Customer Reviews

NZXT CRYO LX Aluminum Notebook Cooler 15-Inch to 19-Inch with 120MM Adjustable Fans - Black (CRYO LX BLACK)

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

I bought two of these coolers, one in black for me and the second in silver for my husband. We both have HP laptops with 17" widescreens. This was an upgrade from the Antec cooler, which worked fine for our old 15" laptops, but are way too small for our HPs. The NZXT coolers keep things COLD! We do not think that they are loud at all, in fact, they are slightly quieter than our Antecs. We keep the NZXTs on the lowest setting because that is more than adequate for us, but I can see more intense users using the higher fan settings, which come in handy. Build is solid, very heavy materials. Airflow is directed towards the bottom of the laptop, as opposed to being drawn away like in some other coolers. Adds nice height and a comfortable angle to the keyboard. Overall, a very efficient and ergonomic design. Not very comfortable on your lap, but I don't think that is its intended use anyway. Overall, the best cooler I have come across for 17" widesceens. The extra USB ports are nice too!

I bought a 17 inch HP power notebook that really had some serious heat generation issues. The notebook would become so warm, you actually could not keep it in your lap. I looked at several other coolers, and actually tried the Targus (don't waste your money--took mine back for a refund), and a Zalman (pretty good, but at least 2 notches below the NZXT. Kept it for use with a laptop that only has a moderate heat generation issue). This NZXT model is made from solid aluminum. It has 3 very quiet, large diameter fans that blow air up into the bottom of the laptop. Some coolers actually suck air away from the bottom of the laptop which seems like exactly the wrong way to go about trying to cool something that has its own fan sucking air up from the bottom of the laptop. Anyway, this unit is superbly constructed. It is fairly lightweight but does have sharp corners, so you need to exercise a little caution if you are going to use it in your lap. From what I have experienced and researched, this is the best device of its kind on the market. It's far from the cheapest, but remember what they say...you don't always get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get. If you have a heat generating power notebook, you need this cooler. Don't even think about it. Just order it at the same time as the computer and the price won't seem so bad.

I have a new 18.4 inch Qosmio laptop and this cooler fits it perfectly. It's the only one I found that's truly made for a large laptop with no overhang.


Perfect Fit

I searched high and low for a laptop cooler wide enough for my new Qosmio. Most claim to fit a 14-17 inch laptop, but in reality, that's total bs. If a laptop cooler is bragging about accommodating that diverse range of laptops, it means someone is getting stuck with a cooler pad that's either way too big or way too narrow. Usually, it's those of us with nice big laptops that are stuck with our expensive computers hanging over the sides of a tiny cooling pad. I don't know about you, but I don't want my nice new laptop precariously perched on a cheap cooling pad made for a much smaller, cheaper laptop. You spent a pretty penny on that wide-screen laptop, so buy the right cooling pad and don't scrimp or settle for garbage.


All Aluminum & Quiet Fans

This NZXT laptop cooler is simply the best, hands down. It's all aluminum, which means it dissipates heat efficiently. It also has 3 large fans that QUIETLY blow air up onto the underside of your laptop. The fans have a wheel adjustment knob on the side that lets you adjust the speed of the fans. Personally, I just run it on high all the time and forget about it. The fans are so quiet I don't even know they're on. My old HP laptop's fans are constantly running and are way louder than these 3 huge fans. Now with my new Qosmio and this NZXT cooler, I barely hear any fan noise at all, which is a really nice switch from what I was accustomed to!


4 Port USB Hub

The backside of this NZXT cooler has a 4 port hub built in. One drawback is that this cooler requires TWO of your laptop's USB ports to work - 1 for power, and another to connect the hub. So the net gain of USB ports is only 2. But the cooler also comes with a power adapter, so if you want to gain a 3rd USB port, you can plug the cooler directly into the wall and then only use 1 of your laptop's USB ports to power the hub. This config would give you a net gain of 3 USB ports, but it also means you'll have to manually turn the fans on and off when you shutdown the computer. Whereas if you use a 2nd USB port to power the cooler itself, the fans will turn on and off automatically with your computer. Personally, I have enough to remember so I opted for the automatic on and off.


