Best Notebook Coolers for 18" Alienware Laptops

The NC3500 certainly is a great looking cooler... probably the nicest one aesthetically. If it is made as well as it looks, then it might be worth buying based on aesthetics alone. I don't know anyone that has one, so I cannot comment based on its cooling effectiveness. It certainly doesn't boost confidence to see them referring to it as a "silent cooling solution" in their marketing material. When fans are involved rather than liquid cooling, "silent" is frequently code word for ineffective. All the fancy engineering on fan blade shape and cutting edge fan designs is nice and certainly helps with reducing decibels to a certain extent, but high volumes of highly accelerated air rushing through a grille surface and blowing on the bottom of a laptop is going to be audible. If it is not audible, then that is a clue that not enough air is being circulated to make a difference.

Based on how it is designed, I have serious doubts about its effectiveness as a cooler. The single fan is totally in the wrong spot to do anything meaningful and the problem with all coolers is the top surface blocks way too much air flow. This makes even the fanciest coolers only marginally better than the laptop sitting on a flat surface without any breathing space between the chassis and the cooler. Even my modded U3 fitted with 3 120M high-CFM desktop chassis fans powered by an AC adapter makes a very modest improvement (about 3° to 5°C on a good day) and it's directing all of the airflow in exactly the right places to be as effective as possible.

 

Mr Fox, just remembered.. I read somewhere that you said that the notepal u3 can be used upside down too.. In that case, when you put your notebook on it, the angle at which it is at isn't so steep right?

 

I have used NC3500 earlier. This cooler is some great . Cools absolutely nothing. It can not cooling down the weakest laptops. My mod U3 cools a little better. 3-5 degrees cooler on the cpu and gpu, pch 7-10 degrees colder.
View attachment 116036

 

Those Noctua fans cost more than the whole cooler...

 

I love these Noctua fans. Running them at half speed, and do not hear them. I do not need and have them at max speed. If I need more speed, I can also get it. My power supply is 15v, so my fans are overclocked.

 

Yeah noctua fans are pricey but high quality.

 

Yes I am happy with them. 2x110,3m "/h(max19.6dba)+1x53,3m"/h (max 17,1dba) = 273.3 m "/h with 12v. What is the max air flow by 15v power adapter that manages to + 25% = 341,6m "/ h ?

 

what's with this "let's cut the U3" fad

I'm glad Noctua finally came to their senses and released fans that don't look like complete vomit ala the Redux and iPPC fans. Incidentally the industrial grade (iPPC) fans are also some of the strongest fans both in terms of CFM and static pressure. I have 2 on my H110 and they do an absolutely marvelous job at cooling, and totally silent below 60% too.

 

$35 per fan is "worth it" for a few degrees drop at best? OK maybe for rads if you absolutely must have the best cooling performance, but still, price/performance is terrible. For that money you could get a "real" water cooling kit instead.

At 3000 RPM does it sound like a fighter jet taking off?

 

Can you use the U3 upside down? In the sense your notebook being on the bottom side and the fans on the former top side... This way the ange doesn't seem so steep.

 

Using the 2000 RPM fans actually, the 3000 RPM ones would blow up my fan header since each fan draws 0.55A running full bore.

Can't comment on the 3000 rpm fans but the 2000 rpms ones are suprisingly quiet. Below 60% I can't even hear them if I'm 2 feet away with both side panels open. At full pelt they are loud, but it's more of a dull hum than a high pitched whine. I'll say this though: below 85%, they're still loud, but not loud enough to be distracting. Somewhere between 85% and 100% it goes into the distractingly loud zone, so I set the fans to top out at 85% max and leave it there.

Since I wanted the absolute best cooling performance possible with an AIO, yes they were worth it to me. As I've mentioned before, my 4930K at 1.4V and 4.5GHz maxes out at 75C when running Prime95 with fans at 85%, which is very respectable.

Now the 120mm fans, that's another story. I used them as case fans and even at 50% they sounded like a jet engine, mainly because the motor had this very annoying whine to it. It was so unbearable I ate the 15% restocking fee and returned all 3 of them.

