LapWorks Aluminum Desktop Stand Review

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by: Blake Bonfiglio

Having a laptop as my primary computer, and being on the go constantly, I needed something to help my wrists out and keep Carpal Tunnel far, far away. I needed something portable, but also multi-functional to add to my arsenal of traveling gear, to cut down on the amount of stuff to carry. I came across the LapWorks Aluminum Desktop Stand and was instantly sucked in by its features.

Product Specs

• Brushed Aluminum
• Weighs only 1.5 lbs
• Folds flat to 12x9.5x3/8 inches for easy storage in a computer bag
• Six Adjustable heights
• Swivel-base for easy screen sharing
• Comes with neoprene travel slip cover

HP dv9000t on Lapworks Aluminum Desktop Stand (view large image)

Design

The design of the stand is hard to beat. It's made of extremely thin brushed aluminum which helps to dissipate a great deal of the heat build-up laptops experience. The thin aluminum is also helpful for those who frequently travel and need to save on space. Normally I am pretty skeptical about products that claim to dissipate heat in a compact form, so I decided to test it out and see how well it worked. My laptop is an HP dv9000t with an Nvidia Go7600 card, and it tends to get pretty hot, pretty fast. I tested out two of the more popular computer games to date, World of Warcraft and Counter-Strike: Source. Settings for the games are as follows: World of Warcraft: Nearly every setting on high, at 1680x1050 resolution. Counter-Strike: Source: 1280x800 resolution with medium settings.

Without Stand:

<colgroup><col width='66' /><col width='51' /></colgroup>

	CPU	GPU
WoW	80c	78c
CSS	75c	83c

 

With Stand:

	CPU	GPU
WoW	70c	68c
CSS	67c	79c

 

Stand by itself (view large image)

From the testing of those two games, the average CPU temperture drop is 9c and the average GPU temperture drop is 7c. That's pretty significant given there are no fans on the stand.

The stand has six different height settings, allowing you to get comfortable in virtually every position, helping to keep posture and typing correct--a problem to most laptop users. Another cool feature about the stand is the swiveling base. If you are presenting a product to a client, or just sharing pictures with the family, simply turning the stand will rotate the entire thing while keeping your laptop perfectly still as it sits on the rubber risers. The thing that I am most attracted to with this stand though, is its durability. As other 17&quot; laptop owners know, it is very hard to find things to accomdate the size and weight of such a large computer. The LapWork's stand doesn't even break a sweat trying to do so. It is incredibly sturdy, and doesn't even hint that it has that much weight on it, no matter what height level it is set at.

Stand in neoprene case (view large image)

Conclusion

The Lapworks Aluminum Desktop Stand is a definite must-have for people on the go who like to have a desktop-like setup wherever they are. If I had to sum up this product in one word it would be ergonomics. The stand has so many functions in such a small package that is hard to go without one once you grow accustomed to it.

Pros

• Lightweight, brushed aluminum
• Dissipates heat very well
• Six height settings
• Swivel base
• Large and strong enough for a 17&quot; laptop

Cons

• Would be nice to have fans for added cooling
• Steep price

 

i'm quite surprised that this product would have such a significant effect on the temps...nice work.

 

I like it, nice review. How much and where did you purchase this?

 

You and me both.




As for buying it, you can find it from their site at http://www.laptopdesk.net/aluminumstand.html for $60.

 

while we are in the subject of laptop coolers, why not get this instead?

http://www.tacticalgamer.com/hardware-software-discussion/91613-110cfm-laptop-cooler.html

 

I don't know if thats the coolest, or ugliest looking thing I've seen under a laptop ever. But I want one. Reminds me of my days of making potato cannons.

 

While this product is much better then using a thick book ( which is not a bad solution by itself ) , those temps seem too high to begin with .

Its either a bad design , a clogged grill or "burnt" thermal paste/sticker but for heating issues I'd check the last 2 options first .

 

you said one of the cons of this product was its steep price....... but you didn't list a price anywhere in your review.....

 

You are right, this was before a routine cleaning, but even after testing it with a clean computer, the temps are roughly 10 less and the amount by which it cooled was the same.
Plus, my notebook does get pretty hot since it is so thin with so much juice in it.

 

well then,the aluminiums are good heat spreaders although its performance is still less then iron...

 

Retail price is $59.95.

TechEBlog Review (with video).

The Gadgeteer Review.

 

Can you also put it on your lap? I'm looking for something like this.

Something you can use on your lap and on the desk...

 

Definitely, it dissipates heat very well.

 

Great. Now I want to buy one in the UK, but can't find it anywhere. Can someone tell me where to buy? I went to LapWorks UK website, but they don't have the product. Strange.. I did e-mail them though to ask about it. Have someone in the UK bought one of these?