Today I have another notebook cooler for review, but this one is a bit different, at first glance it looks kinda like a heating pad or maybe a mini quilt, as odd as it looks though it really does work. The product is the iXoft Notebook Cooling Pad from our friends at Thermaltake, and it is truly a fan less cooling solution that works very well. So read on to check it out and see just how well it does work…
Thermaltake iXoft Notebook Cooling Pad
Reviewed by: Kristofer Brozio AkA Dracos
Sponsor: Thermaltake
Tech Specs,Features or the Basic Info:
Thermaltake iXoft Notebook Cooling Pad
iXoft
Notebook Cooling
Revolutionary Fanless Design 15" Cooling Pad
Features:
-Revolutionary Fanless Design for absolute silence 0dBA.
-Exclusive HeatShift Technology for ultimate laptop cooling
-Ultra light weight for easy transportation and carrying(only 640g)
-Soft and durable material designed for maximum portability
-iXoft can be used as thermal mat on laps for better comfort
-Application for all types of PC Notebook (12"~17")
-Does not require power so PC Notebook lasts longer !
Versatility:
iXoft can be used on desk. If its used on lap, which helps to isolate heat coming from Notebook.
HeatShift Technology:
iXoft thermal video apparatus illustrates heat is distributed evenly across the whole surface to enable faster heat dissipation
The exclusive HeatShift Technology can distribute heat more effectively than any other materials.
Physical State:
iXoft can folded at both solid and liquid state
Specs:
P/N: Black R15ON01
White R15ON02
Weight: 640g
Dimension: 353x305x12mm
Material: Sodium Sulfate Decahydrate Na2SO4.10H2O
Noise Level: 0 dBA
A Better Look at Things
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The Thermaltake iXoft comes in a sealed plastic clamshell package that I had to cut open to get at the product. Inside is a cardboard slip that covers half of the pad itself and lists all the specs and features while letting the consumer get a good look at the product.
As I mentioned in the intro the iXoft resembles a quilt or maybe a heating pad really, well it’s quited so you can see where I get the resemblance from, but that’s where the comparison ends as inside the iXoft is a technology that can actually change from liquid to solid and back again. The front of the iXoft has a fairly smooth texture to it, with the iXoft logo and the Thermaltake logos in plain view.
The back of the iXoft is a soft material meant to be comfortable for your lap, but also a non-slip material for use on a desk or elsewhere.
The construction of the iXoft is very well done with heavy duty thread on the seams and thick material borders.
Overall I’m very impressed with the iXoft it seems extremely sturdy and very well made and designed. I was kind of excited to get this for review as it is basically the first of it’s kind like it, and I really wanted to know just how well it did work to cool my laptop.
Installation, Testing and Comparison
For installation, well there is none really, just put it down and put your laptop on top of it.
You can see from the pictures that the Thermaltake iXoft is just a bit bigger than my Dell Latitude C640 which has a 14.1 inch screen. It’s basically a standard sized laptop that most people might have.
For testing I used the internal sensors to register my the temperatures, I used I8kfanGUI from Diefer to do that. It’s an excellent tool that he made specifically for Dell laptops of varying models to help control the fans better than the Dell stock software, and it has some other cool features as well. I used I8kfangui with the fans set to the auto setting so the software controlled them depending on the temperature.
To get load on my system I ran Prime95, and to get idle temps I let the system sit for 30 minutes just running normal Windows services and anti-virus.
During testing ambient temperature was 23C
Idle:
Stock: 46C
With iXoft: 39C
Load:
Stock: 60C
With iXoft: 55C
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I have to note that without the iXoft the fans kicked in to full speed, but with the iXoft they only came on to medium speed making it much quieter. As you can see from the temps the iXoft works surprisingly well with a five degree Celsius drop in temps at load and idle.
One observation to note is that Thermaltake mentions that the iXoft is ‘ultra light weight’, well I have to argue that point, the iXoft is actually kinda heavy, but not any heavier than the metal cooling solutions I’ve reviewed in the past though.
Summary:
Well the Thermaltake iXoft is a truly fanless solution that works and works well for what it is, I was truly surprised at the temperatures I got while using the iXoft. I honestly didn’t expect more than 1-2 degrees difference in the temps with and without the iXoft, I really thought it was more of a gimmick than anything, but I’m impressed, and happily so. The iXoft is very well made and does what it promises to do.
DragonSteelMods gives the iXoft Notebook Cooling Pad a 4.5 out of 5 score and our Recommended Award as well.
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Pros:
-Fanless
-Cools your laptop
-Truly Silent
-Look great
Cons:
-A bit heavy
I would like to thank Thermaltake for the chance to review the iXoft Notebook Cooling Pad and for their continued support of DSM.
Review# 228