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7 Notebook Coolers Compared and Tested

Cooling/VGA & Other Cooling by jmke @ 2008-04-07

With the majority of PC shipments being laptops it is time to find out how you can effectively keep them running cool. In this comparison review we test seven different notebook coolers from Zalman, Vantec, Spire, Sunbeamtech, Revoltec and Antec.

Zalman NC-2000

Zalman NC-2000

The most expensive unit in this roundup also weighs the most, at 1426 gram and €55~60 price tag the Zalman NC-2000 is the big brother of the NC-1000.

Also available in silver/black color it has a few different features compared to the older unit.

Looking at it from the front, the difference is hard to see, especially if you don’t put them next to each other so you can see the size difference.

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The bottom is slightly different already though; yes again 2 fans and rubber feet:

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But a hidden compartment is there now for the USB power cable, and the rear feet can be flipped outwards to increase the incline of the NC-2000.

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On the left side Zalman put one USB 2.0 port:

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The other is on the right side, next to the power button and fan speed controller:

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The Acer fits perfectly on the NC-2000, in the photo below the default feet configuration was kept, with minimum tilt forward for the laptop:

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Comment from grs1961 @ 2008/04/09

Good comparison, but, for me, it left out one important test: How do the coolers behave when used *on* a lap. Are they even *usable* in that sense.

Some of us still use our laptops (even the aircraft carriers) on our laps.

Comment from jmke @ 2008/04/09

check the bottom of each cooler to see how it's formed. I think of the ones in the review only the Antec is flat enough at the bottom to be used on your lap. The others are either too small, or made to be used on a desk

Comment from Kougar @ 2008/04/09

The Antec cooler should be avoided, I tried one. As you said, it is to small for 17" laptops. Additionally one of the fans wore out after exactly 1 year, makes an insane racket to try and use it. Still under the 3 year warranty, assuming you kept the original purchase receipt which I didn't. I wouldn't want to even pay shipping to warranty it anyway, not worth it in my opinion.

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