Antec SpotCool System Cooler

by Antec

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 5.8 x 1.5 inches ; 5.8 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000I5KSNQ
• Item model number: Spot Cool
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,667 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: August 9, 2006

Product Description

Antec Spot Cool is specifically designed to mount on any motherboard to provide cooling wherever you need it most. Simply mount it on a motherboard mounting hole, angle the fan as you desire and power it from a motherboard fan connector. 3-speed switch lets you balance quiet performance with maximum cooling.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cool Marks the Spot, October 22, 2006

By 

M. Martinez "MvMajorem" (Dubai, UAE) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Antec SpotCool System Cooler (Personal Computers)

Cooling has always been an issue and I could just never put a fan in the right place. Besides, no one can easily put an 80mm fan or have it hover above your memory modules. Many have tried starting of with the Zalman Fan Bracket series. Believe me, that was a great solution and being able to adjust your fan here and there is a key selling point, unfortunately, you just couldn't bend it or have it reach in those hard to reach areas. Fortunately for us someone came up with a novel solution to get cooling into those places and more. The company is Antec and today they present Antec Spot Cool. No need for explanations really as the function is self-explanatory; it's quite easy to imagine what it actually does but what it actually looks like is anybody's guess.

Packaging:

It weighs around 0.7lbs (310grams) encased in a solid plastic shell. A thin cardboard with the product name and model some sandwiched in between and a small manual. Nothing really fancy but what is inside is what matters most.

The Merchandise:

Well, the best way I can tell you what it looks like is a mechanical lollipop with a fan attached on the end instead of hardened candy, if you guys still don't get it, think of Sherlock Holmes and his magnifying glasses. The fan at the end can rotate like a gyroscope; on the other end is a strong base where you can attach a screw (included) to your motherboard mount holes or even the PCI slot mount hole. But it doesn't end there, the beauty of it is in the stick mount, it bends so it can be locked at the base and bent to reach your memory, motherboard and even chipset heat sinks.
The product itself is made of durable plastic, the fan and casing it is in with the stick mount made of some metal alloy that can bend and lock into place. On the fan shell is a switch for 3 settings, Low (1800RPM), Medium (2500RPM) and High (3000RPM). The last thing about this product is the blue LED emanating when powered on. There are a total of four LEDs shining in a cross configuration. 3-Pin power cable is attached to the fan where fan speed can be detected by your motherboard.
There really isn't much to explain how it is used. Operation is quite simple. Screw it your desired mount, bend the stick mount and point it to those hot spots, or vice versa. (I suggest you do the later to avoid damaging you motherboard as some force is required) Rotate the gyroscopic fan a bit and fine tune your cooling (I call it spotting) and set your desired speed. Power on and enjoy. I had my motherboard heating up to 45C on normal operations; it cooled it down to 36C and decreased my processor temp by 2C. You just need to point it at the right spot, I had mine installed where the fan was cooling my memory modules, motherboard and some part of the base of the heatsink. You can apply this even on your video card and Northbridge / Southbridge heatsinks. Finally someone listened up and designed something a little bit more flexible (pun intended).

Recommendations:

It is really hard to find something faulty about the Spot Cool. It does the job well. Unfortunately, since it is a new product, it does cost a bit. I got mine for 16USD including shipping but now the unit itself costs 11USD to 16USD alone. It definitely will be a popular item for enthusiasts and people looking for great aftermarket cooling solutions. It won't outperform a NB/SB heatsink with a fan (Thermaltake Extreme Spirit II) but the fact that it can do so much more is something you can consider. The stick mount unfortunately is not as "bendy" as one would expect and sometimes may recoil back to its original posture, so you may need to fix it in place. The fan is also generally quiet, low produces an inaudible hum, but moving it to medium or high produces a humming noise. It isn't irritating but those who are intolerable of loud fans would notice it at these settings. Another issue is for people with really big aftermarket coolers, it may take a little bit of placing and bending to get things right, I really can't say it would be a motherboard issue but with so many mounting holes all over, I doubt that your creativity will get the better of you. Finally, "spotting" is important so that it can cool as many PC parts as possible.

Uppers:
* Flexible and bending stick mount
* Can be attached anywhere inside your PC, cool those hard to reach places, can cool your video cards, chipsets, motherboards and memory modules
* Gyroscope-like fan
* Three speed controller
* Circulates air and really does cool them spots

Downers:
* Stick mount is not as flexible as it seems
* Fan power cable can ruin aesthetic design of a very clean case
* Humming noise on medium and high settings
* May cause some problems with big HSF and long video cards

Wishlist:
* Making stick mount more flexible
* Make the fan power cable "invisible"

Alternatives:
* Zalman FB123
* Tweakmonster Dual 80mm Fan Bracket

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Problems with the pivoting fan and articulation arm, February 19, 2009

By 

R. Gonzalez "Rich" (Wood Dale, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Antec SpotCool System Cooler (Personal Computers)

I did not find the arm to be of sufficient strength to allow the fan to be placed where I wanted it to be placed. When a motherboard is placed vertically (as probably 99% of 'enthusiast' PCs are built) it'd seem natural to either secure this type of fan to a motherboard standoff or to one of your slots. Unfortunately, this means the fan's arm is fighting gravity when you're trying to place it...and the arm is just plain not strong enough to do this.

Also, maybe this was just my fan, but even though the fan itself can pivot in the circular structure, mine kept popping loose constantly.

Now, if you secure your fan to the bottom of your case as shown in some pictures here this might be the product for you. But...don't count too much on the arm being strong enough to allow the fan to be optimally placed if you use a motherboard standoff or a slot screw.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great product !, June 2, 2011

By 

Venom - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Antec SpotCool System Cooler (Personal Computers)

Before buying this I read all types of reviews for it. Positive and the negative and basically I just wanted to try it out on my own anyways. So far this thing is GREAT for components inside the computer. It has 3 speeds [Low, Medium, High]. It is NOT noisy at all. It has LEDs and it really blows a lot of air. It's decently flexible and sturdy. the gyroscope like fan is brillant since it makes it easier to blow air in a specific area. You can also screw this product in ANYWHERE on the motherboard or the comptuer case. It was defintely worth the price and keeps my RAM cool or my northbridge cool. I have to give this 5 stars since I can't think of anything negative about it. Every experience is different for the next custoer. I can easily tell you that I'm satisfied with this product.