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Trust Madu Netbook Cooling Stand
by alyson29
As my laptop is frequently in operation I was becoming rather concerned about it overheating, particularly as I use it on one of my living rooms tables and whilst sitting up in bed. As a result, both my furniture and lap were becoming rather hot. Another reason is that I often experienced pains in my neck due to constantly leaning ... forward to reach the keyboard. Consequently, I needed to make a purchase of a laptop stand that as well as cooling my machine could also be angled to make it more comfortable for me to use. I didn't have a clue which brands were deemed as the best, particularly as I had never owned such a device before, so a random purchase was made and subsequently returned to the shop the next day due to its' inferior quality.
Whilst wandering around Maplins approximately four months ago an item that caught my eye was one belonging to Trust and its' name is MADU Notebook Cooling Stand. Due to the name of the product suggesting this is for a notebook I almost walked straight past the display, but after a chat with the friendly sales person it seemed that this was exactly what I was looking for. Consequently, my purchase was made and this review discusses my experience with using the product.
WHY DID I CHOOSE THIS PARTICULAR MODEL?
Whilst price is a major factor in many of my buying decisions, the most important aspect for me in relation to this purchase was the product's ability to meet my requirements. The cardboard box packaging informs us that the height of the stand is adjustable and can be raised up to 20 cm and that it will hold any notebooks and laptops with a maximum screen size of 16 inches. Although I was not looking for a stand that provided a cooling fan I was rather pleased to learn that this model offers a silent fan that needs to be plugged into the laptop's USB port.
APPEARANCE OF THE COOLING STAND AND SETTING UP
The sturdy black plastic 862g cooling stand is flat packed inside the box and fortunately for me there were no pieces to click into place, as it was whole and had simply been collapsed for storage purposes. There is a quick installation guide booklet accompanying the stand that gives step by step illustrations on how to set it up ready for use. I simply needed to pull the upper section forwards and select the most suitable height and click the large metal foot section into one of the six pegs located on the base of the stand so that it was positioned at a 45 degrees angle. The measurements of the stand are approximately 34 cm in width and 30 cm in depth. Located in the centre of the area on which the laptop sits is a large vent, which runs the entire width of the stand and situated below the vents is a good sized bright yellow and black fan.
There are four small circular padded areas located in each of the corners to protect the underside of my laptop from any scratches and situated on each of the lower sides are small feet, which need to be pulled forwards to allow the laptop to be securely positioned. My laptop perfectly fits the stand and is much easier to use due to the fact that it has been raised to a more comfortable angle and my lap doesn't feel like it's on fire! In addition to this, I no longer have the worry that I will find scorch marks on any of my wooden tables. When my laptop has been in operation for a couple of hours I choose to use the fan and I reach for the USB cable that neatly fits into a designated section on the rear of the stand. There is a good length of cable, which allows me to click it into the USB port to enable the device to operate the cooling fan. As advised by Trust, the fan is silent when in operation and rapidly cools down my machine.
WHAT DO I THINK?
I cannot fault this cooling stand as in addition to keeping my laptop cool, I have the assurance that my furniture or indeed my lap are not going to burn. The stand has a large circular area on its' underside, which enables it to be rotated a full 360 degrees. Whilst there are no pads on the underside, I cannot complain that any of my tables have been scratched, but small pads are easily obtained in stores such as Wilkinsons if you require additional reassurance. My neck pains are now a thing of the past, as I do not feel the need to overstretch when using my laptop. Whilst the stand is manufactured from a sturdy plastic, it is extremely durable and I am of the opinion that it will last me for many years.
To clean I wipe with over with a normal household duster and whilst the stand is easily unclipped and returned to its' flat packed position I tend to leave mine permanently open, particularly as my laptop is used so often. The stand has a 2 year guarantee and conforms to the appropriate safety requirements.
