LX will dwarf a 15 incher, u have the option to move the notebook around to find the optimal cooling spot.

i also agree that most of the duds that give the cryo LX negative reviews, just don't know what they're doing and/or talkin about.