Cooling Pads?

Anybody reccommend the best ones out there at the moment? Useful for reducing temps at full load or overclocking to keep thing stable? Looking at the Cooler Master U3 at the moment.

 

Most of the guys here on NBR have Cooler Master U3. I recently bought one for myself and I can assure you t's a great product. I previously had a Gaming Chillpad from Targus.

 

Coolermaster U3 seems to be the most popular at the moment. It's a real shame NZXT stopped making the Cryo LX - thats the one I have and it's brilliant!

 

Haha I just picked up a U3 today for my alienware 17.... Glad I made the right choice!

I was gonna get the X3 cooling pad but width was like one centimetre shorter than the notebook so I got the U3 instead.

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I used the U3 for over a year and finally smashed it on my floor....the fans are garbage IMO. I went through 3 sets of them and Cooler Master basically told me to bad so sad. I looked forever for anything else but settled on an X3 because there is literally nothing else. The U3 was quite when my fans didn't sound like there was a hockey card hitting the spokes on a bicycle and it was comfortable even sitting on my lap. It did a good job cooling the laptop off and of course you can arrange the fans however you want. Just be aware if you move it around A LOT then the clips on the fan can be fragile and the cord can wear out and break. New fans can be ordered for $10 on their website but the aluminium handle had also broken on mine right on the front and the rubber grip kept falling off so I just lost it on it one day when I plugged it in and fans did their usual sound like gravel in them problem. It might be a great cooler if it just sits on your desk and never moves but I found lugging it around a lot just destroyed it. It also does not fit in any carrying case I could find short of an Everki Titan.

So far the X3 has been ok, it isn't as comfortable angle wise , the way it sits is more aggressive on your wrists but it does seem to move more air I find due to the massive fan which is good with the 17 being completely mesh in the back. The LED's are a complete waste, you won't see them so might as well leave them off.

 

you may as well get a USB keyboard if the angle is terrible. with the U3 the screen is now higher up closer to eye level. i'm keeping an wyw on the temps to see what i get. the angle on the U3 isn't bad but it will take some getting used to and I'll probably get a keyboard when i get the chance....hate being on a budget but there's nothing i can do about it till i get some paid work.

 

If there is a costco near bye they usually cary a logitech wireless keyboard and mouse with the unifying receiver. I think it is around $25 and it is a pretty decent little keyboard if you move around a lot

 

sounds good though like i said i am waiting till i get some paid (permanent) work before i do anything i really want to do....first thing is to get some tatts done SSDs can wait

 

I will write something about Colermaster u3 notepal, tomorrow. Just bought one.

 

with the cooling pad, i am seeing only a 5-6 deg C drop for my GPU (it would hover around 59-60 deg C but it's currently hovering around 54 deg C). I also intentionally placed the cooling fans where it is most needed such as the CPU, GPU and HDDs.

I have the fans at full bore too....and they're kinda loud but enough that any game will drown it out

regardless the viewing height is good though the typing angle is not natural and playing games is disjointed because one hand is higher than the other

so the purchase wasn't a complete waste of money....at the time

also does the alienware 17 fit really nicely on the X3?

 

Yeh I had looked for the Cryo as it seems to have the best reviews, but im sure all pads reduce the temps only a couple of degrees anyway so not much between them all. Looking like the U3 then!

 

Yeah the U3 looks like the best overall and offers quite a level of flexibility with the ability to move fans around... I have my eye out for one when I need to get a cooling pad

 

I have tried many cooling pads and have come to one conclusion. They dont help with temps. The cheapest solution I've found that result in the same performance is sticking two bottle caps under the back corners to elevate the laptop for the internal fans to move air properly. Laptop coolers benefit you more than the laptop allowing you to use it on your lap without cooking the oysters.

 

im surprised no aftermarket manufacturers go after cooling solutions for gaming laptops (heat sinks, water cooling, quieter fans) Our GPU fan puts out a measly 1.74 CFM but makes hurricane noises lol Sent an email to FrozenCPU with a picture of our GPU fan, nothing available.

 

Alot of things can be modded your self.
the m14xr2 fans can be swapped into the gpu on the 17s for a 11cfm boost.
you can add extra copper to the stock heatsinks. Adding extra copper only really helps though if you have a cooling pad.

 

the m14r2 GPS fan just drops in? Anyone have PN
Just found the other link, looks very interesting. Anyone find the fans for cheap?

 

I have gone for the U3 seems the best bang for buck.

 

I wonder if it is possible to replace the current fans with 80mm or even 120mm desktop fans? Makes me wonder if the U3 has a controller that limits the power input to 0.5A for all 3 fans or the combined amperes of all 3 fans has been calculated to be just under 0.5A and it won't ever go over?

