As portable computing became more affordable to the masses, vendors were looking to produce desktop replacements that provided the horsepower of desktop systems wrapped up in a portable package. Present day, this is possible through the use of low voltage mobile processors that have many built in tricks to assist with cooling, but hundreds of thousands of notebook computers were sold with straight up high performance desktop processors soldered directly to the motherboard. End users soon found that although they ended up with a lot of computing power, they also ended up with a lot of heat that couldn't be efficiently expelled from such a compact package. That's when third party solutions started to show up to assist with the expulsion of heat that these desktop processors produced. Vantec, who always remains on the cusp of computing needs, developed the LapCool3 to help expel the heat produced by these high end notebook computers. Does the LapCool3 actually make a difference? That's the question I will answer here.

Package

Like many Vantec products, the LapCool3 comes in a well designed hanging clamshell package. The product specifications are spelled out right on the back of the package. The voltage requirements are low, the weight is extremely low, yet the airflow is rated at 28 CFM. Hmm, sounds pretty good so far.

The Cooler

The LapCool3 has a top that is tastefully done in Silver and Black. There are a couple of raised plastic "knobs" on the back side and a row of nine plastic raised rectangular areas on the designed to give your notebook some breathing room underneath. The back of the unit lists the same specifications listed that are listed on the back of the package.

One nice aspect of this cooling system is the fact that it pulls all of its power directly from a USB port of your notebook. As the specs state, it uses up to .9W of power which is within USB spec.

When the notebook is sitting on the unit, there is a slight gap in the front which gets wider towards the back. The pair of fans are supposed to draw the heat from the notebook and expel it out the exhaust, which you can see in the picture of the rear. Everything looks good so far, so how does it work?