| DeepCool N9 Aluminum Notebook Cooler |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Notebook | Compact PC | |
| Written by Dan McNamara | |
| Wednesday, 30 January 2013 | |
DeepCool N9 Notebook Cooler Review
Manufacturer: Beijing DeepCool Industries Co., Ltd Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by DeepCool. From Bejing DeepCool Industries Co., Ltd comes the very attractive DeepCool N9 Notebook Cooler. The clean lines of the aluminum cooling grid, offset by the dark black chassis and stainless steel support makes the DeepCool N9 Notebook Cooling pad a very fine addition to anyone's desk. This is the second BenchmarkReviews.com article on a new line of notebook cooling pads being released in the US. In this review we will investigate the utility and usefulness of this unit. 
The DeepCool N9 Notebook Cooling Pad has a manually variable 180 mm fan, and can be inclined at six positions. The cooling effect of the pad will be tested by conducting a system stress test using two different Laptops, and noting the effect of the cooling pad on the CPU temperatures. The cooling effect of the pad and the user will be conducted in several everyday situations to note how much heat is felt by the user. Features & SpecificationsSource: DeepCool Industries Deepcool N9 Cooling Pad Features
DeepCool N9 Cooling Pad Specifications
Closer Look: DeepCool N9 Cooling PadThe clean lines and large cooling area are the first thing to strike you when coming across the DeepCool N9 Notebook Cooling Pad. DeepCool has done a great job of creating a nice, clean looking cooling pad. With this look it would work well in almost any office environment. At 3.74 lbs it is a bit hefty for lugging around when travelling, however it feels very sturdy and will probably last a long time. 
Below you can see the 5 positions that the stainless steel support can be set at, which of course provides 6 in total if you count the stowed position. This feature is very nice as you move from table top to coffee table, to chair and then into bed. In each situation you can find an angle that provides just the right angle for your hands. It is worth noting that the support stand locks away in the closed position, so it does not dangle. 
On the DeepCool N9 Cooling Pad the user interface is on the back of the cooling pad. The power input is a mini-USB, so, using the included mini-USB cable, you can power it from your laptop, or a common wall charger. The three USB ports in that location can be accessed with equal ease from either side. And the fan speed adjustment is easy to manipulate without having to search. Also in this image you can better view the 5 angle stops for the platform 
The DeepCool N9 Notebook Cooling Pad is equipped with two rubber, which luckily are shown on the box, because it took a few tries to figure out exactly where they were supposed to go. Of course, due to the aluminum surface being so slick it is necessary to have a positive means to prevent the laptop from sliding off when it is incline. The rubber pads are large enough to support any laptop, but flexible enough to not be a nuisance when you type. 
Cooling Pad Testing & ResultsTesting MethodologyThe program used to testing the effectiveness of the cooling pad on a laptop was conducted using AIDA64 Extreme Edition. A System Stability Test was carried out to stress the CPUs, FPU, cache, and system memory. In this way a maximum heat situation was created, or at least enough heat was generated to provide an opportunity to measure the effectiveness of the cooling pad. CPU temperatures were the most volatile, and so they were used as the test data, and the AIDA64 Computer/Sensor sub-menu was used to obtain this data during the system stability test. Room temperature was monitored to ensure that the test conditions did not affect the results. The notebooks were turned on and allowed to sit idle (CPU use less than 5%) for approximately 15 minutes, on a hard surface to establish a baseline temperature of the CPUs. The notebooks were then placed on the cooling pad and allowed to idle for another 15 minutes to provide a data point at idle, to identify if there was any effect from the cooling pad at idle and at maximum cooling fan speed. The laptop was replaced on the hard surface and the AIDA64 System Stability test started. After at least 15 minutes, when the laptop temperatures were stabilized and they were recorded. The System Stability Test was then terminated and the laptop allowed to return to idle temperature. Then the laptop was placed on the cooling pad, with maximum fan speed, the stability test restarted and the temperatures allowed to stabilize, and then recorded. 
