Zalman ZM-NC1000

EDIT: Let me say first and foremost that I recognize the Zalman as an incredible cooling pad for most PC laptops. However, as the MBP has a different cooling system compared to most PCs and there are significant differences in results, please keep discussion here related to the MB and MBP and the Zalman.

So I asked around about notebook coolers here a while back - in particular, the aforementioned Zalman - but it appeared that few people had actual experience using it with a MBP (and a thank you here to those that did have first-hand experience with both and who were kind enough to PM me).

After checking out the market a bit, I decided to just buy it anyway, despite lukewarm reviews on its effect on the MBP. I figure, hey, it's still the next best thing out there.

My first impressions - not great. The packaging and the cooler itself was undeniably of high quality. However, I first noticed a problem when I realized that the MBP was wider than the Zalman. This in itself wasn't such a bad thing, but because of this, the rubber feet of the MBP don't actually rest on the cooler, making the MBP lose a good 0.1" of free space between the bottom of the laptop and the surface of the cooler.

Noise - the Zalman advertises itself as being able to reduce noise significantly, both through the use of some patented esoteric technology, and by reducing the need for your own laptop's fans (which in theory are loud) for running as fast. Unfortunately, while that may be true of conventional laptops - the Zalman's fans are LOUDER than the MBP's fans. The MBP's fans do get louder as you approach the 6k mark, but considering that the MBP fans start at 2k and are basically silent until 4k (the Zalman fans run at 1.5k max), I'm more inclined to just turn my MBP's fans up for better results, which brings us to the next point:

The big one - heat:
I should probably benchmark this and do several repetitions and measure this accurately. Unfortunately, I'm too lazy to do this.

What I can say is, my MBP used to run at ~52 (cpu). With the Zalman's fans on at max, it's running at ~51. I do see, on average, a few degrees of C lower than what I'm used to (again, based on simply general observation and without any real form of objective and controlled comparison). A good representative sample under the same conditions? Absolutely not. Worth the $50? Well, since I already spent it, I'm going to lie to myself and say "yes".

Maybe we'll see whether any big difference over time as i try different tasks.

 

Nice summary of the cooler taelrak. I'd like to know what other notebook coolers that the MBP will fit on and cool it and look as good as the NC-1000.

 

Well i had a different experience than you, copied ur format for comparison.

My first impressions - Actually it was great, i got the full black version. The packaging and the cooler itself was for sure high quality. However, I too noticed a problem, a wire of the fan is stuck between the upper and lower casing. I tried to remove the casing but it wouldn't budge, so probably it is glued together as well as screwed together, which means the wire is stuck there for nearly forever. Fortunately, my laptop sits on it perfectly, not too wide nor is it too short. (If you have a standard 15" Laptop, this is very recommendable)

Noise - Ok, the truth is, the Zalman is louder than my Samsung R65. But the good thing is, it really works, part of it is becoz my laptop's air intake is really situated on the airflow of the Zalman. We ll continue with that one below.

The big one - heat:
I m also too lazy to photoshop the photos, so i ll list down the temperature of what i see with Speedfan with my 0.0

Testing Condtion:
Room temp: ~24celcius
FanSpeed: 50%

CPU Without/With (in Celcius) Zalman:
Idle - 59/47
Loaded(100%) - 75/67

Well as you can see, the temperature drops about 10Celcius in idle and loaded, and somehow it helped to keep the handrest temperature down (than normal, thou it is still warm, but not like last time) If the fanspeed is set at 100%, the fan sounds like taking off, but if u load the laptop very heavily, i do suggest that u turn it on to 100%. As the MBP air intake is actually from the keyboard area, the Zalman would help that much of cooling the stuff internally, but for me, the air intake is at the bottom, which Zalman cooled the laptop very efficiently, i can say.

Things to Improve:
It was built perfectly for 15" Standard or 14.1" Widescreen, other notebook may find that it is either too short or too long, which makes it looks weird.
I would prefer to have a button switch(digital ones) instead of this analog thing. I can't really judge how many percent it is without resetting it to 0 or 100.
I hate the wire sandwiching between the top and lower case and i can't seem to repair it myself
The fan at 100% load is noisy. Something you want to keep away at least 1.5 meter from you when you sleep. At 50% thou is quieter.

Extras:
I ll try on it when i get an A8Js, which might be coming in a few hours time. Maybe have some pretty pictures and make it into a full review.

Edit: To mods, i think this thread should be move somewhere else, where everybody can find it... and renamed as Zalman NC-1000 Cooler summary.

 

Actually, CPU temp is probably the worst parameter to measure your coolers effectiveness with. It is almost completely defined by the CPU fan and it's thresholds. If your internal fan threshold is 50 degrees then the fan will keep it around that temp. Maybe the fan will kick in a bit less but the temp will still be around the same value unless the cooling is so damn good the CPU doesn't need it's own fan anymore (unlikely).

A much better thing to measure is the HD temperature. And how much the fan is running. And less objective things like palmrest temp etc..

 

So i did the stupid thing...

The prefix C is with cooler(left pic) and the noC(right pic) is without cooler.

I can't say much out of this graph since it was tested for half an hour, a full day test would be better. Anyway, the time to get back to idle is significantly faster than without cooler (which is not shown in graph).

Edit: 1 thing i forgot, the exhaust of the notebook is cooler compared to when there is no Zalman.

 

HOw did you get ur speedfan to detect your GPU/CASE temperature?

 

Well, I put this thread in the Apple forums specifically because the design of the MBP was different from most PC laptops and the results are different. It's pretty much accepted that the Zalman is the best cooler one can conventionally get for most PC laptops - but the information about the specific combination of the MBP and Zalman was lacking.

I didn't post my HDD temps because there was no change whatsoever on those temps (i.e. 42C with or without the cooler). I can't remember the other temps offhand...bottom enclosure was consistent around 39 with or without. I'll check the rest when I get home.

 

I guess Samsung has the chip embedded into the chassis. Otherwise, i have no idea at all. Nvidia's gpu normally have built in thermometer, tat's wat i heard. Oh, my casing is now constantly at 47celcius, the HDD is at 36celcius, the result i posted above might not be totally correct since i ran the cooler setup after the ones without, i didnt let the notebook cool itself down enuf.

 

wow ur core 0 temps went up like crazy without the cooler. :/

 

Oh I thought u were using a MBP...sry ><