Thoughts on new laptop cooling pad

Hey everyone, I am looking for an affordable laptop cooling pad. Came across this one in Amazon which was the ECOLA Ultra Slim Laptop Cooling Pad Chill Mat.

Wanted to get some reviews from anybody that has purchased this item. From the reviews on Amazon so far have been great though. Any thoughts? I was given a promo code as well if anybody is interested : AFETAF4P

 

I'd say it depends on what openings you got available at the bottom of your laptop, you could try it out and post the results?

 

@stashandariston Can you take a picture of the bottom of your laptops and let us see what the vents look like? This will ultimately narrow down your selection based on where air can get into the laptop to cool it.

 

Hi,


+ make sure it has a Potentiometer (so that you can choose the fanspeed)
+ make sure it comes with USB3 hub (then you can use it as docking station)
+ make sure you can adjust the height of the thing
+ make sure to have less large fans than more small fans (which generates more noise)

My vote goes out for Coolermaster Ergostand 3 and stuff like that.

 

I say go for it if it is cheap in price. IMO, even the most expensive stock cooler is not very effective in actually dropping temps by more than 2-3C at best.

Now if you decide to mod a cooler (like a Coolermaster U2/U3) with 12V fans while modding your bottom tray to allow air to enter and cool the heatsinks, that's a different story.

 

Yup, my experience is the same. I own a business ProBook with a dedicated GPU and use it for both job and gaming. It heats like hell and I thought that the cooling pad would help mitigate the problem. All I got is an overpriced CM Notepal and a handy stand for my low - height desk.

 

Unfortunately some "reviews" out there claim drops as much as 10C (not that particular cooler, just some general "reviews" I've read in the past), and worse yet some people believe these claims.

Just to put things in perspective, I was able to actually get a drop of 10C from a cooler but that particular cooler was a Notepal U3 with three 12V EK Vardar fans running at 2200rpm and with the bottom tray from my laptop completely cut out to allow air to hit the heatsinks directly. With the bottom tray unmodified, even that modded cooler's cooling effect was minuscule, unless I was concerned about keeping the plastic bottom tray cool .

 

Works better in thin models with all metal bodies, those can usually dump heat through the case if there's enough airflow under there. but definitely agreed on plastic ones.

 

For an MSI GT62VR gaming laptop, would a stock unmodded coolermater U3 lower the temps? Or is it only good if i mod it with 12V fans?

 

Should be fine, I use Aukey Laptop cooler with my GE62 and it definitely lowers temps and helps with airflow. Being able to tilt the laptop helps as well, it is not sitting completely flat.

Not a Coolermaster U3 but it was bought to help heat issues with my previous laptop which it did fine. Didn't want to spend money, was a "suck it and see" purchase. I also "repasted" the CPU and GPU which helped some more, the thermal paste was pretty poor. I have not repasted my MSI yet, but that is on my 'to do list'

 

You'll always get at least a little extra cooling just by getting more air moving under there.

 

More air is always better.


The reason I really recommend the U3 is because it's an ideal cooling pad for you to mod and put bigger fans on.

 

Fair enough, although the U3 is no longer in production, I believe there's a newer model, the U3 plus.

 

then you get the newer one

 

Wasn't aware of that, might get one for my work laptop, it looks pretty nice.

 

Is the new U3 only good at lowering gaming temps if I mod it with bigger fans? Is the stock version sold on amazon effective?

 

Any cooling pad/fan is more effective than stock. As I said earlier my cheap version helps lower temps a fair bit.

 

Not my question. Is the U3 only significantly good if you mod it? Or does it also considerably lower the temps without any modding?

 

I've no idea about the U3 but my response WAS relevant. The GE62 is cooled significantly by ANY cooling pad.

To repeat what @Mobius 1 said, more air is always better, even if you are sitting on top of an AC vent and it is blowing a gale onto your laptop. The U3 will lower the temps regardless of whether you mod it or not. It does this by increasing airflow around the bottom of the case.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cooler-Mas...B00ED3WMTC/ref=dp_ob_title_ce#customerReviews

Reading the Amazon reviews, most people think it is a good cooler which makes a big difference to temps. I would combine this with a repaste of the thermal compound on CPU and GPU for even better temps/thermal transfer.

 

The U3 stock fans move very little air; add to that the restrictive surface of the U3 and you're not going to have a very effective cooler at noticeably lowering temps. I had a U3 modded with 12V fans (I think I mentioned this earlier), but the real airflow didn't occur until I actually cut out the aluminum surface in addition to modding the bottom of my laptop.

Here's my thread with various tests I ran (check page 5 for the final product):

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/another-coolermaster-u3-bottom-tray-mod.789298/

 

That looks really good, especially for a home cut. I like it.

 

Thanks. I used a rotary tool (a Dremel clone) with a cutting disc and slowly cut the holes. It wasn't perfect which is why I used those brackets to cover the imperfections. I must have gone through an entire roll of those discs though as they would wear out quickly or simply crack. A big enough hole saw would probably be a better option.

In retrospect, a U3 purchased just for this purpose is overkill; you can build your own stand with materials like aluminum, plexiglass, or even wood, for a lot cheaper. Another option is one of those cheap Ikea laptop stands but their angle is rather steep for my liking.

 

I used to have one of those rolling floor stands and thought about cutting into that, but didn't because I accidentally dropped a couch onto it and crushed one of the casters and its guide nut, and because it was made of plywood with some sort of vinyl/latex looking veneer and I figured that would look like crap when I was done with it. But a homebrew plexi stand might look really cool if done right.

 

mind you it is an alienware so I guess we shouldn't be surprised

 

I got a cooling pad before, honestly it was not that effective.

 

Mileage may vary. Some cooling solutions definitely work better than others though. And sometimes that tiny bit of extra heat is enough. I've seen some really weird and inefficient cooling solutions that were the difference between overheating and running.