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Targus Lap Chill Mat
by Randal
Like most people, I often use a laptop on my lap - either whilst sat on the sofa watching the TV, or whilst stopped in the car somewhere. And again like most people, I tend to suffer from the hot legs problem where you end up blocking the cooling vents of your laptop, which then causes it to heat up, creating a double problem. ... Initially it heats your legs up, which can become uncomfortable, but it also heats up the components in your laptop, thus shortening their life, possible meaning laptop failure and loss of your vital documents. So it kind of makes sense to try and do something about this heat issue.
Hence when I came across this Targus Lap Chill Mat on Amazon, I was quite intrigued, particularly since it mentioned the word 'chill', which I soon determined wasn't a fashion statement or some form of 'youff' speak. Previous laptop lap tables that I have used ease the heating problem a little by keeping your laptop on a hard surface, allowing some airflow underneath. But this Chill Mat has a sort of built in cooling system which in theory is far more effective. So for just under £20, I took delivery of the 17" version.
So what do you get for the money? Well at first sight, it looks just like a flat top table mounted on a wedge type affair which is hollow. Dimensions wise it is 38cm wide, by 30.5cm deep by 5cm high at the deepest point, and, being hollow, is fairly light weight overall, coming in at just over 1kg. It looks like some sort of designer artwork piece, and the wedge allows a laptop placed on the top to be tilted towards you at a slight angle, thereby creating an ergonomic position for you to comfortably type. To stop the laptop sliding down, the top has a neoprene mat mounted on to it with a rubber foot pad in each corner. So in general, it looks and seems to be just like any other laptop table that you can put on your lap.
However, the title did say 'chill', and this is the key difference which stands this item apart from other basic laptop tables. Buried in the wedge you have 2 fans, and these provide that chill element. The neoprene mat on the top has a series of holes and vents in it which sit under your laptop when it is in position. The fans themselves are powered by a usb lead which comes from the back of the wedge and plugs directly into your usb socket on your laptop. Plug in and the fans come on - no on/off switch to worry about. When powered up, the fans blow cooling air up through the neoprene mat and around under your laptop, thereby keeping your laptop cool, or 'chilled', hence ensuring that your computer components last longer.
How effective is it? In use, it seems to work very well. In the past when I had the laptop on my lap, I noticed that the fans on my laptop would come on quite frequently to try and cool things down, but with the air vents blocked, it really had to struggle, and hence things got hot. When I now use this chill mat, I find that that is now no longer the case as the fans in the chill mat keep everything cool. On its own without the fans, the mat itself does seem to keep things fairly cool because there is a nice gap left under your laptop to maintain airflow. But put the fans on, and everything cools down a stage further, which keeps your laptop running efficiently. In terms of noise, yes you are aware that the fans are running, but not in a distracting sort of way. If I had to do a comparison, I would say that the fan in my laptop (a Dell) is the louder of the 2 systems.
In summary, to me this Targus Lap Chill Mat was a good investment. At just under £20 for the 17" model, it looks good, is ergonomically designed for comfort, but above all, keeps things cool on my laptop. Hence, I easily give this a 5* recommendation.
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Logitech Cooling Pad N100
by GodfatherOfSoul
Logitech N100 Laptop Cooler
One day my three year old Toshiba laptop started behaving most curiously and developed a rather frustrating habit of shutting itself down every 40 minutes or so. At first I thought I had a computer virus and feared the worst but I finally deduced that the laptop was suffering from what I like to ... call 'heat stroke'. The temperature of the laptop had got to a level deemed unsafe for continued use and so, without warning or explanation I might add, routinely shut down to save itself (caring little for my unsaved work in the process). The fan had obviously become less effective over the years and couldn't cool the laptop efficiently enough whilst it was being flogged at full usage capacity.
My first solution was a rather Heath Robinson affair which involved balancing the laptop on a stack on four or five textbooks to increase the airflow to the underside of the laptop and thus around the components which became hot. This had some success by extending the time before my laptop would shut down but didn't fully solve the problem. More crucially however, I didn't care too much for the new operating height of my laptop and developed rather serious wrist/arm strain as a result. Therefore after some research online and at a cost of £15 from Amazon, I got myself the Logitech N100 Laptop Cooler. I was eager to try it out and see if it had been £15 well spent or whether I would have been better purchasing a booster cushion for my desk chair.