Non-Slip Grip

Another quip I have with laptop coolers is that laptops easily slip off them. This is NOT the case with this NZXT! The surface of the pad has rubberized portions to it that securely keep my Qosmio in place. I can actually place my hands on my laptop and jiggle it and it doesn't budge -- not even a fraction! It rests securely in place atop this NZXT and I feel confident it isn't going anywhere.


Comfortable Angle

This cooler creates a nice typing angle for my keyboard. I don't know the exact angle, but it's a comfortable fit for both typing and using the touch pad. It's far more natural feeling than just leaving the laptop on a flat surface.


No Annoying LEDs!!!

In this technological age, everything has an LED or blinking light on it. Every little gadget needs to express its own self-worth, I guess. But it's getting to the point where I'm looking for products that _don't have something glowing and blinking on it! So I'm happy to say this NZXT cooler has NO blinking lights and no LEDs. If you're like me and you have a lot of electronics around, this is a huge deal in itself. I block most of those annoying little lights with electrical tape, but it was nice to not have to do that this time around.


It Folds

This is made for large laptops, so big surprise, it's large too. But it does fold, so that helps if you ever need to travel with it.


Bottom Line

If you have a large screen laptop then this NZXT laptop cooler is the only game in town. It fits -- it's solid -- it's quiet -- it has a hub -- no LEDs -- your laptop won't slip -- and best of all, it just works! This thing is darn near perfect in every way. HIGHLY recommend!!

I was so excited to get this. I originally bought a Belkin F5L001 Laptop Cooling Pad, and once I had that I wondered who else was offering a similar product. I saw this NZXT Aluminum Notebook Cooler and immediately fell in love with it. I watched all of the video reviews I could find on YouTube and also tried to find all of the geek sites that had either a written or video review as well. This NZXT got pretty good reviews from most of the sources I checked out, which made me even more excited to get it. The day it arrived I met the UPS guy at the door of his van like a 6 year at an ice cream truck (insert mental picture of Eddie Murphy..."ICE CREAM!...ICE CREAM!...THE ICE CREAM MAN IS COMING!!!...THE ICE CREAM MAN IS COMING!!!"). Unfortunately, unlike ice cream, there was nothing cold about this unit.

I got it into the house, unpacked it and put it to work. I must say, the design is very cool (looking) and chop-down-trees or use-it-as-a-car-ramp sturdy, and I really wish it had cooled my computer, but it really didn't seem to have much effect on my computer AT ALL. I was really surprised (and depressed). I repositioned the computer on the pad a couple of different ways (i.e.: almost hanging off the front, or way towards the back of the NZXT...since the NZXT is larger than my MacBook Pro 17")...to no avail. The places that MBP users usually feel heat build up is over the left speaker, the rubberized hinge at the bottom of the screen (just below the "MacBook Pro" etching) and of course on the bottom of the laptop where the battery is. I had the thing on full tilt and it didn't seem to be making a dent in the heat...those areas were still really hot. :-(

Oddly enough, the Belkin F5L001 Laptop Cooling Pad that I originally bought turned my MBP into an ice cube if you let it run for a little bit. The only thing I can think of (as to why this is) is that the Belkin has that deep concave in its design so the cool air hits the bottom of the laptop and then has somewhere to send the (now warmer) air (i.e.: out the sides of the concave). I'd literally pick up my laptop after working on it for some time (with the Belkin on) and the aluminum case of the MBP would be cold to the touch (not cool...cold). As good of a job as the Belkin was doing, I saw the NZXT and went crazy for the design and thought, "If the Belkin has 1 fan and the NZXT has 3 fans (and bigger ones at that), then the NZXT will turn my laptop into dry ice!"

