recommendations for a quiet and portable laptop cooler

Like the title says, I'm looking for a laptop cooler that is fairly portable and as near silent as possible. Active or passive is fine. This is going to be used in class, and most of my classes are 3-4 hours long. It also needs to be compact and light enough to go in my backpack with my laptop. I know the Zalman NC-1000 is very highly recommended, but it looks a little heavy and big to carry around in a backpack. Any information to the contrary on its size is welcome though. It will also be used when I sit on the couch or in bed at home.

It will be used with a Sager NP2090. Don't have it yet, as I still have about another week or so to wait until it ships from powernotebooks.com. Just trying to get some ideas for what to buy before I get it.

Thanks!

 

I think the Gigabyte G-pad is the only one that suits your needs in the classroom.

 

you know what... I honestly believe that those coolers are more marketing and hype rather than real usefulness... If you bought a notebook during the last years, you should be ok without one....

 

I believe they're not really worthwhile if your laptop is on a hard surface, but very useful if it's on your lap, bed or pillow since they keep you from feeling the heat and allow the laptop to breathe.

 

Na, they actually work everywhere. I can easily notice a 3-5 degree cool-down of my laptop with my $13 Targus cooler - which is basically just 2 fans.

 

the zalman cooler is not heavy unless you're a 5 year old kid

 

My Vantec Lapcool4 folds, so I guess it would be considered 'portable'

It does help me a lot. Without it, the heat from the hard drive heats the entire keyboard to uncomfortable levels. With it, the heat isn't quite so severe, and in a much smaller area.

This 90* heat-wave, however, doesn't help matters at all.

 

Don't get the cooler master one. It will take off the finish of the bottom of your laptop. The aluminum is not smooth where you laptop stays and grips it and scratches your laptop.

 

Not meaning to sound like a jerk, but my question wasn't whether or not they're useful. I was looking for recommendations for which one to buy. Any excessive heat takes away from the total lifetime of a computer, and even if it's only a difference of a few months, I'd like to get as much out of my $1700 Sager as possible.

The specs I've seen put it right around 3 lbs, which isn't heavy by itself, but combined with textbooks, notebooks, and a 6 lb laptop it's a little more than I'd like if I can avoid it.

The G-pad looks like a good choice, although it looks like it would be a little uncomfortable sitting on your lap with the aluminum fins. Maybe with some kind of pad to set it on when I'm in bed or on the couch, it would be great. I'll look into that some more. I was also looking at some foldable coolers like the Vantec Lapcool 4 that Liquid Steel recommended, and one from Thermaltake.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=60914
Great Giude^^

 

Thanks ThomasH! Never saw that in my searches on the forum. I'll read through it on my breaks during class tonight.

 

Is battery life a concern? I posted that passive cooler because running those fans off of your notebooks power is sure to drain it pretty quick, especially if it's a long lecture in a bright classroom with power outlets nowhere to be found. Battery life is of utmost importance to me, so I haven't considered buying anything with fans.

 

Battery life isn't much of a concern. These are computer lab style classrooms (I'm taking CCNA, Linux, Server 2003, and intro to C++) so power outlets are accessible. Only time battery life might be a concern is sitting in the library or some place between classes.

 

We sell those Antec coolers at Staples, where I work. They sure are quiet, but they feel like they'd break easy, and they barely move any air at all. Also, it would probably fall apart in a backpack fairly quickly.

 

i use four gatorade caps on the four corners of my notebook... drops temp 3-4c while idle and it's basically free

 

I know it might not be the most portable, but anything from Cooler Master is awesome.