Introduction

Gaming with a laptop computer is becoming more prevalent every day. I mean, if you want an i7 processor and a fast GPU, it seems there are many offerings out there built like this. The screens are getting bigger, the resolution higher, and with that and the demand of newer game titles, it can really work the laptop into a heated frenzy. I am not so blessed as my laptop has a lowly Intel 4 Series GPU, but it still allows me to tinker around in Half Life 2, Left 4 Dead, and of course a bit of CS:S on low to medium settings. My problem with gaming is twofold outside of the lowered graphics settings. The keyboard gets hot, as the CPU tends to stew in its juices with the cooler on it, and the hard drive makes a hot plate out of the left palm rest area.

Of course, elevating a laptop will, or at least should improve airflow on most laptops. They pull air in from the bottom to cool everything enclosed. Raising it off the surface allows for more cool air to pool under the fan and this should make normal use on the net browsing more comfortable on its own. Once you add gaming into the mix, just raising the laptop isn't going to do it for keeping temperatures under control. This is where additional fan cooling is needed, and the last submission wasn't quite up to the task of handling gaming heat loads, but it did offer a much cooler lap while using it. This time, things are reversed. This is a high flow, more table or desktop oriented notebook cooler design.

Antec has sent over the Notebook Cooler 200 for me to have a look at, taking cues from the Skeleton series of the industrial open design and using a bit of the honeycomb mesh we are used to seeing. Not only is the fan blowing upward this time, Antec uses a two speed Big Boy 200mm, blue LED fan that can push some serious amounts of airflow and with it, very little noise. Even though my laptop doesn't do all that much gaming, it does tend to run a bit warm, and any help I can get is appreciated. So I say, let's get to it, so I can plug in the USB connection and see just how well the Notebook Cooler 200 handles its business.