ZALMAN Ultra Quiet Notebook Cooler ZM-NC1000 Silver

Pros: Nice design, quiet fans that move a good amount of air. Like the fact that it's powered off of USB only.

Cons: none

Pros: The cooler came in a handsome, informative and professional-looking box, which to me speaks volumes about overall quality. The aluminum chassis seems very sturdy, almost definitely better than plastic at channeling heat away from the laptop. The fans are actually pointed in the right direction, blowing toward the bottom of the laptop (rather than away). Air isn't concentrated in one spot but rather is delivered through many small holes for more even cooling. You can't argue with results. I saw a drop of 5-10 degrees Celsius literally within seconds of plugging this thing in and cranking it up (that's for my CPU). The fan speed is adjustable, which is a great feature. It was nice to find an extra USB slot on there, so nothing is lost by plugging it in - you get an extra port anyway. Size is sufficient for my 15.4" screen, if only by a hair. It also looks pretty darn good on my desk and conforms to the laptop nicely. The incline feels natural.

Cons: Not exactly whisper quiet, as advertised. In fact, at the highest setting it is much louder than my system fans. Still, not unreasonably loud for a laptop cooler, and I care much more that it works. Plus, the fan speed is adjustable as I said above. Obviously it's much quieter on the lowest setting, barely audible over the regular ticks and whirrs of computer use. There's a slight defect in the build quality of my unit - it seems to either not be flat or have one short foot as it tends to tip slightly when i put pressure on the right side. I remedied this with a little stack of post-its for now, but I'll probably graft something more permanent under there in the near future. Not a big deal. If you care enough you can get it replaced. This is in no way suitable to be used on your lap, it's more of a desk base.

Overall Review: For the sake of your laptop, PLEASE be sure to check how the fans are oriented on your laptop BEFORE buying this item. If you have exhaust fans blowing downward, your laptop isn't well designed for one thing, but also you'll need a cooler that siphons air away instead of blowing air into it - otherwise you'll only end up killing your laptop. It would be nice to see an entire USB hub on here instead of just one port, maybe even ethernet, firewire etc. so I wouldn't have to plug everything in when I set it down. That would of course drive up the price significantly, and it would be more of a full base than a cooler. And hey, if you're going to buy this, download some software to monitor temps and control your system fans. That way you can actually see the difference, know when to crank up the cooler, and keep your system fans adapting so that they aren't turned on unnecessarily all the time. I just got this cooler so if you're looking for info on reliability you'll have to find

Pros: call me shallow, but aesthetics is probably one of the more important criteria when i purchase anything. IMO, this one is probably one of the sleekest looking laptop cooler by a comfortable mile (there are some really U-G-L-Y coolers out there). really solid, great build quality, as most Zalman products. even the packaging tells you that it's a solid, good quality product. oh yea, the fan thingy spins and cools down my laptop, too.

Cons: it's cheaper now than when i bought mine a couple months back..

Overall Review: all kidding aside, I don't regret buying this cooler (from Newegg) at all, even at a higher price than now. I even offered to buy one to my brother & sister-in-law, but they claim they like the warmth from their laptop, hah!

Pros: Quiet, Cold, solid polished black metal. 2 USB ports. (no power cord req.). Bright LED. Nice smooth analog dial for fans. If you put it on the highest setting it will make your hands cold. Brrr.

Cons: None. Not amazingly portable but with a proper bag it's no problem. A bit heavy.

Overall Review: The quality screams from this thing. All metal, rubber pads keep it and your computer from moving. Ergonomic angle helps to make it more comfortable to type. A lot of these reviews for other coolers complain about fans wearing out, but I don't, think that's going to be a problem here for a while.

Pros: It's be over a year since I bought this guy. I believe it is the only reason my laptop hasn't melted into a pool of plastic and silicon. It is Beautiful, Black, Metal and simple. It uses a single USB port but it also provides an extra port on the cooler itself. The variable fan speed control is nice, but I rarely use it. I almost always have headphones on and am listening to one thing or another- so the fan noise isn't an issue. I always keep the cooler on the max setting.

Cons: After 1 year, the USB port on the cooler that I have been using for power seems to be a little loose. It doesn't fall out or anything, but it isn't as solid as the other port which I never use. The fan noise is sometimes noticeable if I am not listening to something else. If all is quiet- I can hear the fan easily. But since it sounds only a little louder than my laptop without the cooler, then it isn't too horrible.

Overall Review: Definitely one of the best things I have ever bought from Newegg. I only regret not having bought one sooner. Don't skimp out and buy something "cheap", I have seen plastic laptop coolers which break down and look horrible. My laptop cooler still looks brand new- no scratches or anything.

Pros: This unit, Zalman ZM-NC-1000, is superb. It is sturdy, doesn't flex, and just feels and looks solid. Even at the fastest fan speed, it isn't loud or annoying. Better yet, at the fan's slowest speed, it cools the computer superbly and there is basically no sound at all. The angle of my laptop now is so much more comfortable than laying flat on the desk. Great product and great results. Buy it and you won't be sorry.

Cons: None that I can think of. Some other reviewers complained about the price. If you want cheap, you will get cheap. This is definitely worth the money. $49.99 for a quality product is fine for me. I bet those other "price complainers" don't gripe about their $3.50 cup of coffee at *bucks.

Overall Review: Again, Newegg, you are the best. I ordered this on Saturday (12/15), it was invoiced and received by UPS on Sunday (12/16), and delivered to my house on Wednesday (12/19). That's 4 days including the weekend. It doesn't get much better than that. Newegg, you are still #1.

Pros: -Small footprint -Gives my laptop a slight angle (10 degrees maybe?), which isn't bad -Adjustable fan speed is a great feature -The rubberized feet really do their job well, nothing moves -Extra USB port makes up for the USB required for power -No power supply required -Keeps my lenovo y550p very cool -Fans turn off when laptop sleeps

Cons: -The description says this model fits up to 17" laptops, which is true, but the base is only 15" wide, so there's some overhang. That wasn't in the description. -The shipping box was 10x the size of the unit's box. Kind of overkill. Too bad the shipping peanuts aren't edible.

Overall Review: -Has a slight clicking sound coming from the fan every once in a while. I know the two fans inside are supposed to be brushless, but they are definitely brushing something. -Get the bigger model if you have a 17" laptop. -A second USB on the other side would have been nice!

Pros: Does work okay to cool your laptop

Cons: Some Newegg reviews are misleading about it's true cooling power

Overall Review: I bought this cooler based on Newegg user reviews like "almost cools the entire room!" and "laptop nice and icy", but the reality is that it's an average cooler at best, and sub-standard at worst (especially whilst gaming). Feels like a lot of 5 star reviews aren't.. trustworthy (ie, from the manufacturer to artificially boost ratings).