Introduction

Today we are lucky enough to have the NotePal Ax notebook cooler from CoolerMaster for review.

Since the boom of notebooks in the 21^st century, the accessory market has become very competitive. Manufacturers attempting to offer both quality and a good price often find themselves in a no win situation. CoolerMaster’s recent attempt at a quality Notebook cooler at a good price point is what we will be exploring today. Notebooks and Laptops in general are bursting with features which are tightly packed in a small portable unit. Obviously the result of the compact size leads to reduced lifespan of the components due mostly to the poor airflow designs. Overheating of a notebook will cause a multitude of problems including crashes, freezing and blue screens. Companies such as CoolerMaster are trying to combat this problem and have developed products to help reduce and eliminate overheating issues.

Companies and their employees rely on their notebooks and laptops to perform their jobs and they are important tools in today’s business world, largely because of the portability which allows people to perform job functions basically anywhere at any time. The CoolerMaster NotePal Ax is not the first Notebook/Laptop cooler they have produced and with their other models performing well it will be interesting to see if CoolerMaster has again lived up to it’s name.

Company background

CoolerMaster was established in 1992 with the aim of providing the industry’s best thermal solutions. Since the company was established CoolerMaster has had tremendous growth over the years and now offers a wide range of products, including cases, power supplies, and server cooling. All of CoolerMaster’s products are designed to offer the best cooling solution possible at a reasonable price.

Features and technical specifications of the Cooler Master NotePal Ax

Here are the specifications of the NotePal Ax cooler taken from the Cooler Master website.

• Material – Metal mesh and plastic
• Dimensions W/H/D 383 x 46 x 289 mm; 15.1 x 1.8 x 11.4 inches
• Weight  860g
• Operation degree 7 degree & 11 degree
• Rated voltage 5 VDC
• USB port USB 2.0/1.1 x 2 (1 x input and 1 x output)
• Compatibility Supports all 12″~15.4″ laptops, up to 17″
• Fan dimension 140 x 140 x 15 mm; 5.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Fan speed  700 – 1400 RPM
• Bearing type Rifle bearing
• Fan noise level (dB-A) 15dBA (Min)
• Fan life expectancy  40,000 hours
• Cable length 600mm

Features:

• Uniquely designed built-in fan for intake of airflow from all sides
• 140mm fan for superior silent airflow
• Fan-speed control knob for adjustable settings
• Adjustable foot stands for comfortable viewing angle
• Fits most 12″-15.4″ laptops perfectly (up to 17″)

There is a product data sheet available for download on Cooler Master’s website on the NotePal Ax support page.

Closer look at the packaging

The box is very plain and features a large image of the product, Cooler Master’s logo and the distinctive purple colour CoolerMaster is known for. The front of the box does not give much product information other than it’s suitable for 15.4″ up to 17″ notebooks. Obviously this cooler will handle smaller devices, however it is primarily designed for the sizes listed.

The back of the box shows the selling points of the cooler, thumbnail sized captioned images, a table showing the specifications of the cooler and bullet points of the main features. One thing we noticed is the specifications on the reverse of the box differ from the specifications listed on CoolerMaster’s web site. This could be a problem to some consumers and CoolerMaster should clarify the correct specifications.

We found the packaging of the of the NotePal Ax to be clean, not overcrowded with information and easy to read. The packaging should do a good job of attracting someones attention as they browse the shelves in a computer retail store.

Overall CoolerMaster has produced a well presented box for the NotePal Ax.

A Closer look at the cooler

Upon opening the box we were presented with the cooler, a 600mm black USB cable and a basic black and white multilingual instruction manual. First impressions are very good as the cooler presented itself as a simple but well designed product. There is a large fan in the centre covered by black metal mesh which feels lightweight and strong. The plastic and mesh areas do not bow when pressure is applied.

The cooling effect comes from an eleven blade, 140mm blue LED fan which features a rifle bearing design. The rifle bearing design offers the life span of a ball bearing fan and the silent operation of sleeve type fan. The front of the cooler consists of a recessed brushed metal name badge which gives it a professional look.

The back of the cooler predominantly works as air intakes for the fan. There is a large grill on each side, along with grills all around the base of the fan. The cooler has four rubber feet, one at each corner which prevents it from moving around your work surface.

The cooler also features two plastic flip out feet located at the back of the cooler (similar to those on a keyboard). The flip out feet elevate the cooler from the standard 7 degree angle to an 11 degree angle, both of which are comfortable angles for typing. Using the flip out feet provides a much better working environment than typing with the Notebook or Laptop in a flat position.

We did notice however, when the back feet were down it raised the back two rubber feet off the work surface, thus making the cooler less stable. This issue could effect the stability of the cooler while typing depending on the users typing habits.

As you can see by the above pictures, the cooler is very attractive when turned on, giving an almost aggressive look. The fan’s blue LEDs change their brightness according to how the fan speed control is set. The fan is very quiet, especially for one of this size. The 140mm fan pushes a large amount of air when it’s on the slowest (700RPM) and fastest settings (1400RPM).

The appearance of the CoolerMaster NotePal AX leaves very little to be desired and would look great in almost any desk/work space environment.

