Rosewill Black 15.6" Notebook Cooler with 4 USB2.0 Hubs Model RLCP-11003B

Pros: Nice hefty metal construction.

Cons: Passive USB hub keeps disconnecting and reconnecting. Attached devices keep blinking out.

No A/C power adapter but instead steals 2 USB case ports to power the fans.

Other Thoughts: This is an update to my earlier review. I contacted Rosewill. They sent out an A/C power adapter. Was nice of them except the adapter didn't work. A voltmeter showed the adapter was outputting 5.2V (the receptable shows 5V input plus the 2 USB ports would put out only 5VDC). Either the plug was too short on the adapter (it didn't seem to seat into the receptable) or the wiring was snafu inside the fan/hub assembly. So that resolution failed.

Even if the power adapter had worked, it did not resolve the defective passive USB hub which would repeat through a disconnect & reconnect cycle about 6 times a day. For portable users (probably this product's intended market), they wouldn't want to tote around a power adapter, anyway, along with having to find a wall outlet. For me who intended to leave the laptop on my desk all the time, a power adapter would be doable but that requires this product to actually use that power to spin the fans.

Originally I didn't think that I would need the extra ports for this item's passive USB hub but later found that I did need those extra ports. Because this item's passive USB was broken, I had to buy another passive USB hub (and with which I've had no disconnect-reconnect cycling).

This product got RMA'ed with Newegg and returned. Passive USB hub broken, 5V input won't work. The only part left working was the metal plate for the stand. I don't need just a stand. I want to cool my laptop, especially after replacing a 5400RPM internal hard disk with a 7200RPM drive.

This was a failed experiment. Will have to look at other laptop stands with fan cooling. Won't need to bother with an included passive USB hub in the replacement stand since I had to get a separate one because the hub in this one was broken.

Pros: Note: Because of the 3000 char limit per section, I’ve sliced my review into 3 parts (Pro, Con, Comments). The Pro and Con sections do not focus on pros and cons but are just part of my long review.

Does not come with an A/C power adapter. Instead must use 2 USB ports to power the 2 fans. Since each port can supply a max of .5A and 2 ports are required then I have to find a 120VAC power adapter with 5VDC output and 1A output. I went to Rosewill's web site and they don't even offer an upgrade option to buy a power adapter. So I'm off to the Goodwill and electronic junk stores to find one.

Why am I now looking for an A/C power adapter? Because using up the 2 USB ports on the laptop forces me to attach the external mouse and keyboard to this stand's passive USB hub -- and those devices are getting erratically disconnected and reconnected. Throughout the day, devices attached to the passive hub on this product get disconnected and after around 8 seconds get reconnected. I didn't realize the cause of why the mouse and keyboard would erratically go dead and then come back alive because I normally have sound muted. When sound was unmuted, I could hear the disconnect and connect sound events. I also used Nirsoft's USBlogview to monitor when USB devices were getting unplugged and [re]plugged.

When I had a USB flash drive attached to this same passive hub, yep, it got disconnected and reconnected throughout the day, too. Got a bit of a scare with a BSOD stop. Research showed it was due to file corruption. Luckily the numeric code(s) led me to figure out whatever device that had the perceived file table corruption was using FAT32. I use NTFS on the hard disks, no external hard drives were attached (via USB), and the only FAT32 drive attached what a USB flash drive assigned as a ReadyBoost device (which does have noticeable effect on this old laptop). So I stopped using the USB flash drive on the passive hub on this product and haven't had another BSOD in over a week now. Whew, glad it wasn't something in the internal hardware or the Windows or drivers configuration. Obviously bouncing the connect status of the USB drive is not good for reliability or stability.

There is no wiring diagram with the product to know how Rosewill decided to run the signals from the 2 case USB ports to the 4 hub USB ports. Could be they use only 1 case USB port to all 4 of hub USB ports. Could be they use 1 case USB port to 2 hub USB ports but you won't know which ones (to minimize sharing, current load, and bandwidth when possible by connecting 2 devices to the hub to go to separate case ports, if that was possible).

