Logitech Cooling Pad N200 with USB-Powered 2-Speed FanCarbon Neutral Certified by SCS Global Services

If you've owned a MacBook Pro at any point in the last 5 years, you know that those things can get hot enough to literally fry an egg. This is a problem we were having with both my wife's 17" MacBook Pro (Early 2011 model) and my new 15" MacBook Pro Retina... and we were looking for a solution.There are a few issues that we specifically wanted to address...1) We wanted something with a fan to help keep the general temperature down (because while gaming, the keyboard could actually burn you).2) We wanted something that would keep the heat off of a lap. There are plenty of cooling options with powerful fans that sit on desks, but none of them looked lap-friendly.In the end, we narrowed it down to two items... the Targus Lap Chill Mat and the Logitech Cooling Pad N200. To diversify, we just bought both.The wedge design of the Targus Lap Chill Mat does an excellent job of keeping heat away from your lap, while conveniently elevating the display. It's also very comfortable when sitting on your lap. My wife's 17" laptop fits flush with the edges as if it were made for it. My 15" MacBook also fits comfortably on the mat, with about an inch of mat left over on all sides. Unlike some of the other reviewers, the rubber raisers on the top of the mat feel very sturdy and I haven't had any problems with them coming loose or popping off. The one problem we DO have with the mat is that the fan is so weak that it's almost useless. It makes no discernable difference in surface temperature at all... and even if you are just holding your hand over the fan, there is very little air movement... but at least it's quiet.The Logitech Cooling Pad N200, on the other hand, isn't actually all that comfortable... at least not for me (small pad on a big lap), but my wife doesn't mind it at all. That said, what it lacks in comfort, it makes up in cooling power. The Logitech pad has two speeds - and at it's top speed does an excellent job of keeping the laptop nice and cool (or at least tolerably warm when doing something demanding like gaming). Despite what some reviewers say about the Logitech pad, it's actually quite quiet even at it's top speed (it's nothing more than a soft whir - roughly the same volume at the MacBook Retina's built-in fans). However, while the 15" laptop fits perfectly on the Logitech pad (and more comfortably, due to it's light weight), the 17" laptop is just a little too big, and a little too heavy for it. Now don't get me wrong, the thing still manages to keep the 17" comfortably cool (warm) at full load, while keeping that heat off your lap, it's just a bit of an awkward fit.So here is my recommendation: generally speaking, I would get the Targus for any 17" laptop and the Logitech for any 15". For 17" laptops, the Targus is just more comfortable on your lap and keeps the heat off your legs... even if it doesn't do a very good job of chilling the laptop itself. If you have a 15" laptop (especially one of the new Retina MacBooks), get the Logitech pad instead - it does a much better job of cooling the laptop, and the lighter weight of the 15" means it's reasonably comfortable (though not quite as comfortable as the Targus). If you are more concerned about general heat management for any laptop size, you may want to go with the Logitech anyway... just remember that there will be some awkward overhang.

Over all I like the design of this cooling pad, and love that there are two speeds for the fan. I normally keep it on the low setting which is so much quiter than the cooling pad that this is replacing. That one made it hard to hear the tv when it was turned down low to not disturb people who are sleeping.. this one has no issue with that.There are only two minor things that I'm not the most thrilled with, but I am able to over look them. The first one has to do with the cord, they make is so it is able to be pushed down in a track so it comes out from the back on either side, depending on where your USB port is, but I have found that it doesn't like to stay put and keeps coming out of the grove and flops around. Not a big deal if you have it plugged in, but I only plug it in when I'm gaming on my laptop, so most of the time its just hanging down. They do give you an option to store the cord under the cooling pad when not in use, but since my USB port is on the left side, I'd have to pull up the whole cord and then push it back into the grove going the opposite direction every time. So I just let it hang out the back when its not plugged in. Like I said, slightly annoying, but considering my last one had no place for the cord to go, I can deal with it.My only other complaint would be that now that it warmed up, finally, and I'm wearing shorts more often.. it's not the softest of things to have directly on your legs. There is a mesh like covering over the padding which is a little on the rough side, and unless you sit with your legs apart by quite a bit, you will end up with the plastic vent slots on your legs. I'm sure it helps with the cooling aspect of the pad, but as I said, not the most comfortable overall.

I've had this lapdesk for a few months now and love it.The size is good for a small to medium sized laptop, 14-15 inch.The fan does an excellent job of preventing the air flow to the bottom of the laptop from stopping or becomming stagnant.On my Alienware M14X I can prop the fron of the laptop on the front lip of the lapdesk (some might use it as a sill to corral the laptop towards the back of the lapdesk, but I don't) and the back on the rubber pads. This arrangement allows good airflow over the majority of the bottom of the laptop, including the bottom front.Running the lapdesk's fan on low is surprisingly quiet, on high it is audable, but not disturbing, and quieter than my M14X's laptop fan is on high.In usage, having the lapdesk's fan on low is enough air movement for the M14X laptop fan to not need to spin up for regular computer tasks, and when playing games the fan on high keeps the bottom of the laptop from becomming overly hot.As to the fan wearing out, it has not worn out on mine but if it did, it wouldn't be too big a deal, far cheaper to replace the lapdesk than the fan in the laptop. My mother-in-law has been using this lapdesk lately with her 15 inch Dell laptop while our kitchen is being demolished, this eliminates the need for her laptop's fan to run, which keeps the demolition dust out of her laptop, a handy arrangement.The lapdesk is comfortable on the lap, and with the fan running on high it provides a small amount of cooling for your lap too.When this lapdesk wears out I'll be replacing it with a new one of the same model, it's well worth the money.