Best Notebook Coolers for 18" Alienware Laptops

Just imagine:

An AW Cooler Doctor... integrated with a functional docking station ( or vice versa) where we can arrange all the cables and periferals...

"Imagine all that people..."

 

I noticed an increase in CPU temps with the SF-19 and returned it because it was not effective for me. I suspect turbulence and air flow reduction because of the fan not being located in the best position contributed to that. My M18x ran cooler with the back end propped up than it did with the SF-19.

Even with the U3, the improvement with optimally placed fans is minimal at idle (about 2°C or 3°C). Under full load, the temps are nearly identical, but at least they did not increase.

 

Just wanted to say thanks for the info in this thread, it helped me alot with my decision. Just ordered a M18x, soo ready for it to get here.

 

I have the U3 and I like it alot, but the majority of the cooling comes from simply having the laptop up and at a angle with room for it to breath. You do not need a cooler pad to achieve this as Fox can attest. The fans do add additional cooling and from what I have noticed while they dont offer huge temp differances they do tend to keep the 18X fans off or running slower.

 

BorntoPumpGas is right... this is every bit as effective in lowering temps as a laptop cooler, but just doesn't have any wow factor to it, LOL.

 

Got a cooler Master NotPal U3 today. Was using my old U2 but it was to small.
I dont use the fans as temps are good anyway.

 

You're welcome.

We're glad you joined our Community. Congratulations on the M18x... IMHO, it's the best gaming laptop you can get anywhere.

As a new member of the Community, you may find my index of useful links helpful. Click on the link in the left side of my signature (above the alien head) to access that index.

In particular, go down to the bottom and check out the links to the rules of the forum and how to use Google to effectively search our forums.

Again, welcome to the Community.

 

Hey everyone!

Like gbsn, I've only just registered here, and I've set sights on a M18x, I'm about halfway there (1.5k out of 3k), and I've decided to buy a U3 before I get the laptop. It's clear to me after reading all 26 pages in this thread that every person that's tried the U3 has not had a bad thing to say about it (perspective, of course).

I want to thank you all, this is brilliant reading for someone who doesnt know much about Alienware systems like myself, I do have one clarification though.

The U3 blows air into the M18's vents, yes?

 

Welcome to NBR Forums! - as you are already finding out, its a great place to find help and useful information for your intended M18x purchase!

To answer your question, yes. The Notepal U3 draws air in from the underside of the cooler and then blows it upwards to the underside of the M18x system fans.

 

Thank you!

That's good to know, I would always prefer fans that enhance the intake for laptops, as opposed to better exhaust for desktops. Plus I bet the aluminium frame keeps it cool too. And from what I've seen it's a near perfect fit.

Yeah this is definitly the place for me to get information for my upcoming purchase and hopefully I'll learn a few things and when I get the laptop I'll be able to pass the knowledge along. As a hardcore gamer I've always wanted something more akin to a mobile desktop (a phrase I just thought up that would fit the situation I'm in perfectly would be; "I like to take my gaming with me, on holidays ectera") then a real mobile laptop, I've seen it in JB Hi-Fi of all places, the M18x is a beast, absoloutely massive, but truthfully having felt it and held it, it doesnt seem that heavy to me.

P.S. I live in Australia so, a cooler is pretty much necessary for me if I want to keep it running during our summers.. Hah might even keep my room cooler..

 

The U3 is a very nice cooler, Zeju. Just don't expect too much from it or you will be disappointed. (That goes for any cooler.) The cooling enhancement is very minor. Since the laptop has rubber feet, I don't think you will notice any heat sink effect from the aluminum construction. (I have not.) The air flow on all coolers is impeded to some extent by the grille surface that blocks air, even when the cooler fans are aligned perfectly with the fans on the laptop. It has a very similar effect to propping up the rear of the laptop to let more air be drawn into the laptop by its own fans.

I really like my U3 a lot. I'm glad I bought it.

 

In my experience, those are my best "coolers" (just $ 2.49 @ http://hardware.hardwarestore.com/28-453-pads-and-bumpers/self-stick-square-bumpers-125375.aspx ):

 

Thanks,

I've actually browsed through most of this forum in the last week. I actually canceled my m18x at them moment. I have been talking to Allan and I'm gonna wait an order it Monday, hopefully with a i7-3720qm and Dual 7970m's. Unless something crazy happens over the weekend and the 680m's come out. Then I'll have an even harder choice to make than whether or not to go with red or black .

