>> this continues from the previous post …

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Sorry. I didn’t mean to mislead … I just spoke too soon.

Never mind about the Antec Notebook Cooler that I mentioned in my previous Amazon post. When it arrived, I wanted to see the actual cooling benefit in terms of heat reduction, so I got geeky and ran a battery [no pun intended] of tests.

Here’s what I wrote to summarize the results …

INTRODUCTION

I received the Antec Unbeatable Notebook Cooler 200 today, and as intended, I first ran an analysis of its efficiency. One will notice that there are no claims by the manufacturers, whatsoever, as what to expect in heat reduction. I was hoping for at least a 15-20 degree drop.

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NOTEBOOK COOLERS?

All these manufacturers seem to get away with calling these “coolers.” None that I know of have any cooling capability … it’s a fan, and a fan only moves air. An air conditioner cools, but not a fan. A fan can make our bodies feel cool, but that’s because our bodies have our own internal air conditioners … perspiration.

I see a lot of satisfied customers with positive reviews, but no where did I see results of any testing.

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HARDWARE USED IN TESTING

MacBook Pro 17″ (July 09)
4 GB memory
500 GB 7200 RPM drive
I also utilized iStat Server, which sends very detailed internal information to an iPhone or iPod Touch.

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CONSISTENT HEAT LEVEL

I pushed the DualCore processor to the max, as well as the drive, by upscaling two movies, simultaneously, in QuickTime, while another movie played in Quicktime on a second display, a 42” HDTV plugged into the MacBook Pro. This MacBook Pro has two graphics cards, one for regular use, and a second, high-performance one. I used the high-performance one due to the second display … it also increases performance … and heat.

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TEST PARAMETERS SUMMARY

• OAK TABLE, 20-25 min … The MacBook Pro laid flat on the oak table I use. I monitored the internals.

• ANTEC 200 w/FAN on HIGH, 30-40 min … I slipped the Antec Notebook ‘Fan’ underneath my MacBook Pro, plugged in the USB, and switched the fan to high (low was never tested). The first thing I was pleased to note was the lack of fan noise, which is why I bought this model. Small fans make more noise. I monitored the internals with all the exact same processes running.

• ANTEC 200 w/FAN OFF, 20-25 min: After that, I left the notebook on the stand, but unplugged the fan.

• TWO LITTLE BOXES, 20-25 min … I finished by placing the MacBook Pro on the two little boxes I’ve been using to provide an air space.

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TEST RESULTS: The temperatures ranged from 193-201 degrees, NO MATTER WHICH SET-UP WAS IN USE. The temps stayed in the same range. The ANTEC provided NO noticeable drop in temperature.

CONCLUSION: The Antec Unbeatable Notebook Cooler 200 DOES NOT cool a laptop. Setting the MacBook Pro on two little cardboard boxes, to provide a one-inch airspace, performed just as well.

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• This item is getting RETURNED •
  I consider it a total rip-off.

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If you’d like, view some of the iStat reports here … [...]
>> read the note below about the bracketed dots, por favor

And in the customer’s video, he points out the little piece of plastic being moved by the fan. Mine does that, too, but that’s it.

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After I removed it from beneath my notebook, one of its flaws became quite apparent. Even with the fan on high, it was moving so little air, that it was difficult at first to determine if it was pulling air down, or pushing it up (it does push it). I laid a piece of plastic on it, the plastic that I had taken off the box it came in, and that plastic just sat on top of the fan, without moving … while the fan was on high.

Of course, it does have that blue light … if that’s worth the money to you.

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THE ‘BELOW’ NOTE ABOUT THE BRACKETED DOTS: interesting, but after Amazon reviewed, approved and published my review, they came back and removed the link. The link showed images that recorded all the internal operating data … what could be considered the real hard evidence. The images are so telling, that it would not surprise me if Antec (i.e., the company who distributes the product) asked Amazon to nix my link. I always like to make an impression.

This is the link they removed. It’s worth a quick look …

http://show.me-the-money.com/antec/

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