Cooler Master Notepal W1 Review Discussion

Today’s notebooks are real desktop replacements with 7200 RPM hard drives and powerful video cards. But this brings along two well-known disadvantages: heat and noise. Following is a review of the Notepal W1, a custom widescreen notebook cooler, which ensures you can game without being disturbed by annoying noise or having burned palms after a LAN party!

Read the full content of this Article: Cooler Master Notepal W1 Review

 

That cooler does look pretty sleek with the aluminum finish. Too bad it's not as good as the Spire at cooling. In the end, maybe really fast RPM fans that make noise just really is the best way to cool a notebook. I'm fairly convinced that there's no such thing as a perfect or even "great" notebook cooler, no manufacturer has been able to strike a good balance. Thanks for the review!

 

Wow...those are some nice temperatures. Any cooler is better than no cooler, and I'd like to think that this review unit would be better for hitting a lot more hot spots since it is so much larger than the Spire.

The Spire is good for surgical strikes, whereas this baby is a shotgun for cooling. At least that is the impression I get when looking at the comparison pictures.

 

Looks like a great option considering how much more quiet it is compared to the other one.

 

Thanks for the complimant guys. I want to draw your attention: the Spire Pacific Breeze was running at full speed for these test. And it produces a lot of sound at full speed. At low speed it still produces more noise then the Notepal while the cooling is the same.

 

i was checking this product out a month ago but quickly found it wouldn't work with my macbook pro.
1) the ledge blocks the IR receiver for frontrow remote
2) the ledge also blocks access to the CD rom.

three fans would probably cool things in a jiffy, especially on the notoriously scorching macbook pros, but for macbook pro owners out there, check out:

notepal P1
zalman nc 1000.

I ended up going with the notepal 1. there's less height distance between the table and the keyboard because the laptop actually rests on the table.

my two cents.

 

This is why I like to build custom solutions. You can use less fans, that are quieter, and then place them strategically. My next custom laptop cooler should be done in about a month. That one will be sweet (it houses the AC adapter, a TV Tuner, 3 hard drives, and a USB hub)

 

Wow! Talk about customizing your cooler! 3 hard drives, USB hub and TV-tuner, that is just great!

 

Yeah, the goal is just to get that USB hub and stuff off of my desk, plus offer cooling to them, and put them on power switches (I don't like having my USB Drives on all the time, its unnecessary wear). Well see how it turns out, I might make a 3d model of it soon.

 

I can't help but think that I didn't pay $1700 bucks for a notebook that can't efficiently cool itself. Once again people are spending money on "extra's" that the system designers should have already included.

Reminds me of the ASUS XG.. it's just a band-aid because the industry is to stubborn on bleeding penny's rather then focus on what consumers have been saying that they actually want.

They technology their, has been for years... the guys profiting from all this just won't let go...

Great review on the product though!

 

I totally understand you and I also agree with you. But some people just like overclocking their videocards, or playing/tweaking around. And this is a product that kinda prevents that something will go wrong I guess.

 

can you get the Spire Pacific Breeze in the uk?

 

Bah... look around at all the people just here on NBR in the forums buying these things for their Acers and other branded notebooks just so they can "happily" use them under normal conditions. These things arent being marketed for overclockers, if they were Staples and Officemax wouldn't be selling them in plenty...

This kinda reminds me of all the after-market cases that have come out over the last few years at Best Buy and CompUSA... look at how ridiculous they are! 7 fans and plexiglass... The fans aren't placed to push the volume of air through the case in most of them, so it just creates stale pockets of air that will get warmer then a single powerful fan that sucks air through the gaps in the case. And now to keep the price of the case low the metalwork is crap both in sturdyness and construction (what happen to nice rolled edges?) I've been using entry grade server chassis just to avoid this garbage. Add the extra dust that clogs things up making it again warmer then it started, and the added noise that nobody wants... yeah..

I remember when VAPOCHILL was beta testing slot A AMD refrigeration units (loved that job) because people wanted to make a 550mhz chip do 1ghz.. That was for overclockers... and it wasn't on every shelf in every store because every vendor on the planet found a way to cut some corner...

Anyways.. not to get into my thoughts on our amazing technological advancements of a disposable economy here...

I still say product aside.. kudo's to the reviewer for a quality bit of fiddling with a new toy and sharing their thoughts

 

Nice review! Very thorough and analytical. Thanks for your efforts!

 

Nice review. I have the Notepal standard two fan size. It never came to my mind to do a review for it. lol

It is a nice notebook cooler and does its job. However it is a bit shorter for my V6J and as the back rubber feets did not touch the cooler, my lovely Yvonne got scratched by Notepal's the rough surface

What i have done is stick a couple of rubber feets on the top of the cooler fans and no more issues of stability and scratching

 

Thanks for the complimants. Bender, I agree that the surface of the Notepal is pretty rough but it is also very sturdy. Too bad that it doesn't fit your notebok very well. Like I already told in the review, the rubber feet may fall outside of the cooler causing serious instability. Check the photo to see what I mean.

Nice solution you have there Rubber feet always work!

 

It does not fit most...Too short...lol

Rubber feet FTW...just stick a couple of those above the fans and you are set

 

Same here. Though, my rubber feet are both different height just like the notebook's own legs, since the bottom of the Xi 1546 isn't even. Otherwise there would be instability like seen for the Xa1526 in the review.

Nice review.

 

GREAT REVIEW...very detailed. I'm in Toronto Canada and no where can you find the 3 fan version. Sadly I settled on the 2 fan version for 17" laptops.

I just wanted to add that for the Sony vaio AR series laptops this laptop cooler is amazing. It is rock solid stable and very comfortable to type on.

I have not done any temperature tests, but the cooler is always cold to the touch.

I am 100% satisfied