| Antec Notebook Cooler 200 |  |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Laptop | ||||||||
| Written by Dan Ferguson | ||||||||
| Wednesday, 18 November 2009 | ||||||||
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Notebook Cooler 200 Final ThoughtsWhen I grab my laptop I'm most likely headed for the couch. The NBC200 sits comfortably on top of my legs. I found it most comfortable to put my legs between the cooler feet and the fan housing. This allowed plenty of room for cooler air to get through the fan. But I'm rather slim. I think that thicker legs will require resting the cooler feet on top of your lap. The narrow bars did not bother me much, but they could cause some discomfort with long use. Having the switches located on the back was somewhat inconvenient. Trying to flip switches is like trying to stand on a bathroom scale holding a large box and trying to read the numbers. The locations and setting could probably be memorized after some use, but it would be more convenient to have them at least on the side. It would also be nice to have additional USB ports. The USB power cable does not have a pass-through so you need to free up a USB port for the cooler. My favorite feature is the huge fan; slow spinning and bathed in blue light. It was both effective and stunning. This cooler is bound to get good responses while on the road. Antec assumed that one size fits all. This might be true for laptop, but not for laps. I did not have any comfort issues, but since there are no adjustments, others might.
Notebook Cooler 200 ConclusionAntec did their research with this notebook cooler. They used all the important factors in convection cooling to get large cooling with minimal power. In all tests the power stayed well under the specified values. The degrees of cooling using this cooler was up to 60% more than other coolers reviewed on our site. A large front grill with hexagon holes brings attention immediately to the fan. The blue LEDs shining on the fan blades make for a cool look; especially in a darker environment. The raised panels are meant to improve performance, but they make a large contribution to the look of this cooler. The frame is mostly machined metal held together by machined, counter-sunk screws. The raised panels that contact the laptop are made of a hard plastic allowing for both durability and more gentle contact with the computer. It is light and very sturdy. It can be grabbed by one side and easily hefted along. Two different fan speeds allow you to meet high or low cooling requirements. The LEDs can be turned off if they might be inappropriate for your environment (maybe at work). The USB cable is short, but not too short and allows you to draw power right from the laptop. There are no additional USB ports which can be inconvenient. Also, no adjustments for height or angle might cause discomfort for some. The Notebook Cooler 200 has top performance at minimum power draw. The platform is extremely robust and contains the essential features. It sells for $57.99 at NewEgg with the high performance laptops. Though it lacks frills, it belongs in the top of the pack due to excellent performance. Given the price it should probably have at least one USB port. Prices from more online retailers can be found using the Benchmark Reviews price comparison tool. Pros:
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