Yesterday I took a look at the CoolerMaster Notepal S, so today I thought I would keep with the ‘S’ theme and take a look at the Antec NoteBook Cooler S. The Antec NoteBook Cooler S is completely different than any other notebook coolers I have reviewed or owned, this one is truly small and very portable. It features a unique cooling system that pushed air across the bottom of your laptop, it can be used at high or low speeds and features a pass-though USB connection so you don’t lose a USB port. Let’s check it out…
Antec NoteBook Cooler S
Reviewed by: Kristofer Brozio AkA Dracos
Sponsor: Antec
Tech Specs,Features or the Basic Info:
NoteBook Cooler S
Compact Notebook Cooler
The compact way to keep your notebook cool.
NoteBook Cooler S’s small size makes it the perfect traveling companion for your notebook computer. With a built in two speed switch, NoteBook Cooler S lets you choose between maximum cooling or minimum noise. Because of its low power consumption you don’t have to worry about NoteBook Cooler S killing your laptop’s battery while you work. Bring more stability to your notebook computer: pick up the NoteBook Cooler S and beat the heat.
Features:
Protect your valuable investment and reduce heat-related instability
USB-powered cooler with pass-through connector included. Draw power from any USB port without losing use of the USB port
2 quiet double ball-bearing fans for reliable extremely quiet operation
Low power consumption
No batteries or power adapter needed
Light weight (easy to carry)
Price $34.95 at time of review
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A Better Look at Things
:
The Antec NoteBook Cooler S comes in a fairly easy to open plastic clamshell package, the package is secured by two brass rivets. You can plainly see the NoteBook Cooler S through the package so you know exactly what the product is.
Flipping it over to the back Antec has an example of how the NoteBook Cooler S is installed and how it works, along with the features and specs listed as well.
The Antec NoteBook Cooler S only comes with a brief instruction sheet, as there really isn’t much to know about installing and using this laptop cooler.
The NoteBook Cooler S is very small, portable and lightweight. It features two fans that can run at high or low speeds which suck air in through the top and push it out through the bottom across the bottom of your laptop. In the following picture you can see the corners have little non-slip pads on them, where your laptop would rest, the pads keep it firmly in place.
The NoteBook Cooler S features a pass-though USB power connection to power the fans, so you don’t have to worry about losing a USB port while using the cooler. This is something all active notebook coolers should have, my laptop, a Dell Latitude C640 only has one USB port on it, and I hate to not have access to it as I normally use it for my BlueTooth dongle.
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A Better Look at Things
Continued:
The fans features the honeycomb style fan grills to promote optimum airflow, but yet keep things out that you don’t want in there.
The bottom of the Antec NoteBook Cooler S has six non-slip pads to make sure your laptop and the NoteBook Cooler S stays in place while you are using it.
Looking down through the front of the NoteBook Cooler S we can get a look at the fans themselves.
We can see there is a lot of space inside actually for air to move around and be directed onto your laptops bottom to keep it nice and cool.
On the back of the NoteBook Cooler S we find the speed switch labeled ‘H’ for high speed and ‘L’ for low speed, there is also an LED to indicate the power in on.
At first glance I was kinda like hmm, how does this thing work exactly, I thought it pulled air in from the bottom and pushed it out through the top like all other types of notebook coolers do, then I realized that Anrtec would not be like all the others out there and have to do something a bit more cool (pun intended). The design of the Antec NoteBook Cooler S is very innovative and well thought out, while it is basically made of plastic it seems very well made and sturdy, sturdy enough to handle traveling anywhere you need to take it. I found that the NoteBook Cooler S is a very interesting product, it’s not like the big bulky aluminum laptop coolers out there, this thing is very small, and very lightweight.
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Installation, Testing and Comparison
There’s not much to the installation of the Antec NoteBook Cooler S, put you laptop in place, plug it in and your ready to go.
First observation is that this cooler is quiet, I have two fans in my laptop, one that runs all the time and then one that kicks in when temps get to high, the first fan is very quiet, while the second is pretty much unbearably loud. I could not hear the Antec NoteBook Cooler S over the first fan while it was on low speed and I could just barely hear it while it was on high, of course when my second fan kicks in you don’t hear much of anything… So overall this cooler is very quiet while on low and barely audible while on high.
I found the angle of the NoteBook Cooler S just right for me to type on comfortably, it’s much better than having to type on it flat.
Ok, we know it’s quiet but how well does it cool? For my testing, to get my idle temperatures I booted my laptop and let it sit for 30 minutes, to get load I ran Prime95 Torture test for the same amount of time. I did this with and without the Antec NoteBook Cooler S and with it on high and low speeds. The ambient temp during testing was approximately 21.5C.
Without Cooler:
Idle: 40C
Load: 58C
With Antec NoteBook Cooler:
On Low Speed:
Idle: 37C
Load: 56C
On High Speed:
Idle: 36C
Load: 54C
There’s not that much of a drastic temperature change using the NoteBook Cooler S, but it still does cool your laptop, so it does as advertised. Of course, depending on your laptop fan configuration, your results will vary.
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Summary:
The Antec NoteBook Cooler S does what it claims to do, it cools your laptop. The NoteBook Cooler S is innovative in its design, allowing for portability and functionality to remain the priority of the product. The NoteBook Cooler S is very small and lightweight making it a perfect choice for travelers who want to keep their laptop cool, and the pass-though USB connection is a very welcome feature.
DragonSteelMods gives the Antec NoteBook Cooler S a 4.5 out of 5 score.
Pros:
-Lightweight and portable
-Antec quality
-Quiet
-Cools your laptop
-Does not take up USB port
Cons:
-Not much of a change in temps with or without the cooler
I would like to thank Antec for the chance to review the NoteBook Cooler S and for their continued support of DSM.
Find more Antec products at ShopZilla!