Bold Blows from a Cool Contender
Written: Sep 06 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Very durable, highly effective & consistent, intelligent air-flow, relatively light, inexpensive
Cons: Hard to clean, not as compact or visually pleasing as other cooling pads, possibly noisy
The Bottom Line: Hands down, this is the best-performing laptop cooling pad I've ever had the pleasure of using! It's very fitting of the Coolermaster brand.
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| wsmunch's Full Review: Coolermaster Notepal Infinite |
This review was originally written in February 2009. The time-frames in the review have not been edited. This product was received July 2008 and has been used (still working!!) ever since.
Over ten months ago my Targus Tornado Chill Mat failed expectedly. I didn't have the product for as long as I would have liked (only a few months), even though it only cost a meager $20 (it was pretty good for $20 while it lasted). I wasn't in a hurry to purchase another cooling pad that was going to break so soon, so I took the four weeks to hunt down a replacement. I had some new (and serious) criteria for the next cooling pad I was going to buy:
- It must be sturdy/durable enough to support large wide-screen laptops (even though mine isn't that big or heavy)
- It must have quality connections that aren't going to wear out and break
- It must have excellent air-flow that would accommodate the location of my laptop's hot points (rear left area)
- It must have a flat bottom that can be used on any surface
- It had to last more than a few months before having the fan(s) die
Most models I looked at didn't quite deliver my expectations; I was really serious about getting something that wasn't junk. I was also anticipating to spend $50 or more for a higher-quality cooling pad that would last longer. Not only did the Coolermaster Notepal Infinite impress me up front with it's design, it only cost me $30!
[] CONSTRUCTION []
The Coolermaster Notepal Infinite has held up [almost] perfectly for the last ten months I've been using it. The rear of the pad is about 2" thick and it tapers down as it goes towards the front, giving a nice pitch to the laptop, which makes typing a little more comfortable. The material is made up of lightweight plastic with an aluminum mesh that the laptop sits on. There are four rubber grips set in the aluminum to keep the laptop held in place. I found this to be a bonus! Not only have the grips remained fully intact, but they are so effective that I can tilt the base up to about 45 degrees without having the laptop slide off. I am very pleased with the power button, which is located on the backside of the unit instead of on a cord. It sits flush with the plastic casing and takes a deliberate poke to turn the pad on or off. I'm glad that the switches and ports are on the back instead of the side so I don't have any issues when picking up the cooling pad & laptop if I am relocating around the house. The construction is very durable. Even with the constant weight of a laptop and hands resting on it, the aluminum hasn't bent nor has the plastic casing cracked or warped. The internal fan is well protected and hasn't had any blades break off due to external pressure. The rubber grips on the bottom of the cooling pad work well and they haven't crumbled, fallen off, or damaged any surfaces.
The unit has an extra USB port to plug in a device, so using it doesn't really take up a PC port. I use it when I need it, and as far as I can tell the speed is proper and the cables plug in snug. I've plugged a number of different things and have had no issues or conflicts.
The only part that broke was one of the cable management hooks, but it was intentional. The Coolermaster Notepal Infinite has two cable hooks on the back of the unit that fold up into the body when not in use. They are somewhat convenient, even though I really didn't have so many cords hanging loose. Instead, whenever I had the laptop on the cooling pad I would wrap a portion of my power cord (the part that is near to the laptop's power port) around the hook in case someone might trip on the cord along the floor. Sure enough, it happened a couple of months ago. My daughter tripped over my laptop's power cord that was plugged into the wall. The plug didn't disconnect from the socket; instead the force pulled the other end and snapped off the cooling pad's cable management hook. Had I not done this, I'm sure that the power plug would have been ripped away from the laptop and damaging the internal connection. I've heard many cases about laptops not receiving power due to rough power plug insertion/extraction wearing out and breaking off from the motherboard. I saved myself a damaged laptop. Even right now I have my power cord wrapped around the other cable management hook on the cooling pad. If I didn't do this, my Coolermaster Notepal Infinite would still be perfectly fine.
The Coolermaster Notepal Infinite doesn't require AC and simply draws power from the laptop. The USB cord that powers the cooling pad sticks out from the rear of the unit, but not much further than USB plugs from the rear of my laptop. It is doubtful that mine will bend in a way to damage or break the unit (it hasn't been an issue so far, since I'm careful), but I can see how an accidental bump has such potential. I'm not really concerned, but if there was one [other] part to break this would probably be it.
