How many of you use a cooling pad?

I know so far that the zalman nc2000 is the best cooling pad out there, but i am trying to figure out exactly how many people use a cooling pad for their laptop...

so regardless of brand, if you use a cooling pad feel free to vote i am trying to get an idea. thx

 

I also use the Zalman, albeit the nc1000. My only gripe is that it can't put out a lot of volume of air, which would be good if I'm maxing out the CPU for long periods of time. Nonetheless, it does a great job keeping it cool and is really quiet.

 

Right now i'm not using one, my old no-name cooling pad broke a while ago but I've already ordered a Zalman nc2000 which I'll use once I get my new laptop.

 

I can see if you use it a lot at home but I use mine 90%+ away from home and I am not willing to carry one of those around with me.

 

i dont like to stress my notebook alot, so its on my cooler 90%-95% of the time its on.

correction: zalman units are not the best coolers out there.

 

I use one and this is the one http://www.amazon.com/Antec-NOTEBOO...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1218349050&sr=8-1

It keeps my acer aspire 10-15C cooler!

 

For the system I have (not trying to brag or sound like a jerk I'm just saying lol) no problems with heat so I don't even worry about a cooling pad... If I had a laptop that ran hot or which heated up my hands while using it I would definitely consider one though.

 

well, then houstoned, what are? i always thought that zalmans were the best for notebook cooling.

 

i, personally, own/use the nzxt cryo LX (brushed aluminum/black model). no doubt in MY mind it is the best cooler available right now.

- does everything the zalman units do, but better.
- much more versatile: u can actually use it on yur lap or bed/sofa without havin to worry about blockin any fans. it also keeps my lap cool/cold.
- will keep just about ANY 15.4" and under laptop cool.
- ideal for "power notebooks" up to 15.4"-20"
- its built from solid brushed aluminum and is a perfect match for my tuxedo m1530.

most ppl usually go with the zalman units cuz they are a little cheaper. if u own a "power notebook", that is 15.4" or bigger, u NEED to try the cryo LX out.

 

The NZXT does sound like it has a slight edge over the zalman. Be that it's wider (better for us 17" users) by a few inches, and it has three gigantic fans. However, I have two questions: how noisy is it compared to a zalman NC-1000 and what is this first cord in the picture for:

 

No need here... @ least not yet. LOL

If I'm on the go, or @ home, I use the Logitech Alto Cordless stand. It props the lappie up and the fans have no obstructions. It also came with a USB mouse and keyboard which work fine. I'm able to fit all into the gear bag when on the road.

 

**** that thing seems pretty cool for home or office use but I could imagine taking it with me in my bag on the road.

 

I tried it, but it just didnt *work for me* at that time..so I passed it on to a friend.....Now, I am starting to *rethink the idea of having a cooling pad*



Cin'

 

The cord on the left powers the fans in the cooler. I have to assume the one on the right is for additional USB hubs on the cooler.

 

No cooling pad here.... got a very cool system (pun included )

 

I'd say they are useless, as the manufacturer of the laptop should have provided adequate cooling for the system. Also I'd rather not extend the life of my 8600M GT (so I can hopefully get a replacement before the warranty is over).

 

I got this Zalman NC2000 thing recently and I am quiet pleased with it

 

i will get my NC1000 for my M1330 once my $70 Dell GC comes

 

That's a pretty risky strategy, what if it breaks right after your warranty is over?

 

I mainly undervolt my processor, its cheap(free!), and does the job.
But I may look into a Targus Chillmat.

 

Well even with a cooling pad, if it's faulty its gonna show issues at some point. So it's not risky at all, because in the end you know the 8600M GT is gonna to take a crap at some point. The cooling pad could possibly extend the life of the 8600M GT even further outside of the warranty and possibly outside of any extended warranties Dell may offer to 8400/8600M owners. My XPS M1530 and any well designed laptop should run well below thresholds listed by Nvidia and Intel (or AMD/ATI). And on top of all it's a **** laptop, the chips downclock like crazy which keeps temps low. It's not like it's my desktop with a 50% overclock over stock clockspeeds. For a chip that runs overclocked it's a great idea to buy aftermarket cooling solutions, but for chips like those in laptop that acctually are running underclocked most of the time it's pretty pointless.