=== Design ===
It comes in a snug fitting cardboard box and immediately caught my eye as being far better looking in reality than the image shown online. It measures 14.5" x 11" and is about 1.5" high at its tallest part (at the very back of the cooler). It will fit most laptop sizes but states that it's designed for a maximum 15.4" laptop. Mine is a little larger than this but still fits on perfectly though.
The whole thing is made from a smooth non-reflective plastic which feels strong enough for regular use and also makes it look quite stylish. The front/top facia is a very light grey colour and the back of mine is coloured in a slightly dark green (roughly the same colour as the green seen on the dooyoo website!). There are two matching grey rubberised grips on the top which act to hold your laptop in place and stop it slipping down the sloped angle of the cooler.
The front of the cooler has a grill which extends round the back and roughly mirrors the size of the grill on the front. Encased in this grill is the fan itself - the crucial element of the whole device. There is only one fan which looks very similar in design to a normal desk fan except that this one measures a mere 3 inches in diameter. The fan itself is powered by USB which you plug into your laptop - the cable for this USB plug fits snuggly into a groove in the underside of the cooler when not in use. When in use there are four grooves for the cable to run along and access all sides of your laptop so wherever your free USB port is, the cable will fit snuggly into the cooler and you won't have any spare wire cluttering up your desk. This is a very useful feature and allows you to use a USB port on the left/right/back left/back right of your laptop.
=== Ease of use ===
The cooler itself is sloped so that your laptop sits on top and angles slightly forwards. Imagine sticking a wad of newspapers under the back of your laptop so that the keyboard is tilted towards you. This takes a little getting used to at first but is essential to allow air to flow underneath the laptop and cool down those hot components. The alternative would be to raise the entire laptop which may suit some people but was not what I was looking for. And because the front of the cooler is very low (about half an inch) the laptop doesn't feel like it's being raised up at all. I actually find it easier to type with this new slanted angle but some people may not like it so this needs to be taken into account by the purchaser.
The rubberised grips hold the laptop firmly in place and you will struggle to slide your laptop out of position accidentally whilst in use.
The USB cable as previously stated is designed to fit into any available port - a feature which it accomplishes with considerable efficiency. There is never more than a couple of inches of excess cable protruding from the cooler and the cable itself is very rubbery and flexible so that it is easy to manipulate and twist the USB plug into place. To power the fan you simply need to run the cable through the desired groove on the underside of the cooler and plug it into your laptop whilst it is turned on. The fan then springs into action and gets to work at creating a flow of air under and around your laptop. No added software or additional set-up is needed - simply plug it in and it starts. It will work with any laptop regardless of operating system or PC specification. All you need is a free USB port.
The cooler is very light. Although it doesn't feel like it, the cooler is a kind of hollow shell with the fan in the middle so it doesn't weigh much as a result. This means that you can easily use your cooler/laptop on your lap without it causing too much additional weight. This is a very handy feature for me because I frequently use my laptop on the sofa whilst in front of the TV. The cooler is very comfortable to use in this way despite being made form hard plastic. I actually think it's more comfortable than resting the laptop itself on my lap. This is because the cooler is slightly curved and isn't completely flat like the bottom of a laptop.
Placing it on a desk is no problem either since there are four rubber grips on the underside of the cooler to stop it slipping around. These are almost identical to the grips found underneath my laptop and when the added weight of the laptop is placed on it, the cooler sits very firmly in place.
=== Performance ===
So, how well does it work? Well, remember me saying how my laptop regularly shut itself down every 40 minutes? Well this problem was completely eradicated. I could turn my laptop on in the morning, plug in the cooler and it would run unhindered until the evening without once even threatening to overheat and shut down. It was like having a whole new laptop. I was expecting the cooler to work but not necessarily expecting miracles since my laptop was getting on a bit and got so hot sometimes I think I could have fried an egg on it - it certainly had a good go at frying my lap on occasions!
