Intro
The GlacialTech X-Wing R1 is a notebook cooler that first caught this reviewers eye for a very simple reason, it matches my Acer Ferrari 1000 notebook. The primary reason for purchasing this cooler was the fact that it was red, and black. A notebook cooler is almost a prerequisite for any performance notebook, and after upgrading the cpu and hdd of my Acer Ferrari 1000 a new cooler was needed. However this cooler soon turned out to be more than just a one trick pony. After reading more about this cooler I was convinced that this was the cooler to have.
The GlacialTech X-Wing R1 cooler is the first cooler that has been released to market that features a touch sensitive illuminated control panel on the front. The Touch panel provides media control keys such as play, chapter skip, stop, and volume up and down button. The power button on the front of the cooler is also touch sensitive which is illuminated blue while powered, and blinks red while in standby. There are also buttons for the Fan which will show the RPM's of the 6-step fan, a Temp button, a Lock button to lock the front panel, and the Auto button which will place the fan under auto control. The largest buttons left are a six step incremental control for the fan speed, as well as a 2 digit numerical display used for showing Temp and Fan RPM's.
Another unique feature that this cooler has is the fact a blower fan is used rather than the traditional axial fan found in most coolers. While quite small, the blower fan does the job while keeping temps and decibels down. At full speed, the blower fan is quieter than the fan inside the notebook.
The X-Wing R1 states support for notebooks up to 17 inches, although when used with a 12.1 inch notebook there is approximately 1.5 inches on each side. When a Gateway 15.4 inch M series notebook is placed on the cooler the sides of the notebook are flush with the cooler. Placing a 17 inch notebook on the cooler will most likely cause the notebook to hangover the sides, creating a very unsightly muffin-top.
The GlacialTech X-Wing R1 cooler is available for sale, however it appears to have a limited North American launch. The GlacialTech cooler appears to have no major distributor, and this reviewer had to locate this product via Ebay. While no MSRP for this product is listed by GlacialTech, one can assume that as a high end cooler you could expect to pay approximately $50-$70 USD for this product.
Specs:
What's in the Box:
The GlacialTech R1 is packed very nicely and comes with a cover. This is the first notebook cooler that has come with such a cover and will come in handy while transporting the cooler to help protect against scratches, but little else. The box is fairly large but is adequate for the cooler. Inside you will find the cooler, the black cloth cover with the GlacialTech logo printed, as well as their motto of "Enlighten Your Humanity". While this reviewer is not quite sure what this motto means, I am sure something was lost in translation.
Also in the box you will find a small clear plastic bag containing the very brief instructional manual and a short USB mini to Y cable. This USB Y cable will take up 2 usb ports to provide power to the cooler for the fan, as well as the 3 port usb hub that is built in. It will also provide a data link for the front panel controls.
Design
The design of the X-wing is quite attractive. The entire top of the unit is constructed of SECC (Steel, Electrogalvanized, Cold-rolled, Coil) metal mesh painted gloss black. The rest of the chassis is made up of plastic, and in the case of this X-Wing R1 the plastic is a nice bright red. The chassis features retractable stands in the rear, and will allow the cooler to provide a slight angle to the laptop which is perfect for typing, or to give it a nice rake.
Touchpad
The touch sensitive controls require a bit of pressure, but still are sensitive enough for normal use. The most used and sensitive controls were found to be the fan speed control, which would make sense.
Features:
Multimedia Keys
The multimedia controls work well, however they tend to be too close together for the touch sensitive nature to work well. Also, it appears more pressure is required to use the media controls versus the fan control. Also while not tested in vista, the controls do work normally in Windows 7 under Windows Media Player 11
LEDS
The front LED for the control panel are all blue, with the exception of the power button which will also blink red during standby or off mode. Although it would be nice to have more colors for the leds, the blue leds are sufficient.
Input and Output Ports
The X-Wing R1 features a 3 port USB hub that is built into the rear of the unit. The hub features 2 ports on the right side, and 1 on the left. You will also find 1 mini USB port which is used to connect the cooler to the notebook to provide the USB hub up link, as well as power for the cooler. Lastly, there is a sole DC jack, however no DC jack is provided by GlacialTech and so far their customer service has not responded to whether there is one available. Although, it can probably be assumed that one will need a 5V adapter with a good 2 plus amps for the cooler.
Benchmarks
While not exactly a benchmark, the cooler does appear to do it's job. CPU idle temps were around 4C-7C cooler all while the built in temp read 28C-29C. I am sure the built in temp must be somewhere inside the cooler, and it would be very nice to implement some core temp reading software but that is not the case with this cooler.
Size and Weight
The R1 cooler has dimensions of 380 x 350 x 50 mm, but does not feel that large. Weight comes in at 1.2 Kilos and also does not feel that heavy. The cooler is not something that would be considered portable, as it is a little large to carry around. For portability, you may want to look at the mini coolers available, or wait on GlacialTech for their X-Wing Mini series to hit the streets.
Heat and Noise
As far as heat, this cooler does a very good job of cooling the laptop in general. The touch pad and area above the HDD are cool to the touch and this makes the laptop more comfortable to use.
Pros:
Cons:
Conclusion:
All in all the GlacialTech X-Wing R1 is a unique and innovative product that will soon be emulated by the rest of the notebook cooling manufacturers. The cooler does what it is supposed to do, all with good looks and style.
