Prime Cooler CoolPad

Performance:

Attaching the Prime Cooler CoolPad to any laptop is quite an easy task. To begin, simply connect the included USB cable from the bottom of the CoolPad to any laptop with an available USB port. Finally, the last step is simply to set the laptop on top of the cooler. As many of the latest mobile processors don't produce as much heat as their desktop counterpart or older processors, we chose to test the Prime Cooler CoolPad in conjunction with an old laptop we had lying around. This laptop was a Compaq Presario 2700. This laptop is composed of 256MB SDRAM, Intel Pentium 3 1GHz processor with SpeedStep Technology, ATI Mobility Radeon M6, 8x DVD-ROM, and a 20GB hard drive. This laptop is by no means fast, but it does output a fair amount of heat. Loaded up on this laptop we had Knoppix 3.8.2. When stressing the laptop, we used CPUBurn-In v1.00.

Unfortunately, the sensors built-in with this laptop aren't exactly the best, LM_Sensors still managed to detect them. Before the CoolPad was attached to the notebook, we recorded the hard drive temperature at 36°C, when performing some simple tasks using Knoppix. After the laptop was sitting on the CoolPad and fans turned on, this reading dropped to 30°C. The system sensor also reported a drop of roughly 4°C when the CoolPad was being used.

Conclusion:

Overall, this is a very simple way to easily cool off any laptop. As the laptop/notebook simply sits on top of the CoolPad, there are no compatibility issues to fear. Furthermore, whether you're running a Pentium 4 desktop chip or an Intel Mobile Chip, a drop in system temperatures can almost always be noted. As for the noise level of these two small Prime Cooler fans, we found them to be almost inaudible. The Prime Cooler CoolPad is a great contraption for keeping laptops cool when used for prolonged periods of time.

Pros:

· Quiet
· Drop in laptop temperatures
· Durable aluminum construction
· Easy to setup

Cons:

· No adjustable fan speed
· USB cable may be a bit short for some laptops