Cooler Master Notepal D1
Jun 11th, 2009 | By Simon
Cooler Master Notepal D1
Date
: 06/12/09 – 01:15:44 AM
Author
:
Category
: Cooling
Page 1 : Introduction
Manufacturer
: Cooler Master
A quick search on the internet and you'll find just about every case and cooling manufacturer with their own notebook cooler. More often we're bombarded with features we don't necessarily need when it comes to notebook cooling. Cooler Master has taken a step back and returned to the basics.

What sets the Cooler Master D1 apart from everything else is the low cost and simplicity of the design. Gone are the features of having eight additional USB ports, a built in keyboard, adjustable height and fan control. The Cooler Master offers a very simple raised perforated platform with two fans for cooling powered by a single USB cord.
Page 2 : Cooler Master D1 Package Contents & Specifications
The Cooler Master D1's package shows and explains everything you get with the D1. The cover of the box is simple, showing a large front view of the notebook cooler and with the traditional purple trim around the edge. On the backside of the box we have a list of features shown through pictures and the specifications.


There's nothing to the sides other than the name of the product so we'll lift the lid and take a look at the inside. The D1 is protected at the edges by two soft Styrofoam pads.

The top of the D1 is made from aluminum and perforated with 1/4′ holes. At the bottom corner of the plate, Cooler Master has etched their company name in. The two rubber pads are 3/8′ wide elevate the notebook from the plate. The insides of the pads are spaced just shy of ten inches apart.

Flipping the D1 over, the bottom is made from hard plastic. The USB cord is neatly tucked away in a crevice and when unraveled fits through the notched edge the D1 sits level on your table.


The USB connector is an extender that plugs into your notebook; it neither adds nor reduces the number of available USB ports.

Returning to the front of the D1, the rubber edges can be peeled away to reveal four screws that hold the top plate to the base of the D1. Removing these four screws gives us complete access to the two 70mm fans Cooler Master uses. I don't think anyone expected anything other than Cooler Master fans here.


The fans used have model number A7010-20RA-2AN-F1. They are rated for 25 CFM and have a noise rating of 17-21dBA. Here are the rest of the features and specifications for the D1 taken from Cooler Master's website.
Features

Specifications

If you ever didn't need the D1 on your desk, you can stand it vertically on your bookcase.
Page 3 : Setup and Performance
Setup is incredibly simple with the D1: put your notebook on top of the D1 and power the fans via USB if so desired.

My 12′ Dell M1210 notebook takes up the entire surface and a larger laptop would overhang on this design, although Cooler Master states that it supports up to 15′ notebooks. With the USB extension plugged in, I didn't particularly like how wide the cable stuck out the side. I wouldn't mind as much if I had a USB port on the back of my laptop but with the side port there is the additional risk of someone walking by and the USB cable getting caught and pulling my notebook aside.

For the past few weeks I've alternated between using the Cooler Master D1 and resting my notebook flat on the table. The 10 degree incline provided by the D1 certainly feels more ergonomic. My wrists feel as if they are in a more natural position. To thermally test the D1, I put it up against the Light Laptop Stand I previously reviewed and the results of leaving my notebook on the table. I also considered the situation of using the D1 without the additional 70mm fans. I achieved full load on my notebook by running Prime95 v2.56's small FFT for one hour followed by idling the notebook for one hour. At the end of each hour I recorded the temperatures on the CPU as determined by Notebook Hardware Control as well as the CPU fan exhaust temperature monitored by a thermal probe and the temperature on the bottom side of my laptop as monitored by a second thermal probe.
Here are the results:
Full Load Temperatures

Idle Temperatures

There is a clear distinction between the Cooler Master D1 with fans and all the other results. The tiny bit of air moved dropped the CPU temperature by seven degrees Celsius. Without the fan, the temperatures are still much better than running the notebook flat on the desk but show limited improvements over the Light Laptop Stand. The big advantage with the D1 over the Light Laptop Stand would be the quick setup. You don't need to fiddle with two arms and balance the notebook on the table; however the D1 is not nearly as portable as the Light Laptop Stand.
One nuisance I had with the D1 was the vibration it caused on my table. I found that the base would hum. If I lifted the D1 and my notebook up into the air, it would not make a peep. The D1 has four feet on the bottom, but I would have liked to see rubber or silicone feet to dampen the vibration. The hard plastic doesn't do the trick for me. I found this to be an issue on both my wooden and glass desk. In the meantime I'm still using the D1 but without the fans being powered. It still provides some cooling advantage and anything to reduce the heat on my notebook is a plus in my books.
Page 4 : Conclusion
Cooler Master impressed me with their simple yet elegant D1. By no means is it a flashy notebook cooler with colored LED fans or multiple USB ports requiring a separate AC power supply. They went back to the basics and with a simple tweak of replacing the hard feet with a softer material, I think they would have come up with a huge winner. As it stands, the D1 is still a budget friendly notebook cooler that does the trick of what a 50 dollar cooler would do – keeping your notebook cool.

The Cooler Master D1 dropped my notebook's temperatures by a significant margin with the fans running. Even without the fans on we saw a small temperature drop across the board. For anyone looking to do some mobile gaming, I would certainly consider getting a notebook cooler. The D1 fits my bill with its simple design and very low price.

Advantages
- Simple design
- Quick setup
- Big improvement over no cooler
Advantages
- Softer material for feet would make this cooler flawless
Overclockers Online would like to thank Cooler Master for making this review possible.