Such is not the case, unfortunately.

I think that because the frame of the NZXT is aluminum (read: structurally sturdy), that it should be redesigned so that instead of the cool looking slots above the fans (which only allow a very small amount of air produced by the fans to actually reach the laptop (and forces the large remainder of the air produced by the fans (but blocked by the aluminum frame) to have to go somewhere else), that that area should be opened up entirely so that you basically have an aluminum picture-frame with 3 fans going across the middle. You can't see the middle of the unit anyway when your computer is on it, and it doesn't matter how cool it looks if it doesn't, in fact, cool. If they did redesign it like the picture-frame suggestion above, this thing would be a powerhouse. In addition, if they did do the picture-frame redesign, the thing that would seal the deal with a lot of people looking for a laptop cooler would be if they put the fans into slots or on rails so that you could move each of the 3 fans (individually) from front to back to cool the hot areas specific to YOUR laptop (since different computers heat up in different places). If you can't visualize what I mean by "slots" or "rails" think of a sliding glass door (it's on a rail which allows it to slide back and forth, but the slot (or channel) it is in keeps it from moving any other direction except back and forth)...now picture the fans being able to move (individually) front to back within the open picture-frame of the unit. I think that design would put all other laptop coolers out of business....open-frame design, sturdy/sexy/aluminum construction and 3 huge (moveable and variable speed) fans to pinpoint your specific hot spots...what more could anybody ask for? (Seriously).

Aside from the aluminum that the slots are cut into blocking the air flow to the bottom of the laptop, I think that there isn't enough space between the laptop cooler and the bottom of the computer, so the air that does actually hit the bottom of the computer then has nowhere to go to get away from the computer, so that warm air is still in contact with the computer, instead of quickly dissipating and taking some heat away from the computer...the cool air hits the bottom of the laptop, becomes warm air, and is then trapped in contact with the computer because it has nowhere to go. If they did do a redesign, I would suggest either putting tall (1/2"?) square rubber pedestals or "L"-shaped rubber pedestals surrounding the corners of the open part of the picture frame (not the far corners of the unit). Or, they (NZXT) could strategically drill holes in the aluminum and then let the user screw the rubber pedestals to the unit in any configuration they wanted (the rubber pedestal would have a female nut embedded in the bottom of it and you could insert a small bolt up through the bottom of the unit (through one of the pre-drilled holes), and screw it into the bottom of the rubber pedestal). This way, the cooling unit could be configured for almost any laptop.

It's too bad. I LOVE the design and sturdiness of the NZXT, but for cooling a MacBook Pro 17", you might as well put your laptop on one of those huge library-sized dictionaries...it has about the same cooling ability.
:-(

P.S. I had the Belkin for about a month and the fan (originally whisper quiet) started to rattle a little. I'd tap it a couple of times and it would go back to being quite. However, every once in awhile it just wouldn't stop rattling, so I called Belkin and they're replacing it. For an original purchase price of about $20.00, and the fact that it chills (not cools...chills) my aluminum laptop, I'm sticking with the Belkin and returning the NZXT. There's just too much aluminum blocking the air from actually reaching the laptop.

If they redesign it like I envisioned above, I'll be the first one to buy it because it'll be a design that can't be improved upon...and if you ever crank it up to full tilt, you'll have to wear mittens to work on your computer it'll be so cold. Then they'll have a real reason to nickname their unit "CRYO"...because as it is right now it's being "RETURNO'd".