Above is the test set up for the DeepCool N9 Cooling Pad. As you can see the platform angle was set to the first notch which is at 12°. There was no attempt to check cooling effect as a function of platform angle. At this angle the platform was separated from the base, and air could freely circulate under the platform area. Test SystemLaptop 1HP Pavilion g6
Laptop 2Toshiba Satellite L750
ResultsThe results are summarized in the following table: 
As can be seen the cooling effect of the DeepCool N9 Cooling Pad on the laptop computer was not huge. after the temperature stabilized there was a 1.5° to 2° Celsius seems to be usual. During use I was able to see a larger difference between the uncooled laptop and the cooled laptop. Although I was not able to obtain detailed information I was able to see a significant difference between the uncooled temperature, at moderate CPU usage and when the laptop was on a soft surface. In this case the ability of the fan to pull in air and exhaust it through the platform grid was a decided advantage over the usual natural convection. So I would say there is a use for a low current fan with a moderate speed. Heat transfer between the laptop and the bottom surface of the cooling pad was minimal, and so as a method of reducing direct heat transfer the cooling pad was very effective. 
Outside the official heat reduction testing I attempted to measure the performance of the DeepCool N9 Cooling Pad as a heat reduction method between the laptop and the operator. Certainly when the laptop is on the cooling platform on a hard surface there is almost no heat transmitted to the surface. When the unit is placed on a soft surface, like a couch or a bed the outside of the laptop does not get as hot as when it is directly on the soft material. This really is not too surprising. The DeepCool N9 Cooling Pad ensures that there is a thermal break between the laptop and the soft surface, and it is well designed to ensure that there is a positive airflow on the laptop as well. At one point I was using the DeepCool N9 Cooling Pad on my lap, and things started to heat up, until I turned on the fan. It was a decidedly refreshing experience. Cooling Pad Final ThoughtsThe DeepCool N9 Cooling Pad has very nice lines and is quite stylish. In fact, I have been using it with my laptop since it came in the mail. I find it sturdy and with six different cooling pad angles it is very easy to find a comfortable angle to type. As I am not one to overclock my laptop I do not look for additional laptop cooling as much as the ability to reduce the heat transferred from the laptop to me, and for the cooling pad to make the experience more enjoyable. The DeepCool N9 Cooling Pad does both jobs well and is very easy to set up and move around. The only downside is that the platform support only locks in in the fully closed position. It would be nice if it was secured in each position because it is very easy to miss the base when lifting the laptop/cooling pad combination. This has resulted in a few juggling matches until everyone became used to ensuring a good grip on all parts of the set up. 
DeepCool N9 Cooler ConclusionThe DeepCool N9 Cooling Pad performed well overall. Although it did not provide a huge amount of direct cooling to the laptops, there was a measurable drop. Certainly the materials and design of the cooling pad minimizes the direct transfer of heat from the laptop bottom making it comfortable to position on your lap, should you be required to do so. The DeepCool N9 Cooling Pad is very stylish and well built. The aluminum deck is clean and really catches your eye. It can be used at the office or around home without compromising your decor. The convenience of having an adjustable platform angle of the cooling pad really makes it easy to use the laptop cooler in many different situations around the office or at home. It also ensures that you can obtain a relaxing position for your keyboarding allowing you to relax and type easily.. The fan is very quiet, and has a variable speed wheel on the side of the cooling pad. This allows you to choose the cooling effect that you require. It is quite effective of clearing the heat from under the laptop so you can be comfortable with it on your lap. It is nice to see manufacturers realizing that we don't want to be carrying an assortment of propriety chargers and cables. The mini-USB plug socket allows the flexibility to use commonly owned cables and chargers to power the cooling pad. I did find that due to the rugged design the DeepCool N9 Cooling Pad is a bit heavy for travel. At 3.74 lbs I probably would leave it at home. On the other hand you don't have to worry so much about breaking it when it is around the house. I would also prefer if the support rod locked in to the angle selection slots. It is quite awkward if you do not grab the base when you pick up the unit to move it and the base flops down. This happened frequently when move from location to location. At the time of this article there were no merchants listing product availability for this cooling pad in North America. I would expect that it would list around $49.99. Pros:
+ Very stylish Cons:
- Weight high (3.74 lbs) Ratings:
Final Score: 8.5 out of 10.Benchmark Reviews invites you to leave constructive feedback below, or ask questions in our Discussion Forum.
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