Conclusion:

As we have seen from the testing, the results show significant drops in chassis and overall temperature. The voodoo laptop saw the lowest gains (drops in temperature) due in fact to the underside chassis design. This laptop has NO vents under the chassis, so the Vantec coolers simply were firing cool air upwards at the chassis, very little reached inside directly via fan vents. That said, some gains were seen, and as the Vantec fans on full are no louder than the chassis fans, this would be a worthwhile minimal outlay to improve chassis temperatures. Especially for sustained gaming or rendering durations.

Comparing the Vantec Lapcool 2 with the "eastern" aluminium unit, it is clear to see even with noticeably lower grade fans and no variable control, the aluminium design is helping the laptop chassis to cool, as this is acting as a massive heatsink. Still overall, if the Vantec is toggled via the rear control to full fan power it cooled all machines better, with Vantec showing their superior fan technology can pay dividends. Hopefully with version 3, we will see Vantec moving to Aluminium design which most assuredly will lower chassis temperatures by a further 1-2c.

It has to be said, that a part of the improved airflow and subsequent drops in temperature are due to the fact the lapcool2 is lifting the machine from the work surface, and even with the plate fans turned off, will be helping the airflow around the machine.

With the two designs, Vantec cater for a wide market, those wanting a nice portable self powering cooling plate with no external connectors and those wanting a home "dock" with 4 more high speed USB2 devices attached. It is a nice touch that even the 4 port USB2 version can be used (minus USB support) without the power supply just like the vanilla version. With regards to portable usage and my rough estimates, battery life was reduced by 5-8% when this was turned on at full fan speed, this is understandably noticeable but not much worse than adding a few PCMCIA cards to your system.

Compatibility is high, with the lapcool2 being able to handle a diverse size of chassis design, it even held the bethemoth Alienware Area 51m 7700 chassis, and trust me that machine is HUGE. The leg mechanisms are very sturdy and didnt even buckle the slightest under the 6kg+ weight.

As a test of the vantecs power, I disabled all the Alienware chassis fans and ran prime 95 on a loop to see how long it would take for system shutdown. This took around 4 minutes. With the Vantec Lapcool2 switched on and at full power the machine managed to maintain stability for 25 minutes. A massive increase and a good indication that the Vantec Lapcool2 is going to substantially aid the life cycle of your machine.

As you would expect this isnt a miracle product, its not going to drop your laptop temperatures by 15c during heavy gaming sessions or resolve poor manufacturing chassis design, but if you have a hot chassis which you find uncomfortable or if you want to sustain the life of your laptop and keep it cooler in operation then the Vantec Lapcool is wholeheartedly recommended.

Vantec Lapcool2 are available from many stores and are at time of press very reasonably priced. Id like to thank Paul Terry at bluesharksystems on ebay for supplying the review products. £24.99 for the vanilla and £39.99 for the 4 port USB2 hub model.