So my M14x got as high as 98 a few days ago, it was really alarming and I decided that it was time for a cooling pad. (98 was from running Advanced System Care Deep Clean, McAfee Full Scan, Playing Tribes Ascend and playing music on iTunes with a browser open, all without any lag, quite pleased.) So I went on a hunt for a cooling pad, found some good reviews and I believe Cooler Master to be one of the best names in system cooling. So this is my short review of the U3
The entire body is machined, black aluminium, very light weight. It comes with 3 fans which can be placed where ever there are holes on the pad. I was pleasantly surprised when I heard them, almost entirely silent. The number of holes and the amount of air they push out is very satisfying and has kept my computer below the 80's even under similar loads as above.
It also comes with a pretty heavy duty elastic strap, you can take the fans off, turn it over and place you laptop in the pad and strap it in, making it MUCH more portable than any pad I've ever had before (cough Targus cough). It works with up to 17" laptops so they say but I bet an m18x user could make due. It has very good quality, grippy rubber pads on the top left and right corners and a large on across the bottom as well as inside where the laptop sits (no scratches yay!) I did have a little trouble finding a sweet spot for the best grip but as soon as I did I had no problem.
The fans wiring appears to be rather cheaply done, but when I thought about it, if I ever had a problem with them, it'd be very easy to fix myself, as they are only held together with shrink tape-type-stuff. The fans have speed control and the USB power plug is male+female, so you don't lose a USB port, very important.
Overall I very much like it, and for under 40$ CND after tax and shipping from Newegg, who could go wrong. I recommend this cooling pad for Alienware users.
The entire body is machined, black aluminium, very light weight. It comes with 3 fans which can be placed where ever there are holes on the pad. I was pleasantly surprised when I heard them, almost entirely silent. The number of holes and the amount of air they push out is very satisfying and has kept my computer below the 80's even under similar loads as above.
It also comes with a pretty heavy duty elastic strap, you can take the fans off, turn it over and place you laptop in the pad and strap it in, making it MUCH more portable than any pad I've ever had before (cough Targus cough). It works with up to 17" laptops so they say but I bet an m18x user could make due. It has very good quality, grippy rubber pads on the top left and right corners and a large on across the bottom as well as inside where the laptop sits (no scratches yay!) I did have a little trouble finding a sweet spot for the best grip but as soon as I did I had no problem.
The fans wiring appears to be rather cheaply done, but when I thought about it, if I ever had a problem with them, it'd be very easy to fix myself, as they are only held together with shrink tape-type-stuff. The fans have speed control and the USB power plug is male+female, so you don't lose a USB port, very important.
Overall I very much like it, and for under 40$ CND after tax and shipping from Newegg, who could go wrong. I recommend this cooling pad for Alienware users.