If there's no power controller then you could theoretically swap for 3 x 120mm desktop fans which make up at just under 1A and also have the speed controller.

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The U3 does definately helps , the fans are pretty low volume, im in the middle of changing out the 3 fans, for 4 Arctic cool F8 Pro fans, mounted to the U3 controlled by a fan controller on a bitfenix fan controller with its own power supply, I find that the main problem with the cooling pad is the flow rate a bit low due to the size of the holes on the surface, im cutting them open where the fans are, should have pictures in a week or two,

 

Can you not use the fan controller that comes with the U3?

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You can , the stock fan controller is a rotary dial. I wanted fan controller that has temp sensors and scalability and auto controls to help regulate temps and noise. With the f8 pro's im setting up the temp sensors to read the exhaust temp from the gpu and cpu fans to auto control the fans to keep the laptop quiet and cool when not gaming..and while gaming to help keep the laptop cooler.

 

ah ok, i am thinking lf doing a basic rewiring and seeing if 2 or even 3 120mm fans will draw at best < 1 amp.

EDIT: funnily enough I think I am getting more power from a USB to AC wall adapter than directly from the PC...placebo effect maybe.

 

Heres a teaser on a project im working on ,

 

I love my Cooler Master Notepal U2.

Cooler Master: NOTEPAL U2

20 degrees on average while gaming. That's the difference between throttling and not.

 

I have removed the original fan on cooler master NotePal U3. Mounted 2 x 80mm noctua nf-r8 they placed exactly under the fans for cpu and gpu. Put also a 140mm noctua nf-PL14 flx which cooled down the cooling blocks for the CPU-GPU and memory place. I drilled all the holes on the cooler, so they were bigger. I cut out the fan controller to usb and put on a 12-15v power supply instead. It was a good cooling on my Alienware 17. Can not use more power from my power supply on my Alienware now. With overclocking using the already 230-232w with a stock VBIOS. View attachment 112604

 

Quite beautiful ) anyone tried the x3?? I'd rather have a big fan vs the small ones of the u 3

 

I current have the U3 setup with 5 Arctic F8 Pro, 80mm Super Quite fans, run by a bitfenix recon with the temp sensors mounted and reading the cpu, gpu temps, All runs well, the Bitfenix recon is powered by its own powersupply , totally stand alone of the laptop. I chose a fan controller to use the programable auto temperature sensings and cooling, so as i browse.. its all quite.. and i game.. it auto controls the fans to max cooling, ill post pix soon ,

 

tested with large and small fans. Have found out again this combination with 2X80MM under cpu and gpu fans are optimally. 140mm is a bonus for cooling blocks. 80mm is perfect and properly adjust the fan vents to my alienware 17.
Edit:seem large fans is a big nonsense. They not cooling enough where they shall fan openings. In a small area is 80mm much more powerful than a big fan. Remember the cooling capacity is concentrated in a small area on a 80mm fan

 

I use this on my AW 18 and only at half fan power I am around 40c on cpu and 880's at idle and after 1 hour of gaming have not seen my gpu's higher than 69c.
Dual 140mm that you can adjust or take out and they push a ton of air and large radius. Pushing air faster does not mean better as it can force air back on the cooler. I have tried several coolers and this one has produced the best results by far. I will say my AW 17 with the 780m was overall a much hotter running laptop than my 18.

Amazon.com: CM Storm SF-19 Gaming Laptop Cooling Pad with Two 140mm Turbine Fans (SGA-4000-KKNF1): Electronics

 

I have adjusted my fans optimally under the fan vents for my machine. All the fan power straight into my alienware fan holes.

 

I went ahead and cut open the u3 for optimal air flow with the 80mm fans.

 

The USB sockets in PC has limits to apx 0.5A
At least thats normal output.

Wall socket is better.
The fact that im currently going to apx the max of my PSU im doing wall socket cooling pad.

Also im using another brand, its good for cooling but its not looking to good.

 

i've plugged mine into a 1A wall plug and i think it's pumping more air through

 

Almost done but here's my cooler, Its powered by a stand alone power supply, running 4 arctic cool f8 pro fans( Super Quite - amazing flow as well) , The 5th fan i plan to install later after i work on the u3 a little more, All controlled by a BitFenix Recon, Temp Sensors are installed and used to measure the temps off the radiator for the CPU and GPU from the heat pipes, All running Auto mode on the fan controller. when the cpu temps exceede 60C , the fans progressively turn on to cool and settle back down to 1100rpm , GPU fans kick in above 55C ,

 

That looks awesome?? What are we talking about cost wise?? 40$ for the u3, 40$ for the controller.. The fans don't seem to be that much, the bitfenix fans seem pretty good I may go with 5 of those.. What size are your fans? What type of tools did use?