 

Since the problem with the 8600M GT is that it gets damaged by changes in temperature and not overheating, what you could do is turn your cooler off after you play a game, because then the range of temperatures will be lower.

 

I use the USB to USB cord to power the NZXT cooler. There are 5 USB ports in the back of the cooler, and one is set apart from the other 4. The cooler also has a place to plug in the small round connector you see on the left-hand cord in the picture, but I'm not sure what the difference would be since the other end is still USB.

The NZXT is actually quieter than my Zalman NC-2000 because the NC-2000 has developed a slight whine. The NZXT also moves a LOT more air. Even on its lowest setting the NZXT moves more air than the Zalman on its highest setting. The edges of the Zalman are finished better though. The NZXT has some sharp edges.

 

Personally I dont use a cooling pad simply because I believe my laptop is self sufficient and not have extra dependencies such as a cooling pad. External hard drives I also don't use just because I believe all the storage should be in my laptop.

 

Cooling pads are probably most useful for gamers and people who run apps that stress the processor a lot -- when their laptop's cooling system isn't quite good enough to cool when being stressed. But if you have a laptop with an aluminum palmrest like an M1330, the cooler will keep the palmrest cool too.

 

Yeah, the M1330 I can understand why they would want to use a cooling pad for that because of the design flaw, but the M1530 is pretty solid on its own with all the extra room and all. Though I guess the cooling pad is nice just for the extra cooling, its not entirely necessary.

 

I'd put it as simple as that: If such thing as a cooling pad was really necessary (meaning that the cooling system of the notebook is plainly not sufficient) the manufacturer would have included one. ;-)

Therefore: Nope - I don't use one either.

 

If you like to use it on your lap and you need a hard flat surface to put your laptop on and don't have anything around the house I could see maybe getting one but as far as using them on a desk or something, just propping up the laptop on the backside an inch or so with something is going to give you plenty of cooling and air flow.

 

I think it all comes down to individual choice...And with me using mine on my lappy the majority of the time, it didn't work. That is why I passed it onto a friend..But to have one when on my desktop, as needed..it may work.

Still pondering over it again.

 

imo, the xt-stand is probably the best cooling and convenience invention to date.

beats lugging around a notebook cooler.
using mine with the m1730 and haven't exhibited any heat issues yet.

 

theres no need for cooling, iv had many laptops and none have died so far, i use no coolers or anything, if it was needed then dell being dell would recommend it and try to get some more money off you.

so there is no need for a cooler, iv played bfme2 and cod4 for a length of about 3 hours once or twice and no temps went high, anyway i dont play games on my laptop anymore as thats what my ps3 is for. and now i never play games on it as i noticed thats what game consoles where made for and laptops were not.

And even if you somehow got a crap 8xxx gpu thats faulty and overheats, it shouldnt get hot as you shouldnt play many games on a laptop, as thats what a desktop is for. laptops are designed to be portable and not for games, thats why you get useless graphics cards (ps3>wii>pc>laptop>ps2>toilet roll>xbox360)

 

like cin said, its all up to yur personal preference. i, myself, like to baby my systems. i pay the premium for nicer stuff so i plan for them to work properly, for as long as i need it.

i use the little round ac-lookin cord on the left. i have it directly connected to a wall-powered USB hub. this way i have 5 free USB ports free on my cryo LX + 3 free USB ports from the USB hub.

fans are very quiet. i have to check if they're on sometimes if i'm watchin a movie or have music runnin.

the cryo LX does have some sharp edges. when i'm usin the cooler on my lap or bed, i like to fold the front under. it creates a nice "base" for the whole unit to sit on. i've tested it out while gamin for 6-7+ hours. worked like a charm and even kept my legs chilly. highly recommend foldin the front under if u use the cooler on yur bed. it raises the whole unit up about an extra inch or more.