UPDATE:
Saturday, January 9th, 2010

I decided to give this unit another try.
I figured one day of use was not enough to make an accurate synopsis of the unit.
I let the unit run under my MacBook Pro 17" for the last couple of days when I've been using the computer.
It didn't necessarily drop the temperature very much (2*C?)... but what I did notice (using a program called "Fan Control") is that it helps my internal fans not run so fast (4,500 RPM before...now about 4,100 RPM).
I even decided to modify the device to see if I could make it a better cooler.
I bought 3 Scythe SFF21G fans (1,900 RPM each). I installed them and they are running faster than the stock ones (it would appear), but the temperature drop is once again rather small (even when I have the MBP propped up in back to let the air being pushed towards the bottom of the computer have an escape route).
I don't know if my previous recommendations (to the company) to modify the unit (by cutting out the center slats and putting props on the back corner to elevate the back of the computer) would make much difference, to be honest.
I think the people who think that this is a great laptop cooler have PC's that have induction fans on the bottom of their laptops, so this cooler is force feeding cold air into their laptops, which is of course going to show significant drops in temperature. However, for Mac users, I don't think this is the unit for you. Since Macs don't have an induction fan and instead just push air out the back of the unit, this laptop cooler is basically just cooling down the aluminum case and probably adding some secondary (and minimal at that) temp reductions.
Also, I got my Belkin F5L001 replacement unit and decided to see how well that cooled my MBP vs. the NZXT Cryo unit with the new high RPM fans I installed in it. The Belkin cooled the case down, but also didn't drop the temperatures very much (so, I was wrong when I previously stated that the Belkin was a better cooler...it's only slightly less effective than the NZXT).

So, for PC users with an induction fan on the bottom of the unit, this is probably an awesome cooler.
For Mac users, with no induction fan, this unit will most likely do very little to cool your laptop.
Having said that, while I was looking for forums to modify the NZXT Cryo unit, I came across a program called "CoolBook" which allows you to monitor (and manipulate) the frequency, voltage and temperature of the CoreDuo and Core2Duo CPU by changing the factory settings to something more real-world (and less unnecessarily taxing on the CPU).
Be forewarned though, do your research if you decide to use this software. Although not inherently dangerous to use this software, you'll have to do some trial and error to find the settings that are correct for your particular computer. Those trial and errors (should you happen to set the levels too low), could lead to kernel panics and the computer shutting down (and you having to boot from the Start Up DVD in order to change the settings back to something a little higher). So, do your research on the forums if you choose to go the CoolBook route. I haven't used it yet for the sole purpose that I have a software program running for school and I don't want to shut it down. When you modify the CoolBook settings, it requires you to restart your computer for the settings to take effect (which would mean I'd have to shut down the aforementioned program, which I don't want to do at this time). So, if you check out the forums for CoolBook, you'll see some substantial MacBook temperature drops by manipulating the factory frequency and voltage settings for your CPU.

The NET-NET:
PC users...this is probably a really good laptop cooler for you.
Mac users...not worth your money or time (not because it's not a good unit, but because it's not really designed for Macs, per se).

Hope this helps.

J.

I looked at a dozen or more laptop/notebook coolers before settling on the NZXT. Admittedly, it is more expensive than most other coolers. However, it truly does the job.

Pros:
The three fans are whisper quiet
My Dell D800 is actually cool to the touch rather than hot, as it had been
The unit is powered by a USB port
It has 5 USB ports - one connects to a laptop port leaving 4 available
The top of the cooler is large enough to handle big screen laptops
The angle of the cooler puts the laptop at a much more comfortable level
The design and black color look great
The unit is very sturdy
It folds for transportation but I leave mine on my desk

Cons:
The price
The power and USB connections use a total of two ports (so net gain is 2)

I highly recommend the NZXT if you are serious about keeping your laptop cool.

IF you are going to use this on a desk, it is probably the BEST cooler you can buy. You can use your laptop for hours and hours and it does not heat up in the slightest. However, it is way too heavy and bulky, and the corners are too sharp to use it on your lap.

