CoolerMaster NotePal LapAir Notebook Cooler Review

It seems that in the UK today, every man and his dog has some form of laptop or notebook and that makes for an awful load of hot laps! With the amount of technology being packed into each one increasing and their overall size decreasing, it's no wonder that they do get to be a bit on the warm side. Laptop coolers are no new invention and have been around for a number of years, but in general they're predominantly designed for use on a desk of some sort, rather than for use on your lap first, desk second.Cooler Master have noted this little detail and have decided to address it and the result comes in the form of the NotePal LapAir.Features[HR][/HR]Noiseless fan with great cooling performanceComfy sponge mat provides comfortErgonomic design for best viewing/typing angleEasy access to fan for quick cleaningPowered via USB port pass through; you won't lose a USB portCable grooves for easy USB cable managementCompatible with 17 and smaller laptops Specifications[HR][/HR]Colour - BlackMaterial - Plastics, metal mesh, rubber, PU spongeWeight - 1.2Kg / 2.6 lbsDimensions - 18-56mm (h) x 430mm (w) x 316mm (d)Fan Dimension - Ø 80mm x 21.3mm blower fanFan Speed - 1650rpm ± 15%Fan Airflow - 65 CFMFan Noise - 23dBAPower - USB 5v DCUSB - USB 2.0/1.1 x1 (for power in)Current Consumption - 0.34APower Consumption - 1.7WCompatibility - Compatible with all 17 and smaller laptops Packaging and BundlePackaging[HR][/HR]The front of the box gives us a nice crisp view of the LapAir on a white background with the Cooler Master purple as highlights. On the top left corner is the Cooler Master logo, and in the bottom left is the product name and brief description underneath. Above the title is an image that informs us that the cooler can take laptops/notebooks upto 17 in size across the screen. Examples of the cooler in use are displayed in the bottom right corner, both on your lap and on a desk. On the rear of the box, there are a number of product images highlighting key features of the LapAir. Above this, there is a clear window through which we can see the soft base of the cooler for when being used on your lap. on the left hand side are the features and specifications as listed on the first page of this review. Below those is the Cooler Master address and a series of logos relating to regulations etc that the box and its contents adhere to. Contents[HR][/HR]The contents of a product of this nature are in general, very simple. Inside the box, we will naturally get the cooler itself, protected by a plastic bag and foam padding on either end to protect the cooler in storage and transit. Our sample did suffer some damage to the box as seen above but the internal foam padding did its job and protected the cooler from any damage. Also included in the box is a user guide on the coolers operation and use, this is given in detail and in a number of languages. A Closer LookOnce the cooler is taken out of all its shipping packaging, we can finally see the simple yet aesthetically pleasing design it has to offer. The top of the cooler is made up of 3 separate areas. Firstly is the main seating area for where you would sit your laptop upon during use. This is slightly recessed into the surface and around the edge is approx 1 of area to allow for cables etc to hang over with out getting damaged or knocked during use. The final part of the top is the plastic grill through which cool air is pushed onto the base of the laptop and then out at either end. In order to clean the underside of the grill and the fan area, there is a fabric tag with the brand name on it Another subtle label of branding is found on the top of the cooler. On the back of the cooler we can get a clearer view of the unique feature of this cooler; namely the foam and fabric padding for using the cooler on your lap. A close up shot shows the material used. Around the padding, we can see a cable recess for neatly directing the power cable around the cooler to the most convenient USB port on you laptop. Also built into the rear is a recess for stowing the USB pass though connector into whilst not in use - far better than having a cable dangling about and at risk from getting snagged on something. Beneath this is a sticker with the Cooler Master logo and regulatory logos and also a serial number/barcode for each individual device. Some laptop coolers come with either a USB socket or two on the cooler to add to or passthrough the connection that would be lost on the laptop. Cooler Master here use a USB passthrough socket.. Conventionally, laptop coolers draw air from the base of the cooler up and through to the base of the laptop. The LapAir however draws air from the rear trough a set of vents. This is to