Review on 💻 i-Star Laptop Cooling Pad with 2 USB Ports, Adjustable Height and LED Fans with Speed Control - Gaming Laptop Cooler Pad for Efficient Computer Cooling by Danny Poulin

WARNING: I am basing this "review" on comparing my experience with another Coolermaster X-slim. Macbook Pro Retina, 15 years old, mid 2012 Macbooks tend to get pretty hot (in my experience/probably based on my usage) and as my laptop will be 7 years old soon I'm hoping it will extend its lifespan, firstly, by keeping it as cool as possible. The i-Star laptop cooling pad is my second cooling pad that I bought in late December 2018 for around $18. My first cooling pad was the Coolermaster X-Slim (?) - it had a big fan in the middle which I used for about a year. So a year ago I was arguing between the Coolermaster and a cooling pad like this, the i-Star, and ended up buying the Coolermaster mainly because it was $10. The Coolermaster actually got the job done with no issues, but there were fundamental design differences between this and this i-Star mat that in hindsight I should have grit my teeth and spent $8 more on the i-Star. I like picking up my laptop. . Heat rises and such, so I figured raising the end of the screen would help dissipate the heat better. (I know I'm probably rethinking this, but still). The i-Star mat allows me to do this without the laptop slipping off as it has a foldable blocking piece in the middle. Also, I can increase or decrease the angle at will, from "flat" to 3 levels of elevation. The Coolermaster pad was able to raise the corner, but the lack of a blocker caused my laptop to slip multiple times a day, forcing me to reconfigure it. But it didn't really matter. Next, the i-Star control panel gives you the ability to turn it on and off, as well as increase or decrease airflow. This is great for me as I leave my old laptop on and in the same place most of the time - I don't take my laptop outside anymore. I have a cooling pad plugged into a separate USB port and out of laziness I leave everything plugged in so I don't have to unplug and plug anything. My previous pad was the same but as long as it was plugged in it was powered on. This meant you could hear it while I was sleeping or when I wasn't using the laptop. However, it wasn't that loud. A 5 fan i-Star (1 large center and 4 small peripherals) at maximum power is likely to be a little louder than a single Coolermaster fan, a setting, but the nice thing is that I can turn it off when the time is right . go to sleep or leave. There are LED lights that stay on while the panel is on; they come in blue or red - I chose blue on the coin toss. I personally don't care much about light – it doesn't matter to me that it's part of the design; it wouldn't matter if it was NOT part of the design. I just wanted something that would hopefully help extend the life of my laptop. But since there's a light, I'm glad I can just turn it off when I don't need it. Again, like the fan noise, the lights don't bother me much when sleeping or anything, but for those of you who might be affected, you can turn them off. WHY I-STAR AND NOT OTHER SIMILAR DESIGNS? stuck in the costs. This one cost me $18; Other tiltable designs with 5 fans and different airflow rates cost around $25. Some even had the option to use different combo fans, variable airflow rate scroll wheel, etc., but for me it had everything I wanted from my previous cooling pad. IS IT RELIABLE? I say yes. When I took it out of the box (the packaging was great, btw) I thought it was exactly the "weak gauge" you'd expect for $18: not too thin/cheap looking; but not the ultimately desired indestructible feeling. If that's too subjective, here's a more objective one: I took this cooling pad with me on a 24-hour flight stuffed in my carry-on (my bags were tightly packed. This particular bag was 0.2kg over the carry-on weight limit ). international flight) and I'm happy to report that the cooling pad turned out great. Nobody abused my bag per se, but you know - the typical bumps and attempts to rearrange racks with random bag bumps. This cooling pad withstood it. Other remarks - there is no extraneous vibration from the fans; There's no flexing from the weight of my laptop or while I'm typing. Rubber feet prevent the entire device from slipping. SUMMARY: I am happy with i-Star; I can work with it in the same way as with the previous, cheaper cooling pad. Love the tilt options, love the bar that keeps my laptop from sliding, love that I can leave it plugged in and turn it on/off AND change the airflow intensity. It's a bit bulky for my personal taste, but since I usually keep my laptop in one place all the time, it's not a big deal. I'm a happy customer!