CoolerMaster supplies a 600mm/6cm, black, USB,A male to USB A male cable. This is detachable from the cooler and provides the power for the unit, no additional power source is required.

On the back of the cooler there are two USB ports, one input and one output. You will also find the push button power switch located on the back of the cooler. Because you will need to use a USB port on your Laptop/Notebook to power the NotePal AX, the addition of a second USB port keeps the number of available ports unchanged.

On the right of the NotePal AX CoolerMaster has included a fan speed controller to adjust the speed of the 140mm fan. While the fan speed controller will not allow the fan to be turned completely off, it will let the user select variable speeds between 700RPM and 1400RPM. The fan speed controller is a nice feature as it allows for fine tuning the cooler to achieve the perfect balance of cooling and noise. The dial is smooth in its operation and is fairly stiff to prevent accidental movement.

Testing methodology

We will test the NotePal Ax by using the laptop with the cooler off at both idle and load. We will then monitor the temperatures under the same conditions with the cooler on low speed (700RPM). And finally, using the same method, temperatures will be monitored with the cooler on full speed (1400RPM).

All temperatures will be monitored using the RealTemp software.

At the beginning of each test we will measure the ambient air temperature using a handheld digital thermometer.

To get the idle temperatures we will start the laptop and leave it in an idle condition for twenty minutes and record the RealTemp results.

Prim95 will be used to achieve a full load condition. We will leave Prime95 running for 20 minutes before taking note of the highest recorded temperature during the test.

Keep in mind with the laptop sitting idle at the desktop, there is still a small usage load on the CPU which will obviously make the temperatures a little higher than a zero usage state.

To make sure each test is equal we will allow the laptop 25 minutes to cool down between test runs.

The laptop will be powered from an electrical outlet at all times during the tests and on the same flat surface.

With tests requiring the cooler we will be using the same USB port for powering the cooler. Additionally we will have the back feet down allowing maximum airflow to the fan and the laptop at an 11 degree angle.

The test system specifications are below:

• CPU – Intel Atom N270 1.6GHZ
• RAM – 1024MB DDR2
• HDD – 160GB

Testing results

Below are the results from the tests that were performed on the cooler. The ambient air temperature for all the tests was 18.6 C.

As you can see from the results the NotePal Ax made a large difference in the temperature readings, up to a 7°C drop when the cooler was on full speed. The cooler performed very well all round, and even when the cooler was on its slowest speed setting it managed to lower the CPU temperature by 5 C at idle and 4 C on load. This is a very impressive result on a CPU that isn’t known for its power and heat output. We are confident that with a hotter running CPU this cooler will perform as well, if not better.

Conclusion

As the results show the NotePal Ax had a large positive effect on the operating temperatures of the CPU. This clearly shows that the cooler is well designed and functions as it should.

We really like the look of the NotePal Ax cooler. It looks sleek and would fit into any desk or workspace environment without looking out of place. The NotePal Ax is very quiet while moving a large amount of air on both slow and fast speeds; this may be due to the rifle bearing fan technology that Cooler Master has used. In our testing we found that the cooler worked well enough to prevent the laptop’s noisy inbuilt cooler from spinning up to full speed under normal working conditions.

The inbuilt fan speed controller is a great addition to this cooler and allows the user to reach the perfect balance of air flow and noise. CoolerMaster has also included 2 USB ports and a power switch which allows the user to replace the USB port lost when using the cooler, and to switch the cooler on and off when necessary.

There were a few things we would have liked to see in the cooler, such as rubberized pull down feet to ensure the cooler is as stable when it is raised as it is laying flat. The ability to turn the fan’s LEDs off, the ability to store the USB cable in the cooler casing, and a carry handle to aid grip when transporting the cooler would all be nice additions in our opinion. These are only minor issues and none of the above affect the operation of the cooler.

The NotePal AX cooler has a design which is quick and easy to set up. The USB cable is a perfect length and will easily reach either side of a laptop without leaving lots of excess cable. The product comes with a 1 year warranty which covers the product against any manufacturing defects or faulty components. We would recommend this product to anyone who has a laptop that tends to overheat or has an uncomfortable feeling while sitting on their laps because of heat output.

With laptops getting more and more powerful, especially high end and gaming laptops, keeping it cool will become a greater challenge. The NotePal Ax seems to be up to the challenge as our test results show. The NotePal Ax can be purchased for around £20 making it an inexpensive and effective cooling option for most all Laptop/Notebook applications.

Overall this is a great product for the price, offering superb cooling at a price not to be quibbled at. Once again CoolerMaster has delivered a product that works as advertised at a price for the masses.

Pros

• Compact unit
• Quiet operation
• Can be used on a wide size range of Notebooks/Laptops
• Simple but effective design and aesthetically pleasing
• In-built fan speed controller
• USB powered with a replacement USB port for the one lost when using the cooler
• Power switch
• Performs well
• Good grip
• Strong and doesn’t flex under pressure

Cons

• Less stable when the rear feet are down
• No built in USB cable storage
• No handle
• Cannot turn off the fan LED’s

To sum up the CoolerMaster NotePal AX is a superb cooler for the money and for this reason it has been awarded a 9/10 and the resulting Overclockers Tech gold award.

Overclockers Tech gold award