Netbook Network

Since netbooks are small, there’s not much space for air circulation and fans. It’s a large issue on my Eee 1005HA, where the fan continuously spins, and it’s very annoying because it’s extremely loud. So I decided to get a cooling pad for my netbook, and got a Belkin Laptop Cooling Pad for $25. I’ve looked online and some people get results, and some people don’t. Does the Belkin Laptop Cooling Pad work on a netbook? Read the review to find out!

All images in this review can be enlarged simply by clicking on them. This review covers the black version of the Belkin Laptop Cooling Pad – it has no differences from the white cooling pad except for the color.

Before I get into how well the cooling pad works, I’d like to examine the hardware first. The design of the cooling pad, or chill mat, some people say, is very unique compared to most cooling pads. Belkin uses a curved solution to help circulate air, unlike most cooling pads, which are flat. There’s one fan in the middle that sucks air out from underneath the chill mat and blows it out from the sides of your laptop.  It’s an elegant solution compared to just a flat surface. It’s got a very solid design, smooth to the touch, no real complaints here.

Underneath, there’s a stand to elevate the back of your netbook and a USB neatly tucked inside. The whole thing is made out of plastic, except for the presumably rubber pads on the top and bottom of the surface to keep laptops from slipping.

Now, the size of the pad itself could be an issue for some netbook owners. My netbook is a standard size netbook, 10.1 inches, and smaller, 9 inch netbooks may have issues with this cooling pad. The ends of my netbook barely reach the rubber surfaces of the cooling pad. In the photo above, my netbook’s rubber pads are highlighted in the red box, whereas the cooling pad’s rubber surface is highlighted in green. It’s not much of a big deal, however, because there are rubber pads on my netbook, so it doesn’t slip much. I’d assume larger, 12.1 inch netbooks would fit the pad just fine. It’s relatively lightweight in terms of how heavy the cooling pad is – about the same weight as a camera or Nintendo DS.

I hooked it up to a USB port on my netbook, and it starts running instantly. There’s no on and off switch to fiddle with. The fan isn’t exactly too quiet, but it’s not loud enough to be intrusive. It’s about as loud as an average desktop tower’s fan, I’d say.

Now, onto the results – does the cooling pad work?

The straight answer is, Yes. The cooling pad does what it says it would do. I ran my netbook for around 20 minutes at about 90% CPU load. According to the program I used to find CPU temperature, the CPU ran at 41 degrees Celsius. It might be more, it might be less, but since the result temperature is measured using the same application, the change in temperature is pretty solid. I went to go take a break for about 20 minutes, and came back to find the CPU was running at around 35 degrees Celsius, and the CPU was still under the 90% load. That means, there was a 17% temperature drop in the 20 minutes that the fan was running. Not only that, the surface of the bottom of my netbook has cooled immensely, and instead of being hot to the touch, it was only slightly warm.

What can I say? I’m pretty impressed. Belkin’s cooling pad has managed to cool down my netbook considerably. I’d expect results to be even better on a full fledged laptop. Since there’s nothing I can really compare to, being this is the first cooling pad I’ve ever used, I think it’s very impressive for only one fan and using just one USB port to power it.

Conclusion:
Belkin’s laptop cooling pad does a great job lowering laptop/netbook temperature. My netbook was notably cooler after running the cooling pad for some time. It’s very easy to use, lightweight, and sturdy. Some might raise an eyebrow at the price and volume of the fan, though.

Pros:
-Lowers temperature of laptop/netbook with a noticeable difference
-Easy to use, lightweight
-Sturdy build
-Uses only one USB port

Cons:
-May be too large for some laptops/netbooks
-A bit expensive ($25)
-Possibly too loud for some people

The Belkin Laptop Cooling Pad can be found in most electronic stores, and sells for a retail value of approximately $25. If you wish to order online, you can get the Belkin Laptop Cooling Pad on Amazon for roughly $20.