Since this is a thread about coolers I order a Coolermaster U3, along with a M18x Orion Backpack, and a neoprene sleeve.

I'll be lurking around in the threads but its nice to meet you guys.

 

Mr. Fox, those two ‘feet’ you mentioned in your earlier notes, try to keep them in the front of the notebook in between the cooler and the system (on the left and right front side corner). It sounds strange but for me it makes some difference in cooling. It reduces the temperature with few degrees more… Unfortunately if you do not have an external keyboard & mouse, does not make sense to do that, as you will not be able to use the mouse pad & the keyboard of the alienware (I use the logitech wireless iluminated k800 keyboard & the razer orochi mouse along with it).

 

Nah I've too much experience with computers to think that. I just want the cooler as added insurance. Same with the IC Diamond compound I'm going to ask HIDevolution to apply for me.

 

And if you do not mind me asking, where are you going to stick them? There is no place where the vents are... Only in front / sides it is possible

 

I'm not 100% positive, but I think he may have been reinforcing the concept of raising the system off the desk as much as using the actual item in the photo. Anything to raise it up to improve air flow is helpful. Personally, I would prefer to just set something under the existing rubber feet to give it a lift, rather than using an adhesive bumper on my system.

 

Today I was at fry's shopping for a new laptop bag, I ended up walking out with a cooler. Here is my review on the:

Ultra Quiet Notebook Cooler 2M-NC2000
$69.00 + tax at Fry's.

Here is a link to the product online: LINK

PRO:
1. This cooler IS ultra quiet as advertised even running on the highest setting.
2. Convenient compartment for USB connection storage. Also only runs on USB power, no other cords necessary.
3. Convenient USB connection on both sides of the machine for easy access and change out when needed.
4. Light Weight yet durable metal and plastic casing. Nothing cheap about this product.
5. Reduced my temp by 10c durring game play and reduced my ambient temperature considerably on overall use.

CON:
1. The vent is below the fan openeings on the m18x. however it breaths a even layer of cool air over the entire bottom. Still would have like the vents to be a little higher.
2. The fan speed goes up to about 1500rpm, however I cant feel a significant difference when adjusting with the built in speed dial. Will be looking into hard moding the speed.


OVERALL:

I have enjoyed it thus-far and like that fact it supports up to 20" laptops. Lappy sits very comfortably on surface with solid foundation. Not sure if its a keeper yet but nice to have.


Pictures:























And that about sums it up.

 

I see this alot on this topic and i own one and honestly its great.. it cools the laptop just fine.. not one complaint about this note book cooler besides its noisy and a little flimsy.. other than that its rocks..

 

If it is cooling your laptop, that's good. Unfortunately, not everyone found that to be the case. It actually slightly increased the temps for me. The only part that was "cool" for me was the lighting. I am running my CPU overclocked beyond 4GHz at all times, so that may explain why it provided no cooling benefit for me.

It adds value that people are posting either way so that others can make an informed buying decision. I'm glad I did not purchase the SF-19 online, as it would have been more complicated to return it for a refund. It would be my recommendation on any cooler... buy from a local store, if possible. Try it out right away, and if it does not perform well at the purpose for which it was intended, return it for a refund.

Even with optimally placed fans, the U3 barely just improves temps for me. I like it a lot and I am keeping it, but not because it does a phenomenal job of cooling the laptop. It makes a nice stand and the laptop doesn't run hotter using it. Honestly, I don't think that anyone makes a cooler that does an incredible job of cooling.

In addition to the U3, I added this cooler to my arsenal last week.



@TheMatrixHacker - that's a nice looking cooler and a decent review. Thanks for posting the info.

 

^^^^^^^ Now that's what I call a notebook cooler LOL

 

Okay.. SO I will be returning the cooler I bought and reviewd above. When i started some over clocking it hardly helped with temps. and the vents are just not where I need them to be. Anyone who has information on a good choice please guide me. Price is not a issue. The above was my first cooler purchase and I'm still a newbe at this stuff. Thanks ahead of time!

 

I'd stick by the U3 as a great choice - it wont perform overclocking miracles (I don't think ANY cooler will) but its a sound (and cheap) investment.

 

what do you think about the CM Storm SF-19 Notebook Cooler ? Do you think its better than the u3 ? Thanks for your advice!

 

To be honest, I havent owned one but I havent heard great things about them when used with the M18x. Brother Fox can attest to this too but I guess there are some people out there that find it good.