Update: I recall one or more reviews knocked this cooler for having slots and the mesh above the fans that restrict airflow. While that's true (air doesn't like going around things), I've had good results as-is out of the box. However, I thought to myself today, "I wonder what it would take to remove the mesh?" A small screwdriver to remove 4 screws is the answer. It's very easy: remove the four screws holding the fan housing in, slide fan housing a little, lift it out and just lift the mesh off. Replace everything. I did this a few hours ago and notice a big difference in temp with light load and the fans on slightly higher than the lowest setting. I am now in the 112-122 F range (40s C). I could feel the difference as well - several times I added the screen back and removed it and the flow definitely increases w/out it especially at high speeds (stating the obvious). To make this test official and scientific, I had my wife and daughter try it to and just asked, "what do you notice?" And, while it's sitting under a large laptop, it doesn't look bad at all - I like it better.

One other tip, to push air, the fans need air: it occurred to me that the cooler is sitting a little too low to have unrestricted air from behind the fans. I did some simple testing and lifted it slightly while listening and feeling the air - once an inch off the desk, it seemed to be fully unrestricted. The closer to the desk, the more you can hear (and feel) the restriction. If I figure out what will look right by propping it up a little (1/4"-1/2"), I'll probably try it, but by removing the mesh, it really seems unnecessary so doubt I will play with it anymore, but for those gamers who drive their machines hard nonstop, it's worth a try. (This goes for any cooler with large fans so no need to knock NZXT - there obviously has to be some tradeoffs made between looks and knowing when "enough is enough".

---------------

In summary, it outperforms the Antec Cooler 200 on a few levels and performs very good overall. This would be 5-stars, but it is 4 (probably a 3.6) for the following reasons:

* Price: At $70, I am still deciding on it. It does work well and if you amortize it over years of use, plus consider it extending life of a high-power laptop and, more importantly, keeping my Envy's three noisy fans (particularly the GPU's) quiet, it's probably worth it, but is pricey. Though, the construction, features and material probably justify it. (battling myself there)

* Sharp edges: round them off guys. If I decide to keep this, I'll take my dremel to it.

* More flow: while this is the best cooler I've used with the Envy 15 (my third try now), it could be better if airflow increased ... or perhaps not - I'm not an aerodynamic engineer so who knows.

I'm comparing to the Antec 200 cooler since I have been using it all the time recently and know how it works.

Positives:
- Runs a heavily used HP Envy 15 w/i7 Quad Core 10-30F less than Antec 200 on a medium, barely audible fan speed. Higher speeds are a bit more effective, but there are diminishing returns and I am not willing to live with more than a whisper.

- Much better looking. Very subjective of course, but I almost bought the silver because it looks better in the pics, but everything I have is black so decided to go with black. It is MUCH better looking than in any pictures I see on Amazon or other sites. It is an anodized, brushed-look aluminum - very nice.

- Fan speed variability: the NZXT has a wheel that allows you to adjust from a barely moving crawl (basically off) to high-speed and any increment in between - just rotate the wheel. Antec 200 has two settings: high and low. Low isn't that effective and high is too loud for me. Note that Antec's noisier (not noisy, just noiser than low) high-speed setting is not as effective on an Envy 15 as NZXT's lower, barely audible speed settings.

- The Envy 15's fans rarely spin up more than a low hum. It's GPU fan can get very noisy and I rarely hear it with the NZXT. The NZXT runs much quieter, even at full speed, than 50% speed of Envy's fans so running the NZXT at 20%-30% full time (sometimes turning up for heavier processing/graphics) is much better for me.

- NZXT has a USB Hub, which I really missed on the Antec. For those who say you gain 2 ports net - I'll qualify that with: IF you decide to power via USB rather than the included adapter. It has 5-ports: 4 hub ports for the user to plug-in USB devices and 1 port to connect to your laptop (or another hub, which is what I do).

The NZXT comes with a power supply AND a cable to supply power to the fans by plugging into your laptop's USB port (this does NOT use an USB port on the NZXT - it plugs into the power connector on the unit still leaving you the 4 ports so depending on how you power it, you gain 3 or 2 USB ports. That's standard for any hub (loss of 1) and better than no hub.

