Notepal U2 vs Cheap $5 Cooler?

I posted a short version of this in a thread before, but seeing as my return deadline is approaching, quick feedback would be highly appreciated :3.

So I bought the Cooler Master Notepal U2 for my hp dm4t, hoping that its movable fans could target the left side only (since my dm4t seems really bipolar in that regard; only the left gets hot, the right stays cool to the touch on both the top and bottom). Compared with this, I also have my younger brother's old, $5 generic cooler bought from FiveBelow about a year or two ago.

But here's the thing: that cooler seems to be doing the exact same (if not at times better) than my U2. Even if I position the fans of the U2 in the exact same spots as the generic cooler, I can't seem to get cooler results.

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


I also followed suggestions before of raising the front part of the U2 so that more air flow can get to fans placed on the lower half of the mesh grid. There's sufficient airflow in the room. Ambient temperature is normal.

I compared the two coolers with 1 hour of gameplay from Assassin's Creed II (at different intervals, so the laptop had plenty of time to cool down inbetween) and took stats from HWMonitor at the immediate second that I closed out of AC2.

With the U2:
CPU Core #1: 55 C
CPU Core #2: 56 C
GPU Core: 64 C
HDD: 35

With the generic $5 cooler:
CPU Core #1: 56 C
CPU Core #2: 60 C
GPU Core: 57 C
HDD: 35 C

Sooo... any ideas on what I could do to improve the U2's performance? I feel like it should be doing better than this; that, or the cheap $5 crap my brother bought is doing infinitely better than that's expected to. And if that's the case, then I'll go ahead and return this U2 lol.

But yeaaah. All feedback much appreciated D:

 

Return the U2 and get $5 cheapo cooler.You shouldn't have to do anything(and I think you can't)to improve the performance of the U2.I am not surprised though.Sometimes as consumers we are contitioned to believe that more expensive is better when in reality we are paying for extra advertising and Brand recognition.Sometimes....

 

True, but, gah idk. It makes no sense that if I put the fans in the exact same spot, but the U2 has a little more airflow beneath the laptop since it's raised, then how does it still do worse than the generic cooler? And on top of that, the U2's fans should be better (both are rated at 5V, but the U2 has 500mA and 2000rpm versus the generic's 180mA and 1500rpm). I have no idea if this is a big difference or not, but either way, I still feel like I'm missing a piece of the big picture..

 

That happens when vents are small. The fast air hits the bottom and moves across the bottom face, creating a low pressure that draws air away from the vents. Sometimes faster doesn't mean more efficient.

 

You could always build a "made from a desktop" cooler: http://forum.notebookreview.com/not...7-my-laptop-cooler-made-desktop-new-post.html

 

@caddyhawk: Hmm. That's really interesting. Thanks!
@the joker: Haha yea I saw that thread. Nice cooler and all But unfortunately, a bit lacking in the 'portability' aspect XD.

 

I use the Cooler Master Notepal Infinite and it works rather well (I have a similar layout on the underside of my notebook). However, it is $20. The U2 was on sale for $5 at Fry's after $10 rebate recently. I'd say that if the $5 cooler works for you, return the U2.