[] COOLING []
This is where the Coolermaster Notepal Infinite really shines. First off, the air intake is in the back of the unit instead of being underneath. This makes it perfect for using a laptop while in bed or on the couch since pillows, blankets, or clothed legs won't block the air flow. It's a huge plus for me to be able to sit outside on a lawn chair and not have the air flow restricted while having it on my lap. My last cooling pad had powerful fans, but the effectiveness was reduced when they were blocked. The Coolermaster Notepal Infinite has a unique design that spreads out the airflow underneath the laptop. Instead of having directional air, it sort of creates a cushion of air that circles from center-out. Even though the single fan is centered in the cooling pad, the entire underbelly of my laptop gets air. This totally solved a problem for me, since many other cooling pads had fans that were centered and wouldn't really reach the outer edges of a laptop where hot components would be. I can put my hands to the sides or the front of the laptop and feel a gentle yet consistent flow. I've run Photoshop on my laptop with the cooling pad turned off until my laptop's internal fans kick on high. I can turn on the cooling pad (to max) and wait only 5 to 10 minutes until my laptop's internal fans return to the normal level. Not only is the area under my laptop's processor cool to the touch, but the entire bottom surface area of my laptop is cool. The aluminum mesh acts like a heatsink, making the unit more effective and compensating for the single fan. The Coolermaster Notepal Infinite seems to have less air flow than some other cooling pads, but the design makes up for it in strides by choosing technique over brute force. The fan motion is smooth and doesn't vibrate or rattle.
There is a switch to toggle between three levels of fan speed. The noise level at the lowest speed is a little louder as my laptop's internal fans. Max fan speed is noticeably louder but it doesn't really bother me. I would say the Coolermaster Notepal Infinite's noise level is a little quieter [at max] than some other cooling pads, though it's on par with most other cooling pads I've tried out. You can't really hear it unless you're in close proximity (about the same amount of space as an average-size home-office or a small dining room). It is quieter than the Targus brand cooling pad I owned previously. Either way, having low-playing TV or music drowns out the fan noise so it takes some pure silence to really notice the fan running on high. The fan is rather quiet while running on low, but it's not nearly as effective.
[] QUANTIFYING []
I visited Filehippo.com and downloaded the Speedfan program (hey, it's free), just because I wanted to quantify the effectiveness of the Coolermaster Notepal Infinite. The morning after I had installed the program, I fired up my laptop while leaving the cooling pad off, and ran the Speedfan program after Windows had finished booting. These were the measured temperatures:
Local: 39.0C
Remote: 48.0C
HDD: 26.0C
Temp1: 34.0C
Temp2: 18.0C
Core: 49.0C
Ambient: 39.0C
I left my laptop there while I made some coffee, and it took only 3 minutes before my laptop's internal fans kicked on high. I let my laptop sit there for another hour (doing nothing) before checking the temperatures again. This time Speedfan read:
Local: 65.0C
Remote: 84.0C
HDD: 45.0C
Temp1: 92.0C
Temp2: 71.0C
Core: 84.0C
Ambient: 65.0C
I plugged in the Coolermaster Notepal Infinite and turned it on high. I came back 14 minutes later, pleased with a quieter laptop and these results:
Local: 52.0C
Remote: 61.0C
HDD: 39.0C
Temp1: 67.0C
Temp2: 58.0C
Core: 60.0C
Ambient: 51.0C
It's hard to say exactly how accurate the Speedfan program is, and the program didn't detail exactly where each reading point came from (it can differ in each laptop, depending if and where the sensors are). Either way, an overall 10 to 20 degree difference is nothing to scoff at when it comes to heat. I periodically check Speedfan during the day while I am doing my laptop activities, and the temperature values don't stray too far from what I have shown with the cooling pad on.
[] DRAWBACKS []
The biggest issue with the Coolermaster Notepal Infinite is trying to clean the fan. After 8 months of use, I saw that the fan had a decent caking of dust all over it, filling all the gaps between the blades. The air intake opening is bisected by a plastic piece on both sides, which leaves only 1/4" by 1 1/2" of space to stick something in. So to make my life easier, I took a pair of pliers and broke off the left bisecting piece in order to clean the fan. I stuck a skinny paintbrush through the opening to push the dust off the fanblades. I used a chopstick to hold the fan in place in order to dislodge the dust without having the fan spin around. Once I was done brushing it out, I took the shopvac (or any really good vacuum would work) and sucked the large chunks of dust through the intake opening and the smaller particles through the aluminum mesh. It took some bit of work and it was annoying. But for about 8 minutes of my time, it is the only significant drawback to owning this cooling pad.
The Coolermaster Notepal Infinite isn't as portable as some other cooling pads. My carrying case for my laptop is large enough where it's not an issue for me, but people who tend to travel lighter and more compact may have a gripe with the size and especially with the wedge shape. The bulk is deceiving, since the pad is lighter than it looks.
[] VERDICT []
My laptop's internal cooling fans never spin up when I have the cooling pad on. I haven't had to worry about the Coolermaster Notepal Infinite breaking apart through normal wear and tear. It's been easy enough for me to carry around and it has survived many trips in my laptop carrying bag. It is hard to believe that I've had this cooling pad for over eight months of ownership without any real issues, especially since it has delivered 100% without faltering. I still haven't seen any cooling pad come out that can even compare to the Coolermaster Notepal Infinite when all the pros vs. cons are listed side by side. I was expecting to spend a reasonable amount of money since I was done buying cheaply-constructed replacements. I've been quite pleased at the cost versus performance of this pad, and hopefully won't have to replace it for quite some time!
Recommended:
Yes
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