We have been on a quest to find the right cooler for my daughter’s Dell laptop. Between the money spent on models that don’t work and the outraged screams of my daughter that I ruined her laptop (no, logic doesn’t work on my 10-year-old with autism), I’d about reached the end of my tether on this.
The worst of the lot have let her computer frequently shut down after an hour or so of use. The best ones, prior to this, were able to keep the computer running, but the screen flickered incessantly. We finally had the good fortune to try out the Cryo S. For our needs, the Cryo S has been a miracle. The laptop stays on, and the screen hasn’t flickered once in nearly two weeks of continuous use. My daughter is even willing to forgive it for not being pink, just because her computer has behaved so nicely with it.
The Cryo S has been the Cadillac of coolers for us. It’s quite sturdy — aluminum body — not plastic. It has two 120mm fans that allow you to adjust their speed. Even at the highest setting, they are whisper quiet. I love that. As with most coolers, you can run it from the computer’s USB port. This one, however, comes with a data cable to attach to the computer and has two extra USB ports on the back so you’re not losing all of your USB capacity for the laptop. If you want to, you can even use the provided AC adapter to plug it into the wall instead of running it from the USB port. The body is a solid black, and it’s built at a nice angle to make it more comfortable on your wrists to use the laptop. The surface has a rubber texture, and we haven’t had any issues with the laptop sliding around — another plus. This particular model is built for a 15-inch or smaller system — which is just right for us.
In the interests of fairness, it did have a couple of characteristics that I considered downsides for us. The aluminum construction, while making the cooler sturdier, also makes it quite a bit heavier. This isn’t an issue if you’re just using the laptop at your desk, but it is heavier to haul around, and you probably wouldn’t want to use it sitting on your lap for any length of time. It also stands somewhat taller than other cooler models we’ve tried. This isn’t an issue on my daughter’s desk, but on my desk, I have risers with shelves, and the Cryo S is tall enough that I can’t fully open the laptop without pulling it all the way forward to the edge of the desk to completely clear the shelves.
While the Cryo S is a bit pricier than I usually spend on laptop coolers (about $45 on Amazon.com), the quality is also quite a bit better than the cheaper models I’ve tried with my daughter’s laptop. If I added up what I’ve spent on coolers that died or just didn’t work, the price is definitely worth it. If you have a laptop that vents the heat out the bottom (like the Dell), I highly recommend the Cryo S.
I’m a working mom — married with one child. My daughter is 10, and she has autism. Everything else in my life moves around this core. Online gaming has been a big part of my social life over the last several years due to the difficulty of going out and about. I have to say that my daughter Alissa is awesome at computer games. She has skills with electronics that amaze me. When I get away from the computer, I like doing craft projects (knitting, crocheting, sewing, painting, quilling, whatever sounds fun) and reading. I mainly read suspense these days, but I have a pretty eclectic collection and a library of about 6,000 books. I’ve been using a computer since grade school — I started with an Apple IIe and have upgraded considerably and many times since then. I played Dungeons and Dragons for at least a few decades. I met and married my husband through gaming. He was my DM. I stopped tabletop gaming more from lack of time than anything. It’s easier to meet and game with friends online than it is to coordinate real-life schedules around my daughter’s needs.
