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Page 1
Introduction
We've all dealt with products in the past that may have gotten the job done but didn't inspire confidence in their use. After all, "they don't build them like they use to" didn't become a common phrase without due cause. It is therefore refreshing to see a company develop a product where build quality is just as much of a design goal as performance. ASE Labs has such a product for review in the Evercool Royal NP-901 notebook cooler. This aluminum-bodied cooler is designed under the idea of bringing good performance to the table hand in hand with a quality assembly, but does it deliver?
About Evercool
Packaging
The packaging for the Evercool Royal contributes nicely to the regal theme. Up front is a picture of the cooler, itself, set in front of 3 stylish insignias. These are the same insignias that are featured on the notebook cooler. Running around the outline of the box is a nice chain pattern, and in the top right corner of the box is a small spec list.
Moving to the rear of the box, we see a more detailed features and specification list as well as an airflow graphic and a small comparison chart. Along the top of the box are some thumbnails of the various special features of the cooler.
The packaging also has a grab handle along the top so you can transport the cooler in the original packaging, if you want to.
Introduction
We've all dealt with products in the past that may have gotten the job done but didn't inspire confidence in their use. After all, "they don't build them like they use to" didn't become a common phrase without due cause. It is therefore refreshing to see a company develop a product where build quality is just as much of a design goal as performance. ASE Labs has such a product for review in the Evercool Royal NP-901 notebook cooler. This aluminum-bodied cooler is designed under the idea of bringing good performance to the table hand in hand with a quality assembly, but does it deliver?
About Evercool
Quote
EVERCOOL is headquartered in Taiwan and has its own factory located in Guang Dong China. This means that you can count on availability, as EVERCOOL warehouse is full of components and ready to ship goods, at all times.
Our China factory occupy approximate 30,000 meters, there are around 1000 employees. Our production line produces about 2.5 million pieces per month at present, which are manufactured in accordance with the approvals of ISO 9001, therefore you can be guaranteed your special request will be completed in the shortest amount of time. Growing numbers of happy customers such as Hewlett Packard, Acer, FIC. ....etc. can weigh our success and growth. It is rely on our steady quality, fast delivery and reasonable price.
EVERCOOL provides the very best products of the highest quality which are cost effective and incorporate the latest in technology and technical design. And backed by first class service and support.
We would like to emphasize that we put our entire strengths on the research and improvement of our innovative "PC Thermal Solutions" and ensure you that we do our best to meet the needs of our customers.
http://www.evercool.com.tw/overview.htm
Packaging
The packaging for the Evercool Royal contributes nicely to the regal theme. Up front is a picture of the cooler, itself, set in front of 3 stylish insignias. These are the same insignias that are featured on the notebook cooler. Running around the outline of the box is a nice chain pattern, and in the top right corner of the box is a small spec list.
Moving to the rear of the box, we see a more detailed features and specification list as well as an airflow graphic and a small comparison chart. Along the top of the box are some thumbnails of the various special features of the cooler.
The packaging also has a grab handle along the top so you can transport the cooler in the original packaging, if you want to.
Page 2
Specifications
It simply has to be said: The all aluminum construction for the cooler itself and the triple 80mm fans built in both come together to imply some serious cooling capability.
Also of note is the rather porky weight of the cooler. Nearly 3 pounds is a tad heavy for casual lugging around, but then again this was designed to be used with desktop replacement laptops so it probably won't be an issue.
Marketing Summary
Package Contents
The first big surprise that you find with the Evercool Royal comes as soon as you open up the box. In these days where the biggest difference in internal packaging is typically what kind of foam is used, Evercool saw fit to set the laptop in a cardboard cutout wrapped in a velvet cloth. It may seem like a gimmicky thing to do, but going the extra mile in presentation really drives home the regal mindset this cooler is supposed to give off.
As far as the rest of the contents go, you basically have the cooler itself and the USB cable which comes tucked away in one of the storage bins.
Specifications
- Model - NP-901
- Net Weight - 1300 g / 2.86 lb
- Dimension (H*W*D) - 400 x 300 x 40 mm (15.7 x 11.81 x 1.57 inch )
- Cooling System - Three 80 x 80 x 15 mm fans, 1500rpm, 13.8dBA
- Material - Aluminum
- Color - Silver
- Power Connector - USB
- Rated Voltage - 5 V
- Notebooks Supported - 14"-17"
- Newegg Link
It simply has to be said: The all aluminum construction for the cooler itself and the triple 80mm fans built in both come together to imply some serious cooling capability.
Also of note is the rather porky weight of the cooler. Nearly 3 pounds is a tad heavy for casual lugging around, but then again this was designed to be used with desktop replacement laptops so it probably won't be an issue.
Marketing Summary
Quote
The Evercool Royal features is made of 100% aluminum material for 17" wide screen notebook designs and uses 8 cm long life bearing and silent fan to provide the best way to solute the thermal problem for your laptop. It features a universal design to compatible with all sizes of laptop systems, and the elegant silver shiny print finish with royal totem design combine to achieve a luxurious vision.
