What's the best cooling pad?

I recently bought a Dell Inspiron 1520 laptop (14.1" W x 10.6" D x 1.7" H) and was wondering what the best cooling pad would be for it.

There are so many out there and I have no idea which is the best that would fit my computer. I was hoping to spend no more than $70, but I'll spend more if necessary.

Help anyone!

 

For that size laptop I would recommend the Zalman NC-1000 which can be had on Newegg for $42.99. It is arguably the best 15.4" and under laptop cooler available.

 

I'd say zalman 1000 since they perform pretty well on dells. But generally the best cooling pad for your laptop depends on how well your laptop air intake fits with the cooling pad's cooling vents. Usually its hard to find a cooling pad that fits your laptop specifically, so its almost always safer to go with ones that shoot cool air over a wide surface. Coolmast infinite and Zalman NCs will do the job.

 

Take a look at the notebook coolers buyers guide. (link in sig)

For that specific notebook both posts provided by users are actually incorrect.
The NC2000 works quite a bit better then the NC1000 for the 1520 (same as the vostro 1500). In my sig there is a comparasion of the two coolers using a Vostro 1500 which is the same as your notebook just in full black. As stated earlier the 2000 will do better. Another cooler that may be worth a look is the NZXT Cryo.

Personally I reccomend the Zalman NC2000 since it works wondors with the cooling configuration set on the 1520/1500 notebooks

Its all about the alignment of the fans and ventalation of the notebook and the vents and fans of the cooler

 

You can have the NC2000 from buy.com for ~35 shipped, if you use sign up for their CC(and get approved), which will give you a $30 off coupon, and use a 5% off coupon.

That is actually were I was going to pick mine up, but seems I didnt get approved for the CC (I literally have no credit history so I am not surprised). Instead I picked up a used one for the same price. Still not a bad deal.

 

the BEST cooling pad for any 15.4"+ notebook would have to be the nzxt cryo LX. hands down.

zalman units would be the best IF u care about performance:cost ratio.

 

ONCE AGAIN WRONG!

PEOPLE. THE BEST NOTEBOOK COOLER IS BASED ON THE SPECIFIC NOTEBOOK NOT ON THE SIZE OF THE NOTEBOOK! LEARN AND QUIT JUST POKING OUT THE COOLER THAT IN YOUR OPINION IS BEST USE PROPER KNOWLEDGE.

The NZXT is also an option.

(side note) Zalman is also FAR quieter then the NZXT

 

Yes, the vent placement of the notebook and cooler is crucial to whether a cooler will work well with a notebook.

 

i use this simple elevator/cooler.


cheers ...

 

oh, it is called X-Cross by the company Xystec

cheers ...

 

Not to mention the NZXT uses a lot of power. Some reviews mentioned how some notebooks cant even use the NZXT at full power because most USB ports have limitations of how much power can be drawn thru them. I dont know if this is a concern with the newer notebooks or not, but just saying.

 

u have no personal experience with the nzxt. u go and tell everyone the zalman units are the best only cuz u've done reviews on them.

the nzxt WILL EASILY cool any 15.4" and under, regardless of fan/vent placement cuz it WILL cover it. most notebooks above 15.4" will have fan/vent placement in the mid/rear, so the cryo lx shouldn't have a problem with them.

not sure how quiet u want a cooler to be, but i have to check to make sure mines on from time to time.

i'm willing to put my money where my mouth is and say: the zalman units can't even compare to my cryo lx when it comes to versatility, function, and build quality.

like i said, the cryo LX is the best cooler available now. the zalman units would be the best *for the money*.

and to lakjin: i'm not very sure how those ppl came up with those assumptions. i read a few reviews statin that too, but as far as i can tell...they were just assumptions.

 

have you tried pluggin your cryo into a desktop and seeing if it goes faster?
the reviews that i read stated that they tried that and they found out that the cryo fans ran faster while plugged into a desktop, supporting the idea that in notebooks it doesnt receive full power.

and I agree with X2P. For some notebooks the cryo might work best. In others the zalman nc2000. it all depends on how the vents are situated.

 

hm...i'll try to check that out later.

i couldn't tell any difference while runnin the cooler on my m1530 and toshiba satellite. i actually have mine connected to a wall-powered USB hub at all times, but i will try the desktop thing a little later.

the thing about the cryo LX is that it has HUGE real estate. u could easily move yur notebook around to find optimal cooling. but a person with no personal experience with it wouldn't know that.

thanks for the desktop info btw.

