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Hi all,
As you may have seen from a couple of posts, I've been a little concerned about heat with my M17, having seen GPU temps peaking at 93 on my primary card. Alienware said no problem, but I'm seeking a better solution...
My original alienware was ordered with the XBrand Lap Lounge alienware offers on their website, and I've used it about a week. In addition (as I wanted to explore another option) I recently picked up a NZXT Cryo LX for use with the M17. Also, I've used a Targus Chillmat with my older computer, so as a bonus I'll share some thoughts on that one, too (though I can't get direct numbers with my M17 for reasons that will become obvious...)
XBRAND LAP LOUNGE:
First up, the XBrand Lap Lounge, purchased from Alienware for $50. To be honest, I was a little disappointed in this when I looked at it - it's mostly plastic construction, and has one small fan mounted near the center of the unit, with some air channels created by a curvature in the bottom of the cooler (between the cooler and the laptop), creating airspace and helping to cool the laptop. On the plus side, this cooler has an adjustable tilt, allowing you to set the cooler to either nearly flat to about a 30 degree tilt or so, giving some versatility in how you'd like to use it.
The trouble with this and my M17 was fan placement - the one fan near the center really didn't seem to improve airflow to the intakes, which are located near the rear of the unit on the M17. Gaming performance seemed to reflect this; though my unit didn't reach the previously measured peak of 93, it still reached high 80's regularly. I'm estimating the cooler got me about 3, maybe 4 degrees maximum cooling difference - which, truthfully, wasnt bad, but I had been hoping for a little better.
The XBrand cooler is powered by a USB slot, and doesn't give anything back - so you're effectively down 1 USB slot, probably the rear one.
One other M17 note: the XBrand has 'feet' on the front of the unit, designed to hold the laptop in place. As a support, this is great - there's no way your laptop is going to slip off the front of this thing. As a M17 owner, though, the problem is this blocks access to out CD/DVD drive and covers the speakers. Sure, you can still prop the unit up to get to the drive, and I'm not sure I lost any speaker sound on the placement, but it's not an ideal setup for the M17.
XBRAND good:
adjustable tilt
Mid-range expense
Some cooling (est. 3-4 degrees on main GPU)
XBRAND bad:
one little fan, not optimaly placed
plastic construction, sturdy plastic but still pastic
construction blocks access to front drive
NZXT CRYO LX:
At this very moment, I'm just going to list initial thoughts - I just got it, and will post solid numbers on cooling after a few test runs.
Initially, though, the unit looks a lot more solid. It's all aluminum construction, the idea being that a) the unit will be VERY sturdy, and b) that the aluminum body itself can act as a big heatsink, pulling heat away from the bottom of the computer.
The fans are big, and there are 3 of them, spread across the back half of the cooler. These seem to be ideally placed for the M17 intakes; I'm hopeful to get decent cooling performance out of the cooler, but time wil tell. The fans are adjustable speed, controlled by a dial on the back of the cooler, but the unit is pretty quiet even with the fans at maximum.
The unit requires 2 of our USB ports; one to provide DC power, and one to provide a USB connection to the cooler - as the cooler itself has 4 additional USB ports on it, acting as a hub. So, though the USB ports on the M17 don't exactly match up well (you end up having to use one of your side USB's plus the rear one), you end up gaining 4 more USB ports on the cooler itself.
One last note: the Cryo is beefy, and may not be the best for portabe solutions. It does fold lengthwise (hinges below the fans allow the lower half of the aluminum plate to fold over), but I'm not sure how it'll fit into the computer bag. I have an orion messenger bag; I'll give it a try tomorrow morning and see how the fitting goes...
The only initial downside is the cost - it's a beefier unit, but it's got a bigger price tag to match. Mine was about $80 after shipping (and after a $10 instant rebate, currently offered by Newegg...)
All other impressions beyond initial I'll add in a day or so, after spending some time with the unit. I'll also try to add picture comparisons so you can see what I mean by fan placement, if you're not familiar with the units. But for now, what I know:
NZXT CRYO LX:
Good:
Solid aluminum construction
3 fans, well placed
USB hub (4 port)
Bad:
Bigger preice tag ($80 from newegg, after shipping)
USB's on M17 don't line up wel (using a side USB port)
heavy+size may mean not as portable.
Oh, and last but not least, the Targus Chillmat. I bought one of these with my old computer because... well, because it was cheap. It's got two centrally located fans, and is constructed of lightweight plastic. Unfortunately, it also died pretty quickly - I started to have fan issues at about the 3 month point, and by 6 months the unit had failed to the point of being unusable.
The Good:
Cheap. Like, $20.
Light. Very portable
The bad:
Cheap and light = no staying power. Only good as a short term, inexpensive, light-use solution - and even then I'm not sure I can recommend with any seriousness.
I know this is quick and dirty right now - I just wanted to get some initial impressions in before bedtime. I'll try and spend some time tomorrow and update my reviews as I get solid results with the new cooler. If anyone has any specific questions, I'd be happy to add info as requested when I come back to update.
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I'll update and add this into the appropriate section above, but the additions are:
(EDIT: no I won't, at least not now. Work stuff, have to run, but I'll try to clean up the OP and add pics tonight if I can.)
1) yes, the M17 and the Cryo LX both fit into the Orion Messenger bag. I recommend using the cloth cover for your alienware if you do this - no need to risk a scratch on your laptop from the aluminum cooler body (I don't think it would, based on the fit, but why take a chance?)
2) Wow, this makes the bag heavy! I'm not one to complain (I didn't buy the laptop for portability, but for power) but the bag with the cooler, laptop, and accessories now tips the scales at nearly 25 pounds (I was curious, so I put it on the bathroom scale this morning...)
A laptop and a workout program, all in one!
3) and perhaps most important: Ran Dawn of War II for about 15 min today in test cycles, and got:
Without cooler:
Core#0 68 degrees
Core #1 66 degrees
GPU core (main) 92 degrees
GPU core (secondary) 87 degrees
With cooler:
Core#0 63 degrees
Core#1 63 degrees
GPU (main) 86 degrees
GPU (sec.) 79 degrees
So, I'm still not thrilled by 86 degrees with a big beefy cooler like this, but it is certainly an improvement. Looks like about 5 to 6 degree drop in the GPU temps, and 4 or 5 on the CPU.
Temps were taken with CPUID HWMonitor, and system specs are in the sig. Ambient temps were warm office environment - say, 77 degrees F, on a cubicle desk with little additional airflow (always been a problem for me; my cubicle's a bit cluttered and hot air just tends to circulate around my desk!) Dawn of War II was chosen because it's historically the game that stresses the graphics cards the most for me (i.e. I've achieved highest peaks in temp previously while playing it) so it should represent the current max load I subject the system to.
M17 cooler review: XBrand Lap Lounge vs Cryo LX
Discussion in 'Alienware' started by jeffreyac, Apr 20, 2009.
