Page 2 - A Closer Look, Usage
The NZXT Cryo LX claims to use 3mm thick aluminum for construction -- check. It uses 3mm of strong, black aluminum with a beautiful brushed finish, as I mentioned earlier. When unfolded, the formerly separated pieces are viewed in one final glance, making it look complete. The grill between the fan could have been rather boring, but it's great to see the designers at NZXT using simple straight line designs to complete its accomplished look, making it even cooler than it already is -- kinda futuristic-esque, even.
The side of the NZXT Cryo LX is not nearly as enchanting as the overhead view, it just simply has the aluminum shell encasing the grill for a solid build. As for the view from the bottom, it's quite similar to the side, just the aluminum casing cocooning the grill, with six rubber feet placed symmetrically on this side. Artistically speaking, it's perfect -- that is, if there is such a thing in postmodern terms.
I'd like to point out the group of wires in the NZXT Cryo LX, leading from the USB port and DC input to the fans. I felt as though letting the wires be seen was hampering the true looks of the NZXT Cryo LX - however, on second thought, I realized that it was thus much more customizable, as the wires can be very easily grasped and modified, something that an enthusiast might enjoy trying.
So far, we've established that the NZXT Cryo LX sure is aesthetically pleasing as a laptop cooler -- but does its design make functional sense? My first question upon setting eyes on it was why it was slanted like that. While a lot of laptop docks are designed in this fashion, but using it as a laptop cooler makes it look... a bit awkward on the desk, plus the keyboard is in somewhat of an uncomfortable position - at least that's not what I am used to, although some people may actually prefer it this way - and the monitor has to be tilted back for a somewhat normal picture. Right?
Alright, let's fix this up - it sits on the desk on the considerately-placed rubber feet as most docks make laptops sit, raised up so that the heat can be pushed out from underneath for better circulation. The keyboard is a bit slanted, but this can be resolved as it's not that ergonomically uncomfortable - if so, get another keyboard set and plug it right into one of the USB ports the NZXT Cryo LX conveniently offers you, although you might want to clear the other three ports before doing so (more on this later). And the monitor tilted back...come on, that was just nitpicking.
Something that we've grown to appreciate is a quiet system. Initially I found the NZXT Cryo LX to have such an issue, as its fans were just so darn loud. However, upon a closer inspection, I found an adjustment knob on the right side of the NZXT Cryo LX to reduce the fan speed, and thus proportional to the volume the fans generate as the fans rotate at a lower RPM -- making it a valuable addition to the whole package. 'Nuff said.
This then leads us to the question how the fans and the four port USB hub is powered - and here's where the two cables come in. One cable is USB-to-USB, transferring electricity from two of the computer's USB ports to the NZXT Cryo LX. The second cable is USB-to-DC which is doing the same thing, albeit with lower amounts of power. Through some research, I've learned that high-grade stranded wire will offer more flexibility, which I thought would be a bit more appropriate as wires do tend to get bent out of shape and whatnot throughout the traveling process.
Through some fun switching up, I noticed that the USB-to-DC connection powers mainly the fans, leaving the USB-to-USB connection to power the four USB ports - although I also learned that the USB-to-USB connection will power the fans if the USB-to-DC cable was left unplugged. Convenient, but not unexpected.
The four USB ports work perfectly, albeit they lack a bit of juice. I plugged four devices successfully into it: a 5.5g iPod Video 30GB in transfer mode, a Sony Ericsson w600i in transfer mode, a Sandisk Cruzer Titanium 2GB thumb drive, and a generic Kingmax 1GB thumb drive. Prior to this I tried plugging in my Logitech G5 into the NZXT Cryo LX, but it sucked up way too much power and was occasionally left hanging, lifeless without electricity. Luckily, my Dell Inspiron still had two USB slots (four in total, with two occupied by the NZXT Cryo LX to provide power -- and each USB port is limited to standard 500mA/5V), so I just plugged the Logitech G5 directly to my laptop.
The NZXT Cryo LX claims to be large enough to cool up to 19" laptops, a claim which it lives up to. My 15.4" Dell Inspiron 6400 looked spankin' sitting on the NZXT Cryo LX, so I can only imagine what a 17-inch laptop would look like perfectly fitting the NZXT Cryo LX. Oh yeah, and it cools the laptop sufficiently -- test results in just a second. Just a tiny thing that can be improved upon would be the positioning of the plastic over the aluminum on the surface, so that 15.4-inch laptops could be better guided and accommodated. Right now, it's there for looks only, I daresay.
I'd also like to address the hinge on the NZXT Cryo LX. I know that it's there to improve its flexibility - rather, to remove some of its inflexibility, and I can appreciate that. However, it's very, very loose. The second I lifted the laptop and cooler off the desk, it swung and my fingers were dealt some mild pain. I really think it would be perfected if it took more force to swing it open and closed - an idea of possibly implementing a magnet comes to mind.
An Issue Cleared Up
Here at APH Networks, we've had quite a bit of trouble discerning what category the NZXT laptop cooler really fit into. To be more specific, let's look at this sentence directly from NZXT's website: "Designed for transport, the Cryo LX can be folded and stored easily at any time."
Now let's look at the facts:
1. It weighs nearly as much as a laptop.
2. Even with the added hinge, it's still pretty inflexible.
3. It's pretty big, dimension-wise.
4. It's very, very sturdy.
5. It doubles as a USB hub, something I'd consider a pretty major selling point.
It seemed as though the whole laptop-cooling experience was somewhat shadowed by these points. We decided it fit more in the "laptop dock" category, as:
1. It's not really that portable. Really, that's a big one.
2. It's big and heavy, bad for the knees but fine for a desk.
3. It doubles as a USB hub - who'd need more USB ports when they're using the laptop on the go?
No offense meant to NZXT at all, but I just thought that this was an interesting topic to bring up. Initially, I also thought it worked pretty well as a laptop cooler, until I realized that the air came out through very close to, er...a more private region of the human anatomy. If any requests, I've got what I consider to be a well-taken picture of this - then again, I've got bad taste.
I determined that this was not enough, and wanted to find out more - something that would help me prove it to the world. And even if you ignore the numbered lists, please scroll back up to the picture of the underside of the NZXT Cryo LX, and recall the rubber feet. Just out of curiosity, who uses rubber feet with knees? That one's definitely for the desk. In general, I would say the NZXT Cryo LX is more of in the desk use laptop cooler with some dock-like functions, and not necessarily something that is designed to be carried around with you in your laptop bag on a daily basis. This brings to the topic of practicality -- if you use your, mobile computer mostly at home, then you'll need this, but then, how often do you travel with your laptop, and how much would you use this? This is really something that's left to be pondered, and there's no definite answer as this is different for everyone.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specification
2. A Closer Look, Usage
3. Testing and Conclusion
