Welcome to the MacNN Forums.

fisherKing · Jul 8, 2009, 11:54 PM

am looking at 2 cooling stands:
the Targus AWE01US1 Chill Hub XC and the Belkin F5L025 Laptop Cooling Hub.
best things i can find in my research.

anyone using either of these? any thoughts? any other ideas?
love my new macbook, just want to cool it down a bit (and spare my hand; left-handed, and i rest it on that side of the trackpad a lot).

thanx!

amazing · Jul 9, 2009, 12:37 AM

I had a Targus (not sure which model) and it didn't do any cooling worth mentioning. It was a model that sucks air away from the laptop, which simply isn't effective.

You have to get a cooling pad that blows air directly onto the bottom of the laptop. With the metal skin (or even the plastic MB) that gives you very effective cooling. This is what I got:

Heavy Duty Aluminum Laptop cooling pad with 3 Ultra Quiet Cooling fan and Power switch, USB powered

You'll notice that the bottom of the cooling pad is open, meaning that using it on blankets (or anyplace where fabric could get caught in the fans) is bad news. I had a piece of plexi cut to size and siliconed it onto the bottom. It works great.

The other active cooling that I use is a small, quiet desk fan that blows across the elevated laptop from the side (art gum erasers work great...) I can adjust the angle of the fan to cool myself as well.

angelmb · Jul 10, 2009, 09:36 AM

The zefyr from MOSHI looks really intriguing.

amazing · Jul 10, 2009, 11:34 AM

My experience is that one fan blowing on the bottom isn't sufficient cooling...having the heatsink vanes helps a lot, I'm sure,

daytime temps have been rising here, so I've pulled out both the meritline cooler and the desktop fan. With the cooler, SMC temp went from 129 to 117, with the room ambient temp of 71. Some mahjong solitaire brings that back up to 137. Later in the day, with the room temp rising (no A/C) it's gonna take the desktop fan. At that point, SMC will report 169 if neither cooler nor fan are running, so that's time for the desktop fan. Full summer heat hasn't hit yet...

The cooler blows on just the bottom, the desktop fan blows diagonally across both top and bottom and therefore achieves faster and better cooling. The cooler is quieter, but its 3 fans aren't exactly quiet, and the vibration is transmitted to the laptop and you feel it on your wrists while you're typing. The desktop fan is much louder, but some breeze cooling myself will be most welcome later in the day.

ApertureValue · Jul 11, 2009, 09:09 PM

I'm going to have to revisit this issue myself. I began playing World of Warcraft again, and the palm rest areas of my new MBP heat up significantly while it is sitting on a laminate-top desk. I have a belkin something-or-other model cooler, which has 2 fans that suck air away, but it's kind of a p.o.s.

I agree with amazing that it needs to blow cool air onto the bottom of the laptop. The models that suck air away don't seem to dissipate much heat, IMHO.

fisherKing · Jul 11, 2009, 09:57 PM

think i am going for the targus chill hub xc; on-off switch (which, annoyingly, the belkin doesn't have); the hub seems like a good idea (since i'm giving up a usb port)...

amazing · Jul 11, 2009, 10:53 PM

The meritline has an on-off switch. Only one comment on amazon on the targus xc, price seems rather steep at $51...

fisherKing · Jul 11, 2009, 11:51 PM

Originally Posted by amazing

The meritline has an on-off switch. Only one comment on amazon on the targus xc, price seems rather steep at $51...

$38.24 at buy.com with free shipping; like the design of this better than the meritline.
good review, too, in this months maclife...

driven · Jul 12, 2009, 01:37 AM

Originally Posted by angelmb

The zefyr from MOSHI looks really intriguing.