Put it this way, I've heard more good about the U3 than the SF-19......unless you NEED flashing lights LOL

 

So ill have better reduction in heat with the u3 than the other ? I dont mind the blinking lights, in fact I dig it! I own a m18x you know! j/k. However i dont wanna spend another $50 if its gonna be on the same level.

 

I reckon so. Don't expect miracles though....and yeah, I dig the lights too

 

You will have the same issue as what you experienced with the cooler you returned. The fan (one very large one in the center of the cooler) is in the wrong spot and it cannot be re-positioned. The area of the fan inlets on the M18x is partially blocked by a solid plastic surface and the fan is basically blowing air on the center of the bottom cover.

The SF-19 is more expensive than the U3 (almost double) and it increased my temps compared to simply raising up the rear of the laptop. It was maybe 2°C cooler at idle compared to sitting on a flat surface and compared to propping up the rear to improve air flow, I had about 2-3°C idle temp increase. Overclocking the CPU it was close to 5°C warmer using the SF-19 than simply propping up the rear.

With the U3, my idle temps are the same as propping up the rear and under overclocked load about 2°C cooler than with the rear propped up.

The SF-19 lights were nice and the style of it looks like as though it was designed to compliment the appearance of an Alienware or an Asus G-series laptop. It is made of ABS plastic that feels cheap to me. There was a faint vibration with the fan cranked up to maximum, the fan was more audible than 3 fans on the U3 and the vibration from the fan caused a faint buzz/rattle of the grille surface that was audible with the fan at full speed.

 

Thanks for the great information. I had a question though, its advertised to have 2 fans that are adjustable. From what I gathered from your post you only had one large fan ? Here is what I'm looking at: http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/landing/sf19/home.php?page=cooling

 

You're right. It did have two fans. That photo is exactly how it was made. I was thinking of a different cooler I looked at when I returned the SF-19 and decided not to purchase that one. (I kept the SF-19 only a day.) Sorry for the unintentional miscommunication on that part. The fans were not moveable, however. There is no place to move them to and they do not push air where it needs to be pushed. I suspect the adjustment they are referring to is fan speed. I even tried sliding the M18x way down where the front was hanging off the cooler to put the fan intakes directly over the cooler fans, and it was not very effective. Obviously, it would not be reasonable to use it like that, even if it was effective with the laptop hanging off the front edge, but I was trying to find a way to benefit from using it before I took it back for a refund.

It also had a short in one of the fan power cables right out of the box. I found one of the fans not working as soon as I hooked it up. I had to position the power cable for the left fan differently so it would turn on. When I returned it to Fry's, I mentioned that so they would not put it back on the shelf. (Had it been effective at cooling, I would have just fixed that issue myself.)

 

Here is a simple mod to the U3 that I did last weekend. Since the GPUs don't need assistance with cooling and an overclocked CPU does, I though it would be good to install a more powerful fan for the CPU. I haven't done any structured testing, but it seems like a small improvement (1°C or 2°C).



Note: Before anyone asks or offers a comment... Having 4 fans is meaningless, since there are only 3 on the M18x. I only did the mod this way to avoid hacking up the original fan wiring harness. The larger fan is on a harness of its own and it simply connects to the USB pass-through daisy-chained as a USB device.

 

Very Nice. Im waiting on mine now. Still haven't been refunded for that hunk of plastic I bought. Dose it have any vibration ?

 

No vibration at all. It's also very quiet. Almost too quiet, in fact. You have to check to be sure they are running when cranked to full speed. I wish the fans could run at higher RPM than they do. Even the desktop chassis fan that I added is whisper silent. I may buy a higher RPM fan to replace that one.

 

Well ive modded my cf storm.. I cut the bottom plastic off and the top metal off above and below the fans.. on the top i only did one side..
huuuuge improvement over the side with the metal grill in place... tons of air flow now...

but I want more and i dont care about noise since i use head phones any ways..so this is what im going to do..

im buying the U3 and replacing the stock fans but i need some one to measure for me if these will fit..80 x 80 x 38mm

here are the ones im choosing from..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100017777%20600035580&IsNodeId=1&Description=case%20fan&page=3&bop=And&CompareItemList=573|35-164-001^35-164-001-TS%2C35-103-071^35-103-071-TS%2C35-705-018^35-705-018-04%23%2C11-999-612^11-999-612-07%23%2C35-706-041^35-706-041-TS

Also Im getting 3 fans that are 12volts apiece and 0.9 amps apiece.. what size universal power supply should i get to run these with out a problem?

specs of the fans..

