Test Results

In our 24°C test room we ran a 40 minute burn-in test with the Acer laptop with each notebook cooler configured at different fan speeds, as well as turning the fan off.

To no surprise the results without extra cooling are worst, however they are not that far off some of the smaller coolers. Noise was measured at close distance of 5cm, the result room ambient noise was ~36dBA according to our dBA meter, with the laptop running the meter registered 37.8dBA;

So here are the results:



Exhaust temperature and Area A results are pretty much in line with the CPU load temperature; So better CPU temperature equals cooler palm rest too!

Temperature wise the Zalman NC-2000 prevails, performing better than the other notebook coolers by ~5°C. Also worthy of note is that the fans don’t always help much as you’ll see in the result chart, sometimes results without fans are better/on par compared to those with the fans running.

Almost all units cooled even with their “fans off”, except for the LapCool 5, but even with fan speed @ high that cooler doesn’t do much with the Acer.

The noisiest fans are the flashy blue LED lighted in the Spire Pacific Breeze, at 48.6dBA that unit is way too loud and even with the fan speed at low it remains too audible to be used in a quiet environment. The Zalman units remained very quiet, even with fans at high speed; the Sunbeamtech Notepal also did very well here. The Revoltec with 3 fans at full speed was only ~2dBA noisier, not very audible.

Conclusive Thoughts

Notebook cooling effectiveness will depend on your laptop size and model, we tested here with an Acer 17” model, if we use a different brand/model we’ll end up with a different result chart; so don’t rely on the temperature results too much here, unless you happen to have the exact same laptop.

The noise readings and laptop orientation of each cooler do play a repeatable role; noise wise the only trouble maker is the Spire PacificBreeze, even with the fans set to low they are too noisy; and in the off mode, you might as well just prop a book under the end of your laptop for the same cooling effect.




The Antec Notebook cooler is ideal for 15” size laptops, if you like the fact that your laptop will sit higher on your desk. With the 17” Acer that notebook cooler was ineffective and too small.

The LapCool 5 from Vantec didn’t do much good cooling wise; it does add 3 USB ports to your laptop which is a good thing and its fans don’t make too much noise. No matter the size of your laptop this unit will work. But it will depend on your laptop’s cooling layout how well it will cool.

Of the four aluminum coolers the Zalman NC-2000 sets itself apart in the cooling department; noise wise none of the units was noisy and even without active fans they did a good job of reducing CPU load temperatures. If we add price to the equation the Zalman NC-2000 becomes less interesting and the Sunbeamtech Notepal becomes our cooler of choice if you don’t have any in/out-put situation at the front of your laptop. The Revoltec RNC-3000 is quiet and affordable for being a 17” cooling solution; and with its brushed aluminum look rivals the Zalman units.

We can’t call out one winner, as each product has its benefits and drawbacks, also pure performance wise the results are directly related to what laptop you will be using; we hope the pictures, noise data and preliminary temperature results will help you decide which product is best for you.

We like to thank Antec, Zalman, Revoltec, Spire, Vantec and Sunbeamtech for letting us test their products; thank you for reading!