Date: June 5th, 2007
Article by: Jackie Mueller (Hardware Reviewer)
Edited by: Nathan Glentworth (Owner / Head Editor)
Product was submitted by: Thermaltake USA
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PRODUCT PICTORIAL AND WALKTHROUGH
The iXoft measures about 14x12 inches and is a little less than a half inch thick. It weighs in at slightly less than a pound and a half and is flexible so it can easily be folded and transported in a laptop bag. Without heat applied, the surface is bumpy but with a bit of heat the salt inside will begin to melt and eventually turn into a liquid.
Turning the pad upside down reveals a soft fabric material covering the bottom. It reminded me a bit of corduroy.
The edges are reinforced with thick embroidery for durability and to keep a potential mess inside the pad.
PRODUCT USE AND IMPRESSIONS
The notebook I will be using to test out the iXoft is a Dell Inspiron 1000. Here are the specs:
• Intel Celeron 2.2GHz Processor
• 256MB PC2100 DDR Memory
• 40GB 4200rpm Hard Drive
• 24x CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive
• 15" XGA LCD Display and SiS 650 Integrated Graphics with 64MB Shared Memory
Using the iXoft couldn't be simpler, just place the notebook on top of it and that's it. As you can see in the pictures above, this size notebook fits on the iXoft perfectly; it's neither too small nor too large.
While not a high end computer by any means, this Inspiron 1000 has a history of generating lots of heat no matter what programs are running; in fact it gets so hot I can never sit it on my lap for more than a few minutes at a time. So I was anxious yet still a bit skeptical to see how well the iXoft worked, especially with it being a passive cooler. The way the “heatshift” technology works with this product is similar to the way heat pipes work – as part of the pad heats up, the salt inside melts and dissipates the heat over the rest of the pad.
After a few days of testing for three hours at a time, I was pleasantly surprised to hear the cpu fan running a lot less when the computer was idle. When running IE and MS Word simultaneously (which will get this notebook very hot), I also noticed about a 20% drop in the amount of times the cpu fan would kick in to the high speed setting. Also, using the iXoft I was finally able to place the notebook on my lap without getting burned. After about 30 minutes of use it got a little warm, but it wasn't unbearable.