 

np.

as i have not have any personal experience with either of them, i can only judge by looking at the pictures.

and by looking at the picture, to me it seems that the cyro would be better for notebooks that have more intake vents towards the back of the notebook, while the NC1000 would be better for notebooks that have vents towards the front. but thats just my analysis by looking at the pictures.

 

The Antec NoteBook Cooler I ordered just arrived. It works great with my HP dv6000. And it was only $14.99.

 

Actually I have on several occasions had expierence with NZXT Cryo, some of my friends even own one and I do not offer Zalman as the only option. This is one of a select few posts where it was not mentioned on my first suggestion. Go look at the cooler buyers guide (which is being re-written but will be posted asap (currently have final exams))

And no, some notebooks have fans oriented towards the front which the NZXT can sure as heck still cool but not to the full potential of the notebook.

Actually they can, they are sold as a rock with high build, all the NZXTs I have come across had slightly sharp edges on some edges but also hard as a rock. Function, This cannot be comparable as they are completly differnt forms of cooler. Versatility sure the NZXT can be used just with the back bit but no one does that >.<

Kind of hipocrytical to just assume someone has never used what he has not posted, exactly what you are saying, assuming is wrong and guess what you were wrong by being hipocrytical.

One last note you may want to take "MoFo" out of your location as I believe that word is not allowed on these forums and may get you introuble with a mod

 

u've stated in other post(s) that u've only seen the cryo LX. never actually had any realtime use with it. not sure what sharp edges have to do with anything, but it was designed to be big and BOLD.

i didn't go with the zalman units cuz they failed to meet my requirements. quit bringin up fan/vent location as an argument. thats a VERY simple concept that i already got. go measure any laptops' vents/fans. vent location is THAT spread apart from front to back. the zalman units simply cannot push as much CFM as the cryo LX either. and u say, "some notebooks have fans oriented towards the front which the NZXT can sure as heck still cool but not to the full potential of the notebook." thats BS cuz i've seen better results from my cooler than any of yur results, in yur reviews. i just don't really state that fact cuz i'm not here to bash or take anythin away from u or anyone else's hard work. i just wanna let ppl know there's more options out there and tryin to prevent them from becomin a sheep.

trust me, i've tested a few different notebooks, with different fan/vent setups. i've read yur reviews and the coolers buying guide alot of times. if anythin i appreciate all yur hard work and dedication. its just nice to see ppl more open minded.

 

Hence other posts being in the past, not in the present more present posts show that I have handled them and saw perfomance with different notebooks multiple times but not owned one.

First off if you read the comparasion of the NC1000 and 2000 it makes it clear that cfm means nothing. Positioning is actually VERY IMPORTANT it is not "BS" as you state it is actually common sense. Although CFM may make up for most of the slack you will expierence more noise and possibly sub par resaults to better positioning. Secondly you are on quite a rant and may and your spelling grammer skills are clearly lacking. Rants usually end up with bannings and your posts are consisntant to those who have been banned over rants. I suggest you cool off a bit before mods show up

 

Positioning and proper air flow is quite significant when it comes to notebook coolers.

My temps > yours. Muahahaha :yes:

 

trust me...i am nowhere NEAR ranting. i *thought* i was just sharing my knowledge with u and everyone else. if that is how u feel when u read my posts then lets just end it with this.

first off...its spelled "grammar." secondly, this is not an english class. this is a forum where a collective amount of notebook *enthusiast* come together and share their insights and personal experiences with each other. i guess i was in over my head when i was expecting everyone to read the *CONTENT* of my posts, instead of nitpickin at my "grammar" errors.

it is VERY easy to proofread and correct some VERY MINOR things...i mean...it even underlines yur spelling errors after u type it. but let me ask u this. do u go around sayin, "hey what is up my friend?" or do u say "hey wassup man?" i type like how i speak. i keep it real with *MYSELF*. i would also appreciate it if u stopped throwin the "mod card" at me. i respect the mods cuz they will do what they have to do when it comes to enforcing the rules of the forum. please do not threaten me with such a stupid statement. like i said in my previous post. i have nothin but respect for u and anyone else that has taken their time out of their lives to share their information with me and the rest of the forum.

 

calm.
down.
...please

EDIT: Just got my zalman...fail...just FAIL.
I shoulda got the infinite or the cryo =(
I posted a review in the gateway sub thread for anyone wondering what I am talking about.

 

i place my laptop on a block of dry ice.

 

buy a 3 dollar packet of sticky notes. thats enough