Cons: I've gone through all the properties for USB devices, hubs, and roots in Device Manager to disable any power management. I'm using the high-performance power profile (Vista) and in the advanced settings the USB suspend option is disabled. I have a powered USB hub attached to a 3rd case USB port on the laptop to which a printer is attached and it never bounces down and up (the printer never halts and USBlogview never shows that device or the external hub as bouncing), so nothing in the laptop is bouncing the case USB ports. While the external mouse and keyboard are low-power devices, they still need some power. So how much power is left for use at the passive USB hub in this product after some has been eaten by the fans. I have tried lowering fan speed from max to half but the bouncing continued. There isn't a lot of bouncing. The disconnect-reconnect cycling happens about 6 times a day, even when I'm not at the computer and nothing is running on it.

The lip at the bottom is far too thin to securely prevent the laptop from sliding down. Only if the 2 rear screw-in stud supports aren't used (this hardware isn't described so you have to discover that they screw into holes near the top) then the laptop is at less an angle and less likely to slide down; however, that means there is less space between the stand's plate and the laptop's bottom to allow air flow. With tighter fit, less air will circulate. You don't want just air to get pushed into the bottom-side air intake ports but also to pass around the bottom of the laptop to draw away more heat from convection into the laptop's case.

There is no way to lock the position of the fan assembly under the baseplate. It uses some kind of ratching friction mechanism. This means its position is too easily moved. Not a big deal for me where I plan on always using this as a desktop cooler for the laptop that never moves from there but more mobile users might find they have to keep repositioning the fans and that means more wear on whatever is the ratcheting mechanism. Since it is likely this product will be used with the same laptop (until the user buys a replacement laptop) during the lifetime of this product's use by one user, a couple [thumb]screws or spring latches (metal snap) to lock it in place would be appreciated.

Other Thoughts: So I want to use the studs to raise laptop off the stand's baseplate for better airflow. That means I'll have to come with something to better stop the laptop from sliding down the stand, like self-stick dense black foam tape. I'll have to get a 120VAC 5VDC/1A power adapter to power the stand's fans instead of using USB ports (which cause disconnects and reconnects) so I can free up the case USB ports to attach the external mouse and keyboard to there. Because Rosewill gives no idea how its 4-port passive hub matches its ports to the 2 case ports that it uses, I don't know if it is a 1-to-4 or 1-2 x 2 passive hub so I won't be using it after getting a power adapter to use with this stand.

There is no adjustable angle to the base's tilt. The fans cannot be moved all the way to the bottom of the baseplate so the exhaust air from the fans would match up with the intake air ports in the laptop's case bottom. I could move them a bit past the middle position but definitely not near the bottom. They really should've used thin (15mm) fans instead of standard case fans (25mm). Because more air is blowing into the laptop, I used velcro to attach fan filters on the intake side of the fans. This meant I had another half inch less that I could put the fans down towards the bottom of the baseplate but I wanted an easy way of cleaning out the dust and having to less often blow it out of the laptop. Because the fans (whether in standard config or after adding the extra thickness of the fan filters) aren't at the bottom of the baseplate to match up with the laptop's intake ports, I definitely need to use the standoffs at the top of the baseplate to move the laptop further away from the baseplate. This helps move more air through the fans and around the laptop.

Even at high speed setting, the fans don't make much noise. Compared to my desktop, the laptop with its fans and the fans from this product are much quieter; however, I've only had use of this product for a couple weeks so I don't know the durability of the fans. If they break, and if I can dismantle the fan assembly without breaking it, I could replace them with 80mm standard case fans. I'm pretty sure Rosewill is not using the best quality fans so I expect them to die in a year but hopefully I can dismantle and easily replace them with better ones. Fan death has been reported by other reviewers here.

I deducted 1 rating point for not including a power adapter and instead stealing power from USB case ports. I deducted 2 points for the repeated bouncing (disconnect & reconnect) when using their passive hub. With a power adapter and no bouncing, this would get 5 stars.

