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Gear Reviews

Belkin Laptop Cooling Hub

Belkin Laptop Cooling Hub

£20.00

Photo answers rating rating is 5
Owners' rating rating is 3
Keeping a laptop switched on for long periods can really heat up the battery and casing, so if you want to keep it cooler and have access to four extra USB ports, try the Belkin Laptop Cooling Hub.

Designed to sit under your laptop, the Belkin Laptop Cooling Hub comprises a fan built into the centre, with a flip-out stand underneath housing a USB 2.0 connection. The base has anti-slip rubberized feet and rubber pads on top keep your laptop securely positioned. Suitable for notebooks up to 17in, the USB cable used to power the fan will use one port on your laptop, so there are four additional USB 2.0 ports built in to the rear of the fan unit. If you need to use devices like bus-powered hard drives, you’ll need to plug in the supplied mains cable though, as they’ll draw too much power to run off a laptop alone.
The fan was barely noticeable when working and operated smoothly for hours. We used all the USB ports on offer when the hub was hooked up to the mains and had an external hard drive, USB memory stick, card reader and printer plugged in simultaneously. After a few hours, the underside of the laptop felt cooler than it normally would.
Our test hub was black but if you’d prefer a lighter alternative, it’s also available in white – perfect for Apple notebooks. This hub is a useful computing accessory for laptop users and at £20, offers superb value for money.

AT A GLANCE
Price: £20
USB ports: 4
Mains supply: Yes
Colours: Black/White
Visit: www.belkin.com

Photo answers review

Photo answers rating rating is 5

Users' Overall Rating rating is 3(3 reviews)

  • Love it

    dwarfe

    reward badge

    User's Overall Rating rating is 4.5

    Show Details

    Performancerating is 5
    Value for moneyrating is 5
    Build qualityrating is 4
    Featuresrating is 5

    Dunno if I was just lucky but I have been using my Hub for the last 3 weeks almost day and for long periods of time.My laptop stays cool. Have also found the spare usb ports usfull on occassion prevents the usual juggling (shall I remove tablet or exturnal to plug my printer in) The I also found did the job also used as cable tidy. Did fold up on occassion while trying to get into position but once there its sturdy enough. The last few weeks has been used in one spot but yesterday I started work again and will see how it stands up to dragging to work and back.

    (Written by: dwarfe)

    07 September 2010 19:45

  • Does what it says on the tin...

    Essgeebee

    User's Overall Rating rating is 3.5

    Show Details

    Performancerating is 5
    Value for moneyrating is 3
    Build qualityrating is 4
    Featuresrating is 3

    I bought one of these cooling hubs before they thought about incorporating USB ports which would be very useful if using the laptop on a desk, superfluous if not. Having lost two laptops recently to what my local computer repairer called overheating-related problems, the cooling hub is my way of trying to avoid a further event. So far so good. The hub is audible but not intrusive and certainly keeps the laptop underside much cooler than without it. In fact my laptop system monitoring shows the processor temperature and this was kept consistently lower by the hub - to the point where the laoptops internal fan was not needed, even after 30 minutes continuous use.

    (Written by: Essgeebee)

    07 September 2010 18:23

  • Very Disappointed

    brunhilda

    User's Overall Rating rating is 1

    Show Details

    Performancerating is 1
    Value for moneyrating is 1
    Build qualityrating is 1
    Featuresrating is 2

    Well, usually the Belkin product stand up longer than a day! Fan shattered! No reason, just 3 blades broke off. The base has a stand to raise it at an angle, but the stand folds down at the slightest movement. Very disappointed!

    (Written by: brunhilda)

    05 September 2010 20:17

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