 

the Arctic f8 pro 80mm's , i plan to install the 5th one after i add some stuff to the frame of the U3, the u3 was $26 , f8 pro fans were $6.99 each and the bitfenix recon $40.00 . The aluminium is SOFT for the U3 , i used a sharp pair of wire cutters to open up the u3 slowly, and sand paper to finish the edges, desoldered the recon's led and touch screen and rewired it as a seperate unit , mounted the brains of the bitfenix under the casing. Next Im working on a good easy way to mount the temp sensors, right now i slide them into the fins of the radiators for the GPU and CPU , 2 each. and the 5th sensor im still debating on where to put it. I also rewired the internal USB header to a external USB plug so the Bitfenix Recon software works,

 

Hmmm anyone have any experience with cooler master's storm line?? Would the u3 be better just because of the positioning??

 

That looks quite nice, how is the noise when they kick down?

 

The Fans are amazingly quiet

ARCTIC F8 PRO | 80mm Ultra Quiet Case Fan | standard fan | PWM | Temperature Control | PC fan | quiet | silent

no louder than the built in fans actually, even at full RPM when gaming the stock fans are louder,

I looked at the storm line, i think the single large fan centered doesn't help the alienware since the vents are at the rear of the laptop, the u3 design is smart, it allows you to place the fans where you need them maximizing cooling. I placed the 4 rear fans according to the GPU, CPU locations and vents ,

You also find that with a single large fan you get lots of turbulence if the items are too close to the fan, I actually dont place the laptop right on the U3 surface, i have the rear lifted by a spacer and the front as well,

 

Since I see a lot of people here mentioning the Cooler Master U3, I thought I'd bring up something important.

I had an opportunity to compare the U3 and newer U3 Plus side-by-side, using my M17x R3. What I found was that the U3 Plus has a serious design issue, i.e. it's not stable and rigid while in use. It vibrates, wobbles, and quakes every time you use your keyboard while gaming or typing. This is no small thing either. It's so bad it actually makes seeing what's happening on-screen an issue. I tested the U3 looking for the same issue, and it was far more stable and rigid. Vibration was present, but so small you'd be unlikely to notice it during normal use.

As for why I think the U3 Plus has this problem, I observed two things. 1) It's bigger, i.e. wider and longer, meaning the middle of the cooler is less well supported. 2) The sheet of metal used to make the U3 Plus is noticeably thinner than the standard U3. That's inevitably going to make it far less rigid, and far more springy.

So in short, if you're trying to decide whether to get the Cooler Master U3 or U3 Plus, get the standard U3. It's made of sterner stuff.

 

Can someone post a picture of their 17 on the U3 i want to see how it fits?

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/att...x/112842d1401857162-cooling-pads-dsc03712.jpg

the laptop fits the ENTIRE pad nicely

 

I just bought this Targus Lap Chill Mat 17-inch
by Targus correction I cancelled the targus and got the u3 since it seems to be the best one.

 

Is it possible to add filters to any of the trays?
I was thinking of a filter that can be easily removed and for instance vacuum cleaned.

This would wildly reduce the amount of opening and closing of the computer to clean fans and openings.
Normally the computer has enough cooling when clean and elevated, and if a fantray is reduced slightly by adding filters the amount of air would still improve cooling, and adding to cooling effect over time since dust is the number one stopper of air flow.

 

i'm really diggin that carbon fiber look.

 

Next im adding filters to my setup, the U3 does leave lots of space in the rear and on the sides for filters, but i dont mind opening the lower cover, its 2 screws and it pops off to clean the fans and heat sinks,

So as it sits my Cooling rig has 5 Arctic Cooling F8 Pro cooling fans, each are .21 bd moving 33cfm of air at full rom, from 500rpm-2400rpm

ITS quieter than then laptop!! but moves LOTS of air.,

 

I was actually considering building a real carbon fiber laptop cooler after this U3, I can get the material easily and molding it is easy enough, with some aluminum cnc cut parts to match,

http://www.hardwareasylum.com/n6461/Thermaltake-Massive-TM-Notebook-Cooler-Review-HiTech-Legion

Too bad the fans are in the wrong place for the alienware,

 

got some instructions on how to do that LCD panel thing + any new fan mods?

 

Im working on putting one together..

 

Awesome! I'm really interested as well.