Placing the laptop on the cooler the cool air flow circulates around the underside of the laptop and, because of the curved profile of the cooler, flows out around the sides of the laptop. The grill extends around the back of the cooler and continues underneath providing an ample supply of air for the fan to blow forth. This efficient flow of air is very good at reaching most of the underside of the laptop and thus provides an effective cooling force.
The fan is very quiet whilst working and the sound of the air flow is very low. I can barely hear the cooler over the normal operating sound of my laptop which in itself isn't overly loud despite its advancing years. This is probably because the fan is quite small and doesn't provide any more air flow than is necessary to be effective. A larger fan would probably cause a greater ruckus whilst at the same time being surplus to requirements.
As far as I can tell the cooler doesn't cause any significant drain on the battery life of my laptop. If there is any difference then it will be a case of a few minutes at most. I haven't experienced any noticeable drop in battery life and can't imagine that such a small fan requires a great deal of power.
I especially like that the cooler is thin and only 1½ inches thick at its thickest point. This means that it fits easily into my laptop case alongside my laptop. This will depend on your laptop case but mine has an additional pouch for CDs/booklets which I have utilised to hold the cooler. This means I can carry my laptop around with the cooler without needing a separate bag.
=== Longevity ===
I have been using this now for 2-3 years and although my newer laptop (of the past year or so) doesn't need cooling as much I still use it to support my laptop when using it on my lap or bed. I have also grown accustomed to the angled keyboard the cooler provides so use it unplugged to provide this typing angle.
The cooler is very simple in design and there is very little to go wrong. The fan is protected from accidental damage by the grill and any dust that gets in can easily be blown out. There is amply space around the fan inside the cooler so that dust won't clog up the workings should you allow it to get too dusty. The USB cable is firmly connected to the fan through the cooler's shell and doesn't look like it will come loose unless you start swinging it around above your head. I am struggling to find anything that is even slightly susceptible to damage or wear!
=== Verdict ===
So if you're in need of a laptop cooling device then the Logitech N100 Laptop cooler will definitely solve your problem. Don't waste your time and money on cheaper versions and stay well away from those found in pound shops! One of my friends opted for this cheaper option and soon regretted it. Her device was almost completely ineffective and broke after a few days. She has since purchased the Logitech N100 (on my recommendation) and hasn't reported any difficulties since.
Effective, robust and very well designed; you can't go wrong with this in my opinion and I highly recommend it. It's an added bonus that it looks as stylish as it does!
The N100 version is currently available on Amazon for £15.61 and slightly more expensive at other online stores.
Thanks for reading :)
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Startech Triple fan hard drive cooling kit
by williams91
In a world where performance is everything it's no surprise that you can literally cool everything inside a computer. Not too long ago I was given the StarTech triple fan hard drive cooling kit, which is a mouthful to say a couple of times. First things first this is a fan piece that can cool one hard drive and it consists of a piece of ... plastic encasing 3 fans.
I don't really know where to start with this product, I myself do like performance of computers and I enjoy pushing them as far as they can go. This is my job after all, after unboxing this product my first thoughts were it feels really cheap, it's light but then again its nothing more than small pieces of plastic.
Installing this was incredibly easy as it slots in any free bay with the hard drive going right behind it, it took me about 10 minutes to place this in. When I switched my computer on the first thing I noticed was how loud these fans were. There are 3 of them on this device and according to the box they run at 38dB but when I tested the sound I actually had them running at 45dB! That's a big increase considering they don't have any turbo or overdrive mode.
Performance wise I can honestly say they didn't make any difference to my system, accept make it incredibly loud of course. I ran tests before, during and after having this product installed and each there was no change in the data that I was receiving. I just want to believe that air cooling works for hard drives but after testing this device my faith has been shaken; if we are to get any further performance out of hard drives I think water cooling is the way forward.
This is a cheap product at around £12 but personally that is £12 too expensive, I don't think I have ever tested a more pointless product before because I have at least had a few good points to say but this one I just don't. I can at least say this I suppose if you want to make your computer louder, then this is the product for you, but I am yet to meet anyone with this goal. So guys it's as simple as this, save yourself £12 and do not buy this product.
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