Sunday, February 7, 2010

Vantec Lapcool 3 for my ThinkPad X200 Tablet PC

My main laptop/tablet when I'm traveling is the Lenovo ThinkPad X200 tablet PC. This convertible tablet is a great machine for traveling because it's thin and light. It also doesn't generate too much heat, so it's relatively "cool" even if you're not using a cooling pad. However, given that I have a standard hard drive in my ThinkPad, I want to keep the temperatures as low as reasonably possible.

I've been testing various laptop cooling pads and for a thin and light laptop like the X200, the Vantec Lapcool 3 is a really nice cooling pad. I've also tested the Vantec Lapcool 2, the Belkin F5L001, the Targus Lap Chill Mat, and a few others.

Here's why I really like the Vantec Lapcool 3 for my ThinkPad X200 tablet PC:
  1. Compared to the others, this one is very thin and light.
  2. It's powered by a USB cable (most of the others are as well). 
  3. It blows air out the back, so you can have it sit flat on a desk and it still runs very effectively. Others require that you have some free space under the cooling pad.
  4. It's relatively inexpensive ($22 on Amazon).
  5. It's ultra-quiet. Others can be quite loud, even if they are designed with a single fan. 
So, would I recommend the Vantec Lapcool 3 for everyone? No. If you have a larger laptop or one that generates a significant amount of heat, then you should probably use a different cooling pad. 

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