Looks expensive too.

ghporter · Jul 12, 2009, 10:09 AM

I have a question. What is it you're all doing with MacBooks that gets them hot enough to need active cooling? My wife's MB (last changeable battery Unibody) sits on a Targus X-Stand on her desk, but she says she only "notices" that it's warm when it's on her lap. Admittedly, she doesn't do a ton of high-intensity graphics stuff with it, but what do all of you do that makes your machines hot enough for you to want active cooling?

driven · Jul 12, 2009, 10:12 AM

When I had my Macbook Pro it got very hot when I was doing some heavy work in VMware. (I also noticed it when playing the occasional game)

ApertureValue · Jul 12, 2009, 12:03 PM

Originally Posted by ghporter

I have a question. What is it you're all doing with MacBooks that gets them hot enough to need active cooling? My wife's MB (last changeable battery Unibody) sits on a Targus X-Stand on her desk, but she says she only "notices" that it's warm when it's on her lap. Admittedly, she doesn't do a ton of high-intensity graphics stuff with it, but what do all of you do that makes your machines hot enough for you to want active cooling?

Generally I notice the heat more when I'm watching a DVD or if I'm gaming. The fans on my MBP are maxed out at that point, and the hand rests are definitely hot.

fisherKing · Jul 12, 2009, 01:05 PM

i'm on my (aluminum) macbook all day; music work, graphics, the usual email/surfing. am left-handed, and my left wrist rests next to the trackpad..and it gets hot. seems worth trying a 'cooling' stand.

ApertureValue · Jul 12, 2009, 01:10 PM

Originally Posted by fisherKing

i'm on my (aluminum) macbook all day; music work, graphics, the usual email/surfing. am left-handed, and my left wrist rests next to the trackpad..and it gets hot. seems worth trying a 'cooling' stand.

Yup. ^^^ these things.

When I'm in Lightroom for any length of time, I also notice that makes the temps spike.

driven · Jul 12, 2009, 05:54 PM

BTW: Heat should be taken seriously. My work PC (Dell E6400 2.8Ghz) has very similar specs to a Macbook right down to the metal case. (Not as pretty, but functional). I had a problem with cooling recently (heat sync? Fan? Vents?) By the time that the heat was finished doing it's damage Dell replaced (besides the heat sync and fan) my motherboard, RAM and the video daughter card. All were damaged from heat. Essentially the entire laptop had to be rebuilt.

ghporter · Jul 12, 2009, 08:52 PM

Thanks for the info folks. I wasn't doubting that heat was an issue (nor that it could be serious!), I was just wondering what sorts of things were making MacBooks heat up that much. Thanks for clarifying!

fisherKing · Jul 15, 2009, 03:56 PM

day 1 unscientific review...

i got the targus stand this morning. the belkin has no on-off switch, which, unbelievably, means the fan is on all the time (if you want the hub connected)!

nice design, wider than my 13" macbook (so ideal for 15" users). fans a little noisy, but not a problem for me. the hub is good, BUT...wish it came with the ac adapter; some of my peripherals want more power from the hub; may order the adapter (bringing the cost up...)

anyway, based on about same usage as yesterday, the base is now 2 degrees cooler (according to istat pro).

toi the left of the trackpad definitely FEELS cooler; i can rest my hand on it; before, it was uncomfortable.

anyway, for me, a worthwhile investment.

now, back to work....

amazing · Jul 19, 2009, 10:56 PM

Just curious: how's the satisfaction after one week? how's the cooling

fisherKing · Jul 19, 2009, 11:14 PM

Originally Posted by amazing

Just curious: how's the satisfaction after one week? how's the cooling

well, 4 days (and i was away for one of them); so far so good. like having the hub too...
the fans cool the macbook a little, again, enough to be noticed, but not much more.

still, worth it. every little bit helps, the stand is comfortable as a stand.
so...3 1/2 stars, and recommended.

amazing · Jul 20, 2009, 12:12 AM

Thanks for getting back!

Just a little nudge to find a quiet desk fan and try that...the wind blowing over top and bottom will cool the palm rest most wonderfully.

Simon · Jul 20, 2009, 06:20 AM

What you guys need is more fan speed, that's all.

smcFanControl

It's free.