New Belkin Laptop Cooling Pad

I just bought the Belkin Laptop Cooling Pad for $19.99 at Circuit City today and it's great. It is depressed in the center to allow for better airflow and with my Dell XPS 1530 (a pretty big notebook) it made a big difference. It also makes it more ergonomic for my wrists when I type. The build quality is kind of cheap and plastic and it doesn't have a 4-port hub like the new Targus but it feels way better than the Targus. The Targus just feels like it is blowing the hot air in circles around the laptop whereas the Belkin feels like it is actually moving the hot air away. The XPS vent is in the back and the fan for the Belkin is in the dead center but it still works great. It is usually 34.99 but on sale this week at circuit city. Try it out.

 

does it blow air up toward the bottom of the notebook or sucks it away downward? my note book sucks air in from the bottom.

 

blows air up

 

Pictures, longer review please?

 

I had been looking at that pad as well... Here's more info on it for anyone interested.

Here's a link to the Belkin Laptop Cooling pad: Belkin Laptop Cooling Pad at Circuitcity.com

 

I'm at work right now so I can't take pics of my actual setup but I can at least do the review. I always leave it plugged into my laptop and I've noticed a big difference after I've been using my computer for hours. There is no heat whatsoever when I touch the bottom of my laptop after I'm done. Usually if I've used it for 3-4 hours and I touch the bottom or where the battery is on my dell xps 1530 (great heat dissipation naturally anyway) it is usually pretty warm if not hot to touch. Ever since using this cooling pad it never even feels like I've turned on my computer at all. I can stick my hand in between the laptop and the cooling pad and the air isn't warm at all it actually feels like an air conditioner with freon or something. The room temp is around 78 F and even then it works great. I don't notice a big loss in battery life when I have this plugged in and i'm on battery power. I think it was about a 12-15 min difference with it plugged in versus not having it in at all. I also like how it small enough to carry around in my laptop backpack if I need to. The power cord is very very short but that doesn't matter I guess since you won't need it to be too long. This is my first review for this website so if I've missed something or written it in a bad format please excuse me and let me know how I can do it better next time. Hope this helps. Here are some stock pics. I will can upload my own later tonight if anyone wants to see it.

 

I just picked one of these up yesterday. You can hear it quite well, as the fans spins a bit loudly but not annoyingly so. Does the job well.

 

Belkin Laptop Cooling Pad - Quick review

I've been running mine for a week and am pleased with it. It does work as reported and if you can find it for $20-$30 I would say pick one up.

It moves a terrific amount of air and as noted by the fivespd in the original post the area between the Laptop and the pad remains quite cool. Without the pad the underside of my Alienware m15X was warm to the touch with general computing and hot under load. With the pad it's cool to the touch and only slightly warm under load.

I can't give real numbers as all I have is a rectal thermometer or an ear thermometer (thank s to my sons last cold) and I don't know which port to put it in.

The fan really moves the air but is not much louder than a normal laptop under most circumstances.

It's small, light and very portable but the wave design makes it take up more room in a notebook bag or backpack than a flat cooler.

It does take some getting used to. The back "legs" can be kicked out to elevate the back end. But they don't latch in place and it's easy to knock them over. Also there are rubber feet in the front to keep it from sliding but none in the back and none on the feet of the back legs.

All in all a great buy at a $20 price point and average at $30. Recommended.

 

Does the CPU Fan (to the bottom left ) get blocked by the pad. Because that is the most important thing that I wanna cool down.

This is what I am most concerned about before buying a cooling pad.. as most of them have support at the back edge, and that is where the cpu air intake is.

 

Belkin sucks, you are just buying their name. The quality of that unit is pretty low, and that fan just sucks.
If you want a good cooler, make one yourself. It is very easy. However you need good high quality fans which are relatively quiet. The fans used in all laptop coolers are advertised as being much more powerful than they actually are. This is why almost everyone is disappointed in the low cooling ability of the pad. If you want a good cooler get some ebm papst high quality german manufactured fans and connect them either to the usb hub for power or through an external power port.
I made my own laptop cooler, and it is amazing. My cpu under full load will never rise more than 3C above room temperature. The fans are extremely powerful at 1030total cfm.

K-TRON

 

Absolutely no sympathy from K-TRON, tells it like it is... :laugh:

 

I actually have this pad too for my M1530. Believe it or not, this actually makes the temps hotter. I believe there is not enough of a gap between the curve of the cooler, and the bottom of the M1530. How this cooler works, is that it relies on that gap, so it can cool the air below below the laptop, and then the laptop will suck up the cooler air. Where as other laptop coolers are actually cooling the laptop, with the addition too what is said above. Maybe if the fan was stronger in the Belkin it could be something.

Also, it is just cheap, and cheap feeling.

 

XD THANK YOU K-TRON you said what I cant say in my guide or outside of it to keep it balanced.

 

Sorry for resurrecting a dead thread but...

While I am sure making your own cooler is more effective, dont knock this cooler till you tried it.

It really is worth the 20 bucks you spend on it, atleast for my notebook.
It does the same/similar cooling that of the Zalman NC2000(I have owned and tried both) but at what, 1/3 of the cost? But I do wish it had two fans.

Only thing tho, it is very loud.

 

I also like mine. For $20, which is nothing, it's not bad. I'm also pleased to hear positive feedback from somene that has both this cooler and the Zalman NC2000. I find the sound to be pretty minimal.

 

Ya Zalman NC2000 just didnt do much for my notebook...but that doesnt mean the belkin = zalman nc2000 for everyone...just mine

I had this cooler once before but I returned it. I dont recall it ever being this loud so I am going to exchange this tomorrow, maybe the one I have is defective.

 

That's true. Vent placement is a big factor in this. What's the bottom of your laptop look like? I can't seem to find any pics of the bottom.

 

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk87/Lakjin/bottomofmylaptop.jpg

 

I personally think your issue Lakjin is the vent size. If you look at how many vents are down there and the size its really tiny.

 

Thats exactly what I was thinking.

I think the lack of a big square like vent w/ a fan directly behind it to draw in air, the kind you see in many notebooks, is the biggest culprit.

 

Looking at the pic some of the vents are on panels. You could order or find some spare panels and try to mod them your self. No risk as long as they are not the originals.

 

meh. too much work. i dont really have a overheating issue to do all that. i just want a cooler to be...cool

im about ready to pull the trigger on the notepal infinite...
this belkin is made of REALLY cheap material...i can literally take it apart with my hands. the fact that the infinite draws air from the back is really attracting me...i want to be able to use it on my lap.

 

...Hard to express my opinion about the Belkin cooling pad without being vulgar or obscene, but I'll try: In less than a month, I've returned two of these little gems to Costco. In both cases, the fan bearings started to howl after a few days. Suffice it to say, I've sold all my Belkin stock, told all my friends, and placed a very nasty gypsy curse on the toilet seats in the executive washroom at Belkin HQ.

 

very nice... here will be imposible to get one of those....

 

I am not sure which new Belkin laptop it is, but if it is the FSL001 then I can just say consider it one more time before you buy it....

I got a FSL001 for $9 at frys, so it was a pretty good price. But that was the only good thing. The cooler only has one fan at the center that takes none of the heat away from my notebook, but produces a relatively noticeable level of noise.