Pros: I almost didn't buy this cooler due to some of the negative
review comments. I'm glad I did, as it is much better than
I expected it to be. I like to use my new, first laptop on my
lap, but doing so, cuts down on the laptop's intake fan airflow. The adjustable fans on this cooler eliminates this
problem. I had looked at an all plastic model at WallyWorld,
wow, what a difference!
Being a power desktop pc builder for many years, I can only
say thank you to Rosewill for coming up with such an ingenious solution to my problem.

Cons: None!

Pros: This laptop stand is built really well; all aluminum frame is very solid, very sturdy. Adjustable speed fans (2) circulate a lot of air with minimum, unobtrusive noise level. The fan micro switch is much appreciated. Four additional USB ports are very welcome.

Cons: Two nit-picky issues: 1) Power to run the cooling fans requires two of the laptop's USB ports. A separate AC power supply to run the fans would have been a much better design solution. 2) Location of the 4 hub USB ports on the left side of the fan bar makes changing plugs a bit awkward. I use short 6" extensions which makes things much easier.

Other Thoughts: The Rosewill RLCP-11003B is a very good value for the money. I have been running this one daily for 5 months with nary a hiccup. It cools the laptop very well and quietly; it makes the keyboard angle much more user friendly; it provides a net increase of 2 additional USB ports. I would certainly recommend this product.

Pros: - Rugged and tough build quality
- Fantastic cooling
- What more is there to say?

Cons: - Sometimes It can be annoying on your lap, not enough to knock off an egg though

Pros: Wow, great. 4 usb 2.0 ports (takes up 2 on your laptop for a net gain of 2 ports), 2 fans that cool pretty well and quietly too. Even when the fans are off, the mat takes away a lot of the heat. Also the storage space is ingenious. Looks and feels great.
I got it for just $14

Cons: Usb ports aren't high power, but will work with 90% of devices (headsets, mice, flash drives...)
Fans will break/stop working soon, I know they will.

Other Thoughts: Doesn't seem to turn my laptops original fan off or lower but effectively cools my laptop.
When I'm doing non intensive tasks, the cooler actually makes my laptop toooo cold.

Pros: vertical adjust of fans( frount to rear of N B)
fans (2) have a speed adjust.
storage tray & 4 port usb lighted power on the side.
frame bottom is rounded, keeps from hurting if I use it on my lap!

Cons: not much, but the blue light is kind of bright. I put a small chunk of tape on it W/ a small hole punched in tape.

Other Thoughts: works to help keep the puter cooler and the angle is fine.

Pros: USB 2.0 ports, good cooling when it works.

Cons: Power port seemed to die. If you jiggle or apply pressure to cord, it sometimes works. I contactedthe RMA group being I bought it 9/26 last year and the 1 year warranty is nearly up. Hopefully they come through.

Other Thoughts: If we get a working replacement, I'm back for 5 stars. Let's do this, Rosewill!

Pros: It cools my laptop and I'm able to slide the fans to cool in different hot spots (works well when my hdd gets hot)

Cons: USB hub doesn't work well. It only works with my RF mouse dongle. I've plugged in everything from a thumb drive to an MP3 player and the best it will do is charge the mp3 player. Takes up 2 usb ports for awful performance.

Other Thoughts: Only reason I bought this particular cooler is for the hub, which isn't working too well. Good thing it was a cheap one.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,
Thank you very much for purchasing this unit. We strive to provide the most reliable and highest quality products to our customers. Please kindly contact the Rosewill support team either via phone at 800-575-9885 or via email at rma@rosewill.com so we may assist you with a replacement.
Thanks,
Rosewill Customer Care

Pros: Nice aluminum construction. It feels sturdy and is large enough for any laptop. Nice feature to be able to control the fan speed (variable adjustment).

Cons: One of the fans started making a "rubbing / clattering" noise after only 1-2 weeks of use. I suspect it is the result of cheap components.
However, the noise can be eliminated by reducing the fan speed.

Other Thoughts: I cannot say that this item is worth the full retail price. I purchased it on sale - and was willing to tolerate the noise.