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Provides: Notebook elevation and cooling
Developer: NZXT
Minimum Requirements: Notebook with USB ports
Price: about $45
Availability: Now

When you hear NZXT, you think gaming hardware, and rightfully so. But they make more than PC cases. This time, I took a look at the CRYO S aluminum notebook cooler.

This notebook cooler/stand is made out of one super thick (3mm) piece of aluminum. It has a nice brushed black aluminum finish with some slots cut out, some grill work, and some rubber details to keep your notebook in place. Underneath the slab of metal are two 120mm fans. These are powered by either USB or an AC adapter. On the back are the dial for fan speed and a two port USB hub. The CRYO S will easily hold any notebook up to 15 inches. NZXT makes a larger model for, you guessed it, larger notebooks.

Despite having two fans constantly spinning away, the CRYO S is notably quiet.  That’s thanks to how big the fans really are.  They’ll definitely be keeping everything except the hottest of the hot nice and cool.  The use of aluminum is appropriate as well.  I’m not certain how much it really helps to also dissipate heat, but it certainly can’t hurt.

The whole package even looks pretty slick.  The all black brushed aluminum fits in surprisingly well with most recent MacBooks.  Sure, it still kinda screams PC, but not painfully so.

I only have two real problems with the CRYO S.  First, NZXT’s unnecessary use of the CAPS LOCK when naming this and all of their products.  But much more important is it’s USB hub.  It really feels like an afterthought.  Giving up one port on my notebook for two on a stand is not worth the extra cable necessary.  And if you’re using this on the go with the USB adapter for powering the fans, well then, it doesn’t even give you an extra port, now, does it?  Nope.  In my opinion, a USB hub is pointless if there are less than 4 ports.

Still, the product does what it’s really supposed to do, which is to elevate your notebook at a comfortable level and keep it from melting.  And it does all of this quietly.  You probably won’t even know it’s on, even at the highest fan setting.  If you’re looking for a sturdy notebook stand with fans, this is one you should consider.