Page 5: Use, Conclusion
Use
The ARCTIC NC is a portable cooler, so the procedure for mounting it is a little bit different to full-size coolers. Rather than mounting the entire cooler under the notebook, you only mount the very edge of the cooler underneath the notebook. This allows the fans to circulate the air from the intake through the exhaust without anything disrupt airflow. It is important to make sure you place the laptop correctly. For example, our initial tests were done with the fans partially obscured by the edge of the laptop, and that alone led to temperatures that were a couple degrees warmer.
The fan noise on the ARCTIC NC is acceptable. When the fans are set to their highest speed setting, the fans do get notably loud. The volume does drop quite a bit as you turn the fan speeds down, but the volume of air circulated drops faster than the noise does. Despite that, the cooler worked well enough on the lowest setting that it would probably be enough for most medium-powered laptops.
One thing meant to set this cooler apart from the rest is the 4-port USB hub located on the back. We tested a variety of non-powered items in the hub with the hub plugged in. There didn't seem to be any noticeable performance drop in the devices. Changing the fan speed didn't seem to make any difference, either.
On thing to note about this hub is that it is unpowered. The instruction pamphlet mentioned that Arctic Cooling has a dedicated power adapter, but this may not be necessary depending on what technology products you have on hand. In our testing, we actually found that the hub worked perfectly fine as a powered hub with a USB-to-DC 5V adapter cable (sourced from a USB HDD enclosure) as well as when we tested it with a power adapter from a dedicated Belkin USB hub. We like that Arctic Cooling made this cooler with a flexible enough design that it can be made a powered hub without proprietary cables, and we really like that the fans on the cooler can work purely off of the DC input plug.
On thing we weren't a fan of is how the shape lent itself to use when not placed on a desk. While portable notebook coolers usually give up a bit of comfort when using a notebook in your lap compared to full-size coolers, we simply weren't able to get comfortable using the ARCTIC NC in our lap. It didn't like to stay in one place, nor was the notebook adequately held in place by the rubber mounts on the top (even though it wasn't a problem when using the notebook on a desk).
Conclusion
The ARCTIC NC to an extent gives off a niche product vibe. On the one hand, it offers performance that is pretty good for a compact cooler. It also offers a very usable hub, and the fan speed settings are quite useful. On the other hand, the cooler is uncomfortable for use in your lap, and it can get a little loud for the performance it gives off. That being said, with a suggested retail price of only $31, it also offers a pretty good value in the segment for what it brings to the table. With everything about the cooler taken into consideration, we at ASE Labs can recommend the Arctic Cooler ARCTIC NC, especially if size and portability are major criteria when shopping for a notebook cooler. Hopefully some retails will offer it soon.
The ARCTIC NC is a portable cooler, so the procedure for mounting it is a little bit different to full-size coolers. Rather than mounting the entire cooler under the notebook, you only mount the very edge of the cooler underneath the notebook. This allows the fans to circulate the air from the intake through the exhaust without anything disrupt airflow. It is important to make sure you place the laptop correctly. For example, our initial tests were done with the fans partially obscured by the edge of the laptop, and that alone led to temperatures that were a couple degrees warmer.
The fan noise on the ARCTIC NC is acceptable. When the fans are set to their highest speed setting, the fans do get notably loud. The volume does drop quite a bit as you turn the fan speeds down, but the volume of air circulated drops faster than the noise does. Despite that, the cooler worked well enough on the lowest setting that it would probably be enough for most medium-powered laptops.
One thing meant to set this cooler apart from the rest is the 4-port USB hub located on the back. We tested a variety of non-powered items in the hub with the hub plugged in. There didn't seem to be any noticeable performance drop in the devices. Changing the fan speed didn't seem to make any difference, either.
On thing to note about this hub is that it is unpowered. The instruction pamphlet mentioned that Arctic Cooling has a dedicated power adapter, but this may not be necessary depending on what technology products you have on hand. In our testing, we actually found that the hub worked perfectly fine as a powered hub with a USB-to-DC 5V adapter cable (sourced from a USB HDD enclosure) as well as when we tested it with a power adapter from a dedicated Belkin USB hub. We like that Arctic Cooling made this cooler with a flexible enough design that it can be made a powered hub without proprietary cables, and we really like that the fans on the cooler can work purely off of the DC input plug.
On thing we weren't a fan of is how the shape lent itself to use when not placed on a desk. While portable notebook coolers usually give up a bit of comfort when using a notebook in your lap compared to full-size coolers, we simply weren't able to get comfortable using the ARCTIC NC in our lap. It didn't like to stay in one place, nor was the notebook adequately held in place by the rubber mounts on the top (even though it wasn't a problem when using the notebook on a desk).
Conclusion
The ARCTIC NC to an extent gives off a niche product vibe. On the one hand, it offers performance that is pretty good for a compact cooler. It also offers a very usable hub, and the fan speed settings are quite useful. On the other hand, the cooler is uncomfortable for use in your lap, and it can get a little loud for the performance it gives off. That being said, with a suggested retail price of only $31, it also offers a pretty good value in the segment for what it brings to the table. With everything about the cooler taken into consideration, we at ASE Labs can recommend the Arctic Cooler ARCTIC NC, especially if size and portability are major criteria when shopping for a notebook cooler. Hopefully some retails will offer it soon.