(Reprinted from my Epinion. Note that there are several different types of gel coolers on the market, such as Thermaltake, Targus, et al.)

I’ve owned several fan-based laptop coolers. After going on the third one because the fans are cheap and die after several months, I decided to look for something different.

I had read a review on a computer news site and was intrigued about cooling without fans. After looking around at several others sites, I decided to give this cooling pad a shot. Being cheaper than most other fan-based coolers, it wasn’t like I had anything to lose. > more <

Having a MacBook Pro means you have to deal with heat. The MBP is built with an aluminum case, which is becoming a popular option among the desktop “home-brew computing” world. However, in a laptop it means much of the heat that would be absorbed by a plastic case is now transferred to the case; the case effectively acts as a large heat sink. > more <

For those who don’t know, heat kills electronic components. The hotter the temperature, the shorter the life expectancy; real hot temperatures will literally bake the silicon chips and ruin them. That’s why computer CPUs have heat sinks and fans on them so they don’t burn out. > more <

In the interest of helping visitors, I’m adding some of my Epinion reviews directly to my blog. Even though I have a feed coming directly from Epinions, it doesn’t always work so I thought it would be better to put a few of my reviews here, in “plain sight” as it were. The first one is for the Belkin Cushtop, a laptop “pillow”.

> more <