The Evercool Royal was created with an ergonomic design to provide the user a comfortable position to use the laptop, unique two storage drawer engineering which allows for storing computer peripherals and accessories, and it comes fitted with USB 2.0 ports which allow you to mount external optical drives.
Package Contents
The first big surprise that you find with the Evercool Royal comes as soon as you open up the box. In these days where the biggest difference in internal packaging is typically what kind of foam is used, Evercool saw fit to set the laptop in a cardboard cutout wrapped in a velvet cloth. It may seem like a gimmicky thing to do, but going the extra mile in presentation really drives home the regal mindset this cooler is supposed to give off.
As far as the rest of the contents go, you basically have the cooler itself and the USB cable which comes tucked away in one of the storage bins.
Page 3
Evercool Royal
The Evercool Royal demands quite a presence when finally removed from the packaging. At nearly 16 inches long, it certainly takes up quite a lot of real estate. In comparison to the Thermaltake Massive23, for example, the Evercool Royal is just under an inch longer.
The top of the cooler has a nifty playing card motif about it. A nice bit of pin-striping containing extra detailing on the top and bottom runs around the border of the cooler, and at the corners, there is a diamond shape. In the center of the cooler is the intake for the center fan which is etched into the cooler itself in the shape of a sword and a pair of unicorns. Below the intake is the word Royal painted and surrounded by pinstripes.
To the left and right of the center intake are the other intakes. These are shaped just like the insignia on the outside of the box, and they are etched into the cooler itself just like the center intake. Above and below the side intakes are a painted continuation of the pattern, and the transition between the two is carried off quite nicely. One does have to wonder whether the non-conformist design of the intakes impedes airflow, but it probably doesn't make much of a difference. All told, the top of the cooler exudes a sense of quality that is hard to match.
Moving to the right of the cooler, you can see the USB ports, the fan power switch and power LED, and the right storage bin. You can also get a good sense of just how thick the construction of the cooler is. This is probably the cause of the cooler's weight.
The bins themselves have a nifty design. To open them, you simply press inward on them and they pop right out. The right bin contains the retractable USB cord when first opened. The left bin is empty. Of note, both of the bins also have a felt-like carpeting glued in place to the bottom of the bin. This feels nice to the touch and also adds to the feeling of quality.
Flipping the cooler over reveals the ribbed bottom portion of the aluminum as well as the three fans and the bottom side of the bins. The cooler is held in place by 4 transparent rubber inserts at each corner.
A closer look at the fans reveals that they are emblazoned with the same design seen on the front of the cooler and the packaging
Finally, a closer look at the bins reveals the spring mechanism that keeps them in place when not in use.
When all is said in done, the Royal has a stylish design that is still very functional and rugged.
Evercool Royal
The Evercool Royal demands quite a presence when finally removed from the packaging. At nearly 16 inches long, it certainly takes up quite a lot of real estate. In comparison to the Thermaltake Massive23, for example, the Evercool Royal is just under an inch longer.
The top of the cooler has a nifty playing card motif about it. A nice bit of pin-striping containing extra detailing on the top and bottom runs around the border of the cooler, and at the corners, there is a diamond shape. In the center of the cooler is the intake for the center fan which is etched into the cooler itself in the shape of a sword and a pair of unicorns. Below the intake is the word Royal painted and surrounded by pinstripes.
To the left and right of the center intake are the other intakes. These are shaped just like the insignia on the outside of the box, and they are etched into the cooler itself just like the center intake. Above and below the side intakes are a painted continuation of the pattern, and the transition between the two is carried off quite nicely. One does have to wonder whether the non-conformist design of the intakes impedes airflow, but it probably doesn't make much of a difference. All told, the top of the cooler exudes a sense of quality that is hard to match.
Moving to the right of the cooler, you can see the USB ports, the fan power switch and power LED, and the right storage bin. You can also get a good sense of just how thick the construction of the cooler is. This is probably the cause of the cooler's weight.
The bins themselves have a nifty design. To open them, you simply press inward on them and they pop right out. The right bin contains the retractable USB cord when first opened. The left bin is empty. Of note, both of the bins also have a felt-like carpeting glued in place to the bottom of the bin. This feels nice to the touch and also adds to the feeling of quality.
Flipping the cooler over reveals the ribbed bottom portion of the aluminum as well as the three fans and the bottom side of the bins. The cooler is held in place by 4 transparent rubber inserts at each corner.
A closer look at the fans reveals that they are emblazoned with the same design seen on the front of the cooler and the packaging
Finally, a closer look at the bins reveals the spring mechanism that keeps them in place when not in use.
When all is said in done, the Royal has a stylish design that is still very functional and rugged.
Page 4
Testing
In order to get a good idea of how effective the Royal was at cooling, we put it through a series of tests. Each test was using Avidemux to transcode an AVI/MP3 movie into a MP4/AAC movie. Each test was run with the priority set to maximum. What this basically means is that the CPU was running at