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Vizo Mini Ninja Notebook Cooler


Date
: 12/1/08 – 05:48:31 AM

Author
:

Category
: Cooling

Page 1 : Index

Manufacturer
: Vizo Technology Corp.

Established in 1992, Vizo Technology is a Taiwanese corporation specializing in computer accessories and cooling products. Recently, I've had quite the influx of Vizo products and this will be the first.

I've always been a fan of laptop coolers because they keep your usually overheating laptop at a cool temperature and therefore prolong the life of your precious components. In this review, we'll be looking at the
Vizo Mini Ninja
laptop cooler.

Page 2 : Package, Features & Specifications

The Vizo Mini Ninja comes in a box-like package, complete with carrying handle. There is a picture of the cooler itself on the front, with the black color of the cooler set off by the white background. To further the ‘Ninja’ theme, there are small graphics of nunchucks scattered around. A few features can be seen on the front. Altogether, the package is simple yet effective.

The back lists off all the features, specifications, and package contents. There are also a few pictures highlighting some of the features.

Let's take a look at the features and specifications before going on to opening the package. They were taken from here, Vizo's webpage for the Mini Ninja.

Description: NOISELESS HEAT KILLER, mini NINJA, is the best guard for your notebook PC!!
Advantage :

Features:

Specifications:

Package Contents:

Of particular interest are the compact dimensions of the cooler, as well as its low weight of only 600 g, and the fact that the fan positions are adjustable.

Page 3 : Package Contents

Opening the box, we immediately notice that the cooler comes double-boxed for added protection.

Furthermore, the cooler is protected by Styrofoam blocks on the sides.

Below that, we find a plastic bag containing the USB-USB-power T-shaped adaptor that is used for supplying power to the Mini Ninja while not ‘using up’ a USB port. There are also two extra screws.

The top surface of the Mini Ninja has a nice matte-black, brushed aluminum finish. The Mini Ninja logo adorns the middle with Vizo's logo making an appearance on the bottom right. Two fans peek out from underneath a honeycomb grill.

A side profile look reveals the angled geometry of the cooler. The USB-USB-power T-shaped adaptor plugs in here. The other side is relatively featureless.

The curved surface extending from the top completes the elegant looks of the Mini Ninja.

Flipping it over, we see the two small fans used. They are screwed in but have rails that can be used to move the locations of the fans. One thing that bothered me about this view was that I noticed the fact that the honeycomb grill is attached by means of two pieces of tape. This is hardly an elegant solution even though the grill felt secure.

We can now move on to testing.

Page 4 : Testing & Performance

To test the Vizo Mini Ninja, I used my Dell XPS m1330 laptop and HWMonitor to measure the temperatures under different conditions. I placed the laptop on the top surface of the cooler and connected the T-shaped connector to a USB port. I would have liked to see a more compact design for the connector without any protrusions.

HWMonitor will be used to measure the CPU, GPU and HDD temperatures under both idle and load conditions with the Mini Ninja's fans turned off and then with the fans turned on. The idle measurement was done with the laptop idling at the desktop for 2 hours with no intensive programs running and taking the minimum temperature reported by HWMonitor. Load temperatures were taken while running 3DMark06 for an hour and taking the maximum temperature reported by HWMonitor.

The average ambient temperature was around 22ºC throughout all the tests.

The Mini Ninja definitely made a difference in cooling down the laptop. CPU and GPU temperatures had the biggest gain while hard drive temperatures were relatively unaffected. This may be because of the placement of the laptop over the Mini Ninja – the fans were not directed at the HDD's location. In any case, the surface of my laptop felt a lot cooler with the fans on which definitely increased my comfort level. Also, my laptop's internal fan appeared to throttle down quite a bit and this resulted in a quieter working environment, even with the Mini Ninja's two fans running!

Page 5 : Conclusion

All things considered, I was very pleased with the Vizo Mini Ninja. The cooling performance is as expected as it definitely felt like my laptop was cooler. Also, the angled surface of the cooler made it more comfortable when typing on my laptop. Furthermore, it only weighs 600 g and is very compact which will aid in portability.

Some things that could use improvement are the attaching methods for the honeycomb grill and the T-shaped USB connector. Perhaps a better alternative would be to have an extra USB port built into the cooler itself.

With that said, the Vizo Mini Ninja is a great laptop cooler considering the benefits greatly outweigh the flaws.

Advantages:

• Quiet operation

• Cools well
• Light and portable

Disadvantages:

• Somewhat high priced

• Cumbersome USB-USB-power connector
• Tape is used hold down grill

Overclockers Online would like to thank Vizo Technology for making this review possible.