Model: TD8038H
Dimension: 80 x 80 x 38 (mm)
Weight: 180g
Rated Voltage: 12 V
Rated Power: 10.8 W
Rated Current: 0.9 AMP
Fan Speed: 5800 RPM
Air Flow: 81.5 CFM
Noise Level: 52.1dBA
Bearing System: Double Ball Bearing

 

lol
any one?

 

Does NZXT Cryo LX worth it? I currently got Zalman NC3000U but its not affecting my temps at all..

 

I personally found that the Cryo made things warmer for me when I had my old M17x R2. It was also quite tempremental with fan adjustment - if I scrooled the wheel all the way for "full fans", it would cut out altogether. Saying that, I know some people are very happy with their Cryo's too....

 

It looks like only Notepal U3 is a best choice cooling - performance wise. Someone is using cryo lx here? I mean does it worth to jump from my zalman nc3000U to cryo lx or Notepal U3?

 

Depends on if you find the cooler you are using is helping out. You have to remember that these accessories are not the answer to lower temps, they are just a helping hand. If yours is keeping temps lower by maybe 4-5c then I would stick with it as I dont think you will find a cooler that would provide much better results.

 

I like my CM storm sf-19 (usb 2.0 but there is a newer usb 3.0 version too).
I have not really tested the temps with and without with my m18x since I already had it when I got the m18x. IIRC the m17x r2 I had was 4-5C cooler with it and I estimate about the same for the m18x.
One thing you might not like is how big it is, its a good 3" larger then the m18x (about 1.5" per side) and will not fit in most laptop bag. (It does fit tightly in my everky titan backpack tho (but would not fit in the alienware backpack from my m17x r2)

 

Did you get a Notepal U3 yet?

 

I snagged a Coolermaster Notepal X3 because I use my laptop in my lap. Big single fan, fairly quiet even at max speed, and keeps temps down a bit for the laptop and my legs

 

Hey guys i use the notepal U3 for my m18x and it works great!

Defiantly worth while getting one .

 

I really like my U3, too. I haven't found a cooler yet that I think does a truly remarkable job of cooling, but the U3 construction and design is really super. I like the anodized aluminum construction and moveable fans a lot.

I added a fourth higher velocity desktop cooling fan to help push more air to the CPU, but the cooling system is made well enough on the M18x that the GPUs don't need any help from a cooler.

 

I was wondering for these coolers (I have the U3 myself), does pushing more air into the fans simply generate more dust? I remember way back in my desktop tower days where people were talking about matching the input air cfm with the output air to minimize dust inside a system and putting dust filters, etc...etc.

Maybe in laptops it's different since there is really no "Input air fan" for the system?

On my laptop, I seem to hear the fans go on a LOT more when the system starts getting dusty and cleaning that out seems to cool it down a lot more than anything else.

Advice?

 

Interesting. as a retired mechanical engineer this topic interests me a lot. I think I will spend some time on this once the machine arrives.

I must admit I am curious.

 

I was looking at the amount of air that alot of those stands do, and it isn't very much , wouldn't it be better to use something with a higher cfm like the Notepal U Stand of 70cfm over the 3 x 15.4 cmf of the u3 ?

 

Guess I can sign up for the U3 fan-club as well. Had mine about 1 month now and am overall very satisfied. I didn't have a temperature problem, I simply wanted to aid my laptop a little bit, by providing a little extra cooling for those 4-hour gaming stints.

It's perhaps lowered temps by 2-3 degrees.

 

I picked up a cryo lx when I had my m17x r2 with 4870 and have kept it with all the m17x revisions I had along with m18x now. I really like it and the build quality is amazing and solid. Next to impossible to flex it due to how strong it is. Matches the size of the m18x very well and raises the height right where I need it. I have only noticed 5 degree drop in temps but what helped the most is just having it propped up and the fans I run on silent operation maybe only 30% to keep them dead silent. The cooling of the m18x is sufficient and a quality repaste will make a larger difference then a cooler will. I love the fact that it has it's own power adapter so it does not use up my USB slots. It does have a 4 port usb hub built in but personally the usb slots that are on the m18x is plenty for my needs so I only run the power adapter direct to the wall and not use up my usb ports or get in the way.

 

Same here. Figured "why not?" and went for the U3 after seeing some positive reviews on it. Definitely a nice addition to my workspace.