 

Wow... I think that there is really nothing I can say to this except that I heartily disagree that laptops aren't meant to be used for games... I especially think so and find it funny when you contradict yourself and say that you play COD4 on a laptop but that they're not meant for gaming. >.<

 

Ive not bothered with a cooler. I did use the NC2000 with my M1730 for a brief period of time, but noticed no major improvements.

I use my M1330 both on my desk and on my lap. Its raised at the back since I have the 9 cell battery. Ive had no heat issues with anything Ive done so far. When used on my lap I make sure its on a hard surface, like a hardback book etc.

If I ran into heat issues I'd consider one. Until then Im not too bothered. Im more bothered about cooling my 2 external 1TB HDDs - so may buy a cooler for them, but IMO the cooling in the notebook is sufficient for my needs.

 

I had to get a cooler. I had an old Inspiron 9300 and the laptop was excellent but I noticed that while I was at school it was tending to overheat and then it would have some running issues. So, just to be safe I have a cooling pad. However, now that I switched to Alienware overheating isn't too much of an issue...but, I still use it. I think a cooling pad is important if you use your laptop for anything other than taking notes of some quick browsing...especially if you happen to be gaming.

 

I suppose I see things a little differently. I pay a premium for nicer stuff, so I expect it to work properly without things like a cooler. Just IMHO, from a fellow Houstonian

 

I think I will go with Cooler Master Infinite next month

 

My thoughts exactly.

 

i totally understand where u guys are comin from. but like i said i just like to baby my stuff. i hate when stuff messes up, so i take all the preliminary precautions to try to avoid it from happenin at all.

shrugs...orange and apples i guess.

as long as we're both gettin our amount of daily nutrition then who cares

 

My NZXT Cryo LX just failed after less than a month of use. The speed control stopped working, although the fans work at the lowest speed. Luckily, I bought it at a place that will exchange it. So, back to my Zalman NC-2000 for the time being.

 

very sorry to hear that man.

if both were workin at their full potential, which would u prefer?

 

The NZXT generates more air flow at its highest speed. Also, it has 3 fans as opposed to 2 in the Zalman. And the fans are larger. Finally, the location of the fans in the NZXT seems better suited to the air intake on the M1530, so I've been using the NZXT (until it broke). The Zalman looks nicer and doesn't require a separate USB cable to provide power (although I think I saw one post here where someone used one USB cable for both power and connectivity to the USB ports on the NZXT). The Zalman also has a power switch, which is lacking in the NZXT. The NZXT has a lot of sharp edges, and could be used as a weapon if necessary.

 

If you need to use a weapon in your own house and your only choice is a laptop cooler then you're pretty much screwed

 

have u tried callin nzxt and seein if they will replace it? was there any warranty from the place u bought it from? some other people have had fans go out and they got them replaced from nzxt.

i personally think the zalman units are pretty ugly compared to the cryo LX, but thats just me. i really love how the m1530 looks on top of the cryo LX. i do wonder why they didn't add an on/off button on the cryo LX tho. thats probably my only gripe about it.

anyways, good luck with tryin to get some compensation from nzxt. wouldn't hurt to try contactin them.

 

The retailer I bought it from is replacing it. Much easier than having it repaired. Lucky for me it broke within 30 days of purchase.

 

where did you buy it?

 

for my 1520 I just use a cheap cooler, which I've had for one year (on which the powercord recently broke and I resoldered it without the powerjack on the cooler end).

I use it to keep the HDD cool and to keep the fan from coming on while web browsing etc. If I don't use the pad then the fan will blow slowly most of the time, but with the cooler it'll stay off.

I don't bring it with me when I travel...

 

for xps 1730 owners. i was wondering if theres a proper way to put the xps 1730 on the cryo lx cooler. just wanted to know your opinion.. thanks!

 

I use a couple of bottle caps to raise the laptop and that improves the temp.

Oh and a good warranty.

 

no cooling pads for me, just a small 4" desk fan.