Nits:

- It has some sharp edges. Not sure I'd be as dramatic about it as some, but I'll confess that after reading many reviews mentioning this, I started removing from the box carefully and thought, "well, those aren't THAT sharp" just as I cut my finger on an edge. I agree with others - I have NO clue what they are thinking shipping it with edges not rounded off - even a little would be plenty. In my case - not a big deal. I don't plan to carry it with me (IMO, it's not really that portable even though it folds) so it'll just be on my desk.

- I'm not sure if this is because mine is defective or by design since I haven't noticed in other reviews, but powering the fans via USB barely moves the fans as if it is on lowest setting. I'll check with NZXT on it, but if by design, would seem odd.

- Even though you can't really see it, I like Antec's (and some others that have it) blue light under the fan. I tend to work w/out a light on at night so it does appear around edges. Simply put, it is a coolness factor I like even if it adds no value.

- Power-in is not microUSB; these days, I like everything microUSB so you can carry one cable to power everything.

My numbers (pulled from Speedfan logs and keeping an eye on CPU-Z just to get a 'feel' for what the system is doing):

Day-to-day average use. NZXT low fan speed, Antec high speed (never saw anything out of low speed so always ran high):
NZXT: 117-128F
Antec 200: 129-138F

Parallels Virtualization: Windows XP and Ubuntu Linux running simultaneously NZXT med fan speed, Antec high:
NZXT: 131-136F
Antec: 142-151F

Powering external 1920x1080 monitor via HDMI port (does drive the GPU higher) with 'standard' load:
NZXT: 122-129F
Antec: 133-140F

I run MSI's Afterburner to monitor various GPU parameters. With the NZXT, the GPU fan rarely jumped above 30% and GPU temp never went above 106F, with Antec it was usually at 70-80% (jumping to 100% often) fan and 124F temp.

I almost never hear the Envy's internal fans with the NZXT. The Antec didn't seem to have an effect on Envy fan speed/turn-up.

Now that I have it and have been using it, I am perplexed at those who rate very negatively. Within 1-hour of removing the Antec and putting the NZXT in place, I could have written a review, but wanted time to use it and gather my data. It made an immediate, noticeable difference. My guess is either placement, not doing anything beyond going by 'feel' or how hot the case is (we aren't talking case heat here and that being hot can actually be good because internals are dissipating heat more efficiently - especially metal cases) and/or may vary depending on the laptop - perhaps it's not ideal for every design (though that does seem odd - should really excel for Envy's/MBP's - even though the neither have metal-to-metal contact (or shouldn't), there is still dissipation that will happen due to the close distance and aluminum is great for dissipating heat).

I have a 19 inch Alienware Area 51 that has burned through two video cards due to extreme heat, even with the built-in heat sink. After having the thermal paste reapplied to the card by my local computer techs, it was recommended I buy a notebook cooler for extra protection. This is a nice product BUT not exactly ideal for a 19 inch mammoth gaming notebook, as there are no fans in the front, where I need the fans the most. Also, the fans that are there do not put out nearly as much air as I had hoped. If you have a smaller notebook with heat problems more in the middle and rear of your notebook, this product will work fine for you. Otherwise, I would keep looking, as I am, for a product more suited for your needs and with higher fan power.

I have a Toshiba A305 Satellite, which runs fairly hot and I am disabled so I tend to use it frequently in bed. This cooler is so effective that the bottom of my laptop is actually cool to the touch after running for extended periods of time. The angled surface makes typing easier. Even at the highest fan speed the noise is barely noticeable and the 4 rear usb ports are convenient at times. If heat is a concern you can't do better than this.

This product is excellent for gamers and owners of large and powerful notebooks. Very quiet. I have used 4 or 5 different coolers and this one outperforms them all. Big enough to accommodate my 17 inch wide screen with room to spare. My internal fan never turns on anymore because of this units huge cooling capacity. I would definitely recommend this cooler for gamers. Worth the Price.