allow for a smoother airflow and also to prevent the fan from drawing up dust a debris from whatever its sitting on. Cleaning out the inside of the cooler is a breeze. By lifting the fabric tag on the right hand side, the grill comes up and completely off the base. Most manufacturers put a small mark on their products as an official seal. Here we see a holographic sticker on top of the fan with 'genuine' quite literally printed all over it. With the grill removed, we can see the fan that keeps everything flowing. As the air is drawn from the rear and not the underside of the casing, the fan design is also different to conventional coolers. These normally use a mechanical fan with pitched blades that pull and push air through effectively blowing the air through them. The LapAir uses a centrifugal fan to pass air through similar to what we normally see on AMD graphics cards. When the fan is rotating, air is drawn from the side rather than the bottom and the resulting pressure that builds up forces air up and out of the top of the housing. InstallationSetting up your laptop on the cooler is a very simple procedure, re-route the power cable through the recesses on the rear of the cooler and simply plug the USB plug into an available port on your laptop. Don't worry about losing out on a USB socket once plugged in as Cooler Master have been kind enough to fit the cooler with a USB pass-through connection. As described, the cooler takes laptops upto 17 in screen size, and our test laptop for this review sits nicely on the cooler. Once plugged in, the fan spins up and even though its listed as having 23dBA of noise it is noticeable and audible enough even when the laptops fan spins up.Test SetupThroughout the testing period, we would generally use lots of different applications to test performance but a product of this nature only requires very simple testing in the form of various temperatures so Prime95 will be used to generate the most heat during testing.We started our test with the cooler unplugged and our chosen laptop placed upon it. During testing, CoreTemp will be used to monitor the temperatures of Core #0 and Core #1.Once the temperatures were accurately measured, we plugged the cooler in and waited 15 minutes for the temperatures to stabilise once again.ResultsThe tables below show us the results for each core on idle and at load with both the cooler running and without. From the charts we can see that the cooler has dropped the temperatures of the laptop by around 1-2C at both idle and full load. This may not be a huge amount, but every little bit helps.Final Thoughts[COLOR=black]With a product of this nature, there is not a great deal that can be said about this, but in a nut shell, it does what it says on the tin. The LapAir is a little different to the generic notebook cooler design in that its incorporated foam padding on the base for use and comort on ones lap sets it apart.The cooler abeit being slightly bulky, is light and comfortable for extended use. It's large size means that it freely accomodates a wide variety of laptops on the market.Using any notebook cooler does have an upside as with any cooling product. Not only does it impove comfort of use, but the cooling, albeit marginal onto the base of the notebook, lowers the operating temperature - as we all know, lowering the temperature will prolong the running life of your notebook. You may be thinking, but why should i spend around £20 on a cooler that barely drops the temperature. Heres how you justify this, would you rather spend ~£20 and have your laptop run for an extra couple of years or spend around £400 every 3-4 years on a new laptop?I've had one of my laptops now for 10 years, and its been running on a cooler for 8 of them on my desk. It still runs as good as it did on day one and has no sign of giving up yet.[/COLOR][COLOR=black] Pros:Extends the life of your laptop / notebookLightweight designVery comfortable to use on your lapWell known manufacturerExcellent price point[/COLOR][COLOR=black]Cons: Fan noise is a little more than expectedQuite large to transport[/COLOR]We would like to thank Cooler Master for this review sample Attached files 1.jpg (19.9 KB) 2.jpg (19.9 KB) 3.jpg (19.5 KB) 4.jpg (19.8 KB) cm.jpg (10.7 KB) lapair_01.jpg (46.6 KB) lapair_02.jpg (46.5 KB) lapair_03.jpg (44.4 KB) lapair_04.jpg (43.1 KB) lapair_05.jpg (45.1 KB) lapair_06.jpg (47.1 KB) lapair_07.jpg (48.8 KB) lapair_08.jpg (79.1 KB) lapair_09.jpg (53.9 KB) lapair_10.jpg (61.9 KB) lapair_11.jpg (47.7 KB) lapair_12.jpg (58.7 KB) lapair_13.jpg (43 KB) lapair_14.jpg (69.2 KB) lapair_15.jpg (65.3 KB) lapair_16.jpg (50.4 KB) lapair_17.jpg (76.6 KB) lapair_18.jpg (81.9 KB) lapair_19.jpg (63.1 KB) lapair_20.jpg (47.3 KB) silver.jpg (12.4 KB)