The GlacialTech X-Wing R1 is a notebook cooler that first caught this reviewers eye for a very simple reason, it matches my Acer Ferrari 1000 notebook. The primary reason for purchasing this cooler was the fact that it was red, and black. A notebook cooler is almost a prerequisite for any performance notebook, and after upgrading the cpu and hdd of my Acer Ferrari 1000 a new cooler was needed. However this cooler soon turned out to be more than just a one trick pony. After reading more about this cooler I was convinced that this was the cooler to have.
The GlacialTech X-Wing R1 cooler is the first cooler that has been released to market that features a touch sensitive illuminated control panel on the front. The Touch panel provides media control keys such as play, chapter skip, stop, and volume up and down button. The power button on the front of the cooler is also touch sensitive which is illuminated blue while powered, and blinks red while in standby. There are also buttons for the Fan which will show the RPM's of the 6-step fan, a Temp button, a Lock button to lock the front panel, and the Auto button which will place the fan under auto control. The largest buttons left are a six step incremental control for the fan speed, as well as a 2 digit numerical display used for showing Temp and Fan RPM's.
Another unique feature that this cooler has is the fact a blower fan is used rather than the traditional axial fan found in most coolers. While quite small, the blower fan does the job while keeping temps and decibels down. At full speed, the blower fan is quieter than the fan inside the notebook.
The X-Wing R1 states support for notebooks up to 17 inches, although when used with a 12.1 inch notebook there is approximately 1.5 inches on each side. When a Gateway 15.4 inch M series notebook is placed on the cooler the sides of the notebook are flush with the cooler. Placing a 17 inch notebook on the cooler will most likely cause the notebook to hangover the sides, creating a very unsightly muffin-top.
The GlacialTech X-Wing R1 cooler is available for sale, however it appears to have a limited North American launch. The GlacialTech cooler appears to have no major distributor, and this reviewer had to locate this product via Ebay. While no MSRP for this product is listed by GlacialTech, one can assume that as a high end cooler you could expect to pay approximately $50-$70 USD for this product.
Specs:
What's in the Box:
The GlacialTech R1 is packed very nicely and comes with a cover. This is the first notebook cooler that has come with such a cover and will come in handy while transporting the cooler to help protect against scratches, but little else. The box is fairly large but is adequate for the cooler. Inside you will find the cooler, the black cloth cover with the GlacialTech logo printed, as well as their motto of "Enlighten Your Humanity". While this reviewer is not quite sure what this motto means, I am sure something was lost in translation.
Also in the box you will find a small clear plastic bag containing the very brief instructional manual and a short USB mini to Y cable. This USB Y cable will take up 2 usb ports to provide power to the cooler for the fan, as well as the 3 port usb hub that is built in. It will also provide a data link for the front panel controls.
Design
The design of the X-wing is quite attractive. The entire top of the unit is constructed of SECC (Steel, Electrogalvanized, Cold-rolled, Coil) metal mesh painted gloss black. The rest of the chassis is made up of plastic, and in the case of this X-Wing R1 the plastic is a nice bright red. The chassis features retractable stands in the rear, and will allow the cooler to provide a slight angle to the laptop which is perfect for typing, or to give it a nice rake.
Touchpad
The touch sensitive controls require a bit of pressure, but still are sensitive enough for normal use. The most used and sensitive controls were found to be the fan speed control, which would make sense.
Features:
- Fan Speed Control (Auto / Six steps)
- Media Key on Touch Panel
- Power S/W on Touch Panel
- High Quality Blower Fan
- Temperature and Fan Speed Display
- Adjustable Height
- 3-ports USB 2.0 Hub
Multimedia Keys
The multimedia controls work well, however they tend to be too close together for the touch sensitive nature to work well. Also, it appears more pressure is required to use the media controls versus the fan control. Also while not tested in vista, the controls do work normally in Windows 7 under Windows Media Player 11
LEDS
The front LED for the control panel are all blue, with the exception of the power button which will also blink red during standby or off mode. Although it would be nice to have more colors for the leds, the blue leds are sufficient.
Input and Output Ports
The X-Wing R1 features a 3 port USB hub that is built into the rear of the unit. The hub features 2 ports on the right side, and 1 on the left. You will also find 1 mini USB port which is used to connect the cooler to the notebook to provide the USB hub up link, as well as power for the cooler. Lastly, there is a sole DC jack, however no DC jack is provided by GlacialTech and so far their customer service has not responded to whether there is one available. Although, it can probably be assumed that one will need a 5V adapter with a good 2 plus amps for the cooler.
Benchmarks
While not exactly a benchmark, the cooler does appear to do it's job. CPU idle temps were around 4C-7C cooler all while the built in temp read 28C-29C. I am sure the built in temp must be somewhere inside the cooler, and it would be very nice to implement some core temp reading software but that is not the case with this cooler.
Size and Weight
The R1 cooler has dimensions of 380 x 350 x 50 mm, but does not feel that large. Weight comes in at 1.2 Kilos and also does not feel that heavy. The cooler is not something that would be considered portable, as it is a little large to carry around. For portability, you may want to look at the mini coolers available, or wait on GlacialTech for their X-Wing Mini series to hit the streets.
Heat and Noise
As far as heat, this cooler does a very good job of cooling the laptop in general. The touch pad and area above the HDD are cool to the touch and this makes the laptop more comfortable to use.
Pros:
- Good Looks
- Unique Touch controls
- Sturdy Construction
Cons:
- Hard to locate
- No AC adapter included, or available
Conclusion:
All in all the GlacialTech X-Wing R1 is a unique and innovative product that will soon be emulated by the rest of the notebook cooling manufacturers. The cooler does what it is supposed to do, all with good looks and style.