PRICE AND AVAILABILITY
As previously stated, I purchased mine from Maplins for £24.99, but at the time of writing, you can purchase this product brand new from Amazon for just £20.76, which is inclusive of postage and packing.
As I am so pleased with my purchase, it receives 5 stars from me together with a full recommendation.
I hope you found my review useful and would thank you for reading.
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Antec NoteBook Cooler 200
by danny691
If you have read my PC/Laptop accessory reviews you have probably stumbled across one or two of my laptop cooling devices. My general opinion of such accessories is that they are either gimmicky and therefore don't work or are innefficient at their task, or they are so poorly constructed that they are unreliable in the longer term. As ... you can see I still havn't given up in finding the ultimate laptop cooling device, and the latest one to meet the challenge is the Antec Notebook Cooler 200.
The demands of modern laptops/notebooks are becoming more geared towards gaming and other forms of heavy duty tasks such as downloading large files, in general the workload of our computers is increasing and therefore the call for assistance is becoming greater. Ultimately the performance of your computer is dependant upon the power and specification of its internal componants. Another key factor, however, is optimising their performance by ensuring they stay cool and efficient in their tasks. The Antec Notebook Cooler 200 aims to meet this need, and the similarities with other coolers ends with the basic shape and the fact that your computer sits on the top of it. Here, you then have a cooler like no other I have come across. The futuristic complexity of the design, with the 200mm Antec Big Boy fan in the centre underneath wire meshing shows that it means business. This fan has two speed settings, unlike most which simply have an on/off setting. The efficiency of this fan is also overwhelming. The size is obviously a key feature to note, but the way in which it quite literally sucks hot air in and spits it out is unreal. The cooler is finished off with cool blue LED's which illuminate the fan grill. These can be switched on/off - through the day I find them unnecessary, but at night they are super cool!
The Antec Notebook Cooler 200 is powered through the USB connector on your laptop or notebook. This is a convenient way to connect the cooler to a power source, but I find it a little irritating. I wish to keep USB ports free for other accessories, and if you are using this product you are liekyl to have access to a powerpoint due to the amount of energy this bad boy would sap from your computer.
Another great feature to the Notebook Cooler 200 is that it can either be used on your lap or on a flat surface. I usually use my laptop on my lap, but I am sure most laptop cooler users would say it is best to use it on a sturdy table. I think if you mainly use your laptop on your lap and are experiencing cooling/performance issues then you would be advised to use it more on a flat surface such as a table, or even a large book. Regardless of your preferences the '200' is versatile and very worthwhile. The base sits comfortably on my legs, with laptop sitting neatly on top. It must be said that on balance it really does prefer sitting on a desk.
For many, price will be an issue with this product. Even before I give the price away I will say now that I just have to knock a star off for cost - I still think I am being generous in doing so! The total price is around the £50 mark. If you struggle to form an opinion on whether this is a lot, you should perhaps take a look at Amazon where laptop cooling stations cost from around £10. The problem is that the durability for this price is terrible, and the '200' will win hands down against most (if not all) of these cheaper immitations. Weighing over 1.5kg it has to be said that the Antec Notebook Cooler 200 is the Rolls Royce of cooling devices. The only downsides being price and that USB connectivity.
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Startech Black USB Powered Laptop Cooler
by PullSideways
I have a really hot laptop. So much so it burns my lap and heats up to the point you can feel the heat rising through the keyboard. So simple solution right, buy a laptop cooler. Right?
Well no. The most important thing I now realise you should check before you buy a laptop cooler is to check the direction of airflow from your ... laptop, i.e. in the bottom out the back or in the back and out the bottom. This dictates whether your cooler should suck or blow. get it wrong and you'll starve your laptop of air by creating a dead space.
On my laptop, it kind of works. It cools the processor but not the hard drive or the GPU, them it actually heats up. So I cant use it with the fans on. I just use it as a laptop stand, which actually cools better than I expected. But this was not what I bought it for.
So, you live, you learn. Now I have a rather expensive laptop stand.
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