 

AIO's occupy this weird no man's land--they don't quite reach "real" water cooling and cost significantly more than high-end air coolers which perform about the same. What I'm saying is that you're further diminishing the already precarious value proposition of an AIO by blowing another $70 on premium fans on top of the $100+ for the H110. It's hard to understand for me because that gets you into "real" water cooling territory.

 

Not that it matters a whole lot but the 2000 rpm fans cost me $60.

I think what you're missing here is that I'm too lazy and too inexperienced to do a custom loop.

Maybe my next build, but for my first build in 10 years, an AIO is good enough.

Seriously when I did my last build, AGP was still the norm, AMD was spanking Intel's a$$, hard drives used IDE cables and jumpers, and floppy drives were still common lol

 

Given the state of the current-gen consoles, I don't think you need to upgrade again for another 10 years.

 

I do not care about turning cooler upside down, then it it is supposed to look good too. If we want good cooling from a cooler, one must use the slightly larger, more powerful fans. And you should use 12V fans with a separate electrical supply, then 5v solution to these coolers is terribly bad. To make room for the fans, must expect a slightly steeper angle of the cooler. I have used other coolers that are almost flat, but they have absolutely NO cooling effect. Coolers with a single large fan (200mm or larger) have a much lower angle, but they have very poor cooling performance. There is no hard and make a cooler that does not have such a steep angle itself, with the right material and tools.

 

Well have you tried it? I was just wondering if it is able to hold the 17 in place when upside down... If not someone must have done this..

 

The current consoles will be left rapidly behind by PC development at that rate

 

Anyone tried using a 17/18 on a upside down Notepal U3? Does it work and is the angle less steep?

 

It works fine upside down, but I don't think it reduces the angle of the keyboard. It's pretty much the same dimensions from top to bottom at the rear end, just doesn't have any surface area to interfere with airflow.

 

I raise mine up a little further (but not a whole notch) by using two heatsinks with the prongs pointed at each other and taped down to the stand with tape.

 

I'm 100% certain my 4930K will fail long before it hits the 10 year mark LOL

 

Depends how nice you are to her n=1

 

I have... plans

 

Anyone seen/used this? Seems to be a new cooler in the "Notepal" line, from Coolermaster ... uses 100mm fans ...





NotePal U Stand Notebook Laptop Cooling Pad - Cooler Master Store

...

 

I don't think I've posted this here ... so, ...

I bought a NZXT Cryo X60 and cut the grills out which cover the 120mm fans.

It works very well; I run it on it's highest setting which in a silent room with no other ambient machine noise has a definite, audible sound but with a normal office room, people other computers and stuff ... you really can't hear it.

It's much better than my stock U3, which I still enjoy and use at home ... knocks some serious degrees off of idle and load on my Gigabyte P35G v2 ... which just so happens to have dual cooling *intakes* which rest just over the X60's fans ...

FYI:

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On another note ...

Really dig some of the Notepal U3 mods I've seen in this thread ... going to do my own soon ...

:thumbsup:

 

A lot neater than my cutting would be does it help keep your fans from spinning up or are you just keeping it as cool as possible?

 

No ... I keep the X60 on max fan speed at all times ... and I really don't notice the laptops fan but I assure you, when gaming, they spin up big time (I generally have headphones on) ... when idle or just banging around the net or doing office app stuff/design stuff ... the laptops fans never spin up. Our office is probably about 20C and gaming never breaks 80C, even after hours of playing .. .idle is generally 38C at the lowest core and 44C at the highest core. Overall, I get about a 5C drop at idle and a 5C drop at load.

I did a little review here at this same site ... : http://forum.notebookreview.com/acc...ooler-significant-improvement-over-stock.html

Best
Joel

 

It's the increase in pressure that will do it, nice results.

 

It's official, I've started a notebook cooler cutting fad.

 

Money is not an issue, which is the best cooler pad for the Alienware 18?

Is it worth it or just a gimmick?

How are they powered? via USB or electricity?

 

I kinda like older NZXT Cryo LX with 3x 120mm fans:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nzxt-Black-...120Mm-Adjustable-Fans-Cryo-001B-/161721711349
Can be powered either from USB or mains.
As for if it is worth using - it depends.
Most heat issues can be solved with good thermal compound + undervolting + by slightly raising back of laptop from the surface.

 

Summer is coming up + I'd like to enjoy my last Summer as a student via playing video games and watching shows, anime, cartoons, etc. on my laptop for days on end = hot temperatures from environment + laptop will emit lots of heat -> I'm interested in this.

Lol forget Summer jobs (unless I get a super flexible one).

 

I choose to go with the Cooler Master NotePal X-Slim, i should get it by tomorrow.

 

I read a lot of threads about it in this forum, I ended up ordering Coolermaster notepal U3 expect to have it delivered tomorrow. It is USB powered with options to move the fans around to meet your exhaust placement and has a fan speed control. cost me about 50$ from ebay as I couldn't get it from manufacturer site.

 

Cooler master U3. Mod with 12v 3x120mm fan's and 12v power adapter.

 

I prop the back corners up with a coke bottle cap

 

Agree... U3 FTW. Build quality alone is reason enough to choose this option. I prefer the original U3 over the U3 Plus version. It's a little better and I like the design of the older cooler better.

Bottom line is no notebook cooler does a great job using the wimpy fans included with them. They are almost worthless, and I have tried several. I hate USB powered cooler fans. See mods below.

This works as well as any cooler I have used with their stock USB powered fans. It is very effective.

[parsehtml]<iframe class="imgur-album" width="100%" height="650" frameborder="0" src="//imgur.com/a/iZ192/embed"></iframe>[/parsehtml][parsehtml]<iframe class="imgur-album" width="100%" height="650" frameborder="0" src="//imgur.com/a/IGq3C/embed"></iframe>[/parsehtml]The filters make a HUGE difference in how clean the inside of my laptop stays. The 120MM fans move a lot of air, which includes dust and lint. Having the filters is better than I ever imagined they would be.

 

I use fan filters also (mine is made from used nylon stockings from my wife ). After 3 months use of the laptop I open my laptop to remove dust. Every time I clean the fans and heatsink, there is almost no dust there even I have cat and a large dog(Dobermann). This is an excellent way to keep your laptop almost completely free of dust for many months. Cleaning of fan filter takes approximately 2-3 min. This is the best solution for minimal maintenance of your laptop.

 

Hello!!

Need Advice on new laptop cooler for the m18x r2 !! i was thinking in getting a coolermaster U3 plus . what you guys think?

 

i'm using targus 17" notebook cooler...

 

is that the name? targus 17" notebook cooler? is it good?

 

I use it on the table. You can use it on your lap too.

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...79&acd=12309152537461010&ven1=sE1inYhPj&ven2=,

Or if you want to spend some $$ get this one.

http://accessories.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&sku=A4403512#Overview

 

thanks , i will check it on youtube !!

 

I prefer U3 with modified 12v 120mm fans and 12v adapter.

 

you mean replacing the stock fans with 120mm ones? how do i attach the fans to the cooler then?

 

Yeah. Replace fans with better 12v fans. Also cut holes on the cooler for full airflow.

 

Or just elevate the computer slightly if using on a desk....the stock cooling system is rather robust.

 

I have two of them. Super easy mod. Holes are already there. Just add screws and stir over low heat for 3 minutes. The U3 Plus is less desirable than the older model (seems to be a trend with most things now... newer is frequently not better) due to design differences. No laptop cooler does an incredibly good job, but it doesn't get any better than this and the build quality is head and shoulders better than anything else. With the filters in place, the laptop stays much cleaner inside than it does without the cooler, so that's a big plus right there.

[parsehtml] <blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" lang="en" data-id="a/iZ192"><a href="//imgur.com/a/iZ192">Notepal U3 Fan Mod</a></blockquote><script async src="//s.imgur.com/min/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" lang="en" data-id="a/IGq3C"><a href="//imgur.com/a/IGq3C">Notepal U3 Plus Fan Mod</a></blockquote><script async src="//s.imgur.com/min/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script> [/parsehtml]Edit: I also have a Notepal X3 cooler. It is a plastic piece of trash with not enough cooling benefit to bother with. It helps maybe a tiny bit, but I do not recommend it at all. I got it on a clearance sale for only $15 so it was worth it at that price, but just barely. The X3 is typical of the norm. Most notebook coolers are this bad, or even worse.

 

thank you very much !! i think ill get the u3 !!

 

Just remember to switch to 12v fans. The 5v usb fans that follow are not usable