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Targus Notebook Chill Mat

I just picked one up the other day. My 15 inch MBP hangs off a little bit, but it is incredibly cool, no more fears of over heating!! I picked mine up at Target for about $30
 
My friend used one of these Targus mats with his MacBook Pro and it eventually scratched the bottom casing around the edges. Just be extra careful with it.
 
pros and cons

I have used this for a few months. The first one I had stopped working after a week, but I decided to get another and it has been going strong for about two months.

Pros...1) I think that it keeps the macbook pro cooler. I can't really say for sure because I have never used it without it. My CPU temp is useally in the 30's o low 40's which according to otheres is low...2) It has a long cord to connect to the USB, which can be good or bad. Its long for when you are using the laptop on the go, but when I use it in the office or at my school's lab its nice because I can plug it into a USB for a desktop and not waste power for the laptop. 3) cheap 4) on-off switch

Cons. 2) You can tell its cheaply built...Its plastic not aluminum..2) My macbook pro deinetly hangs off of the edge 3) very long cord
 
I use one, it does the job, probably expect a 5 degree difference. another con i would mention is that it doesn't include extra usb ports built in which many cooling pads seem to have nowadays for similar price. and yes it does feel cheap. These things don't bother me because I'd rather use my belkin usb hub anyway (which i take with me, unlike the pad which i use only at home), and I don't let people touch my pad under pain of really bad looks.
 
Did you notice all of their other options? They have quite a few different items here.

Also, Antec has three different solutions that I've seen.

I've been looking because the PowerBook gets so very warm. MacBook Pro machines seem quite a bit cooler.
 
Rather than go with something that makes noise and sucks power from your notebook, buy an iLap from Raindesign:

http://www.raindesigninc.com/ilap.html

Yes, they're expensive, but I have never had a notebook/laptop stand that was as comfortable to use and also kept my machine cool. No moving parts, just spacers that allow the machine to sit above the aluminum base so air can circulate beneath.

Very well made, too.

MD
 
I can shed some light on this, as I compared the Targus Chillmat and the Antec Notebook Cooler before I settled on the Targus Chillmat. I was looking for a notebook cooler for my Intel HP laptop, as it got pretty warm after gaming. The Antec apparently has issues with noisy and faulty fans, while the Targus proved to be about 95% reliable as far as performance and reliability (based on user reviews and such). Also the reason I stayed away from the Antec is because a friend of mine had one, and he's on his 3rd one after the first two exhibited different fan issues (one stopped working after a couple of weeks while another one had noise issues).

I've been using my Targus about 1.5 years and its still going strong. I clean it once a month using compressed air to get all the dust out, and it works like a charm. Temperature readings below:

Mac OSX - under normal use/load such as web browsing, Adium, etc. [~45C]
- more intensive apps such as Photoshop etc. [~55C]

Windows XP - since I use XP via Bootcamp for gaming only
- Counter-Strike 1440x900 @ Max Settings @ 60fps [~55C]
- Oblivion 1440x900 @ High Settings [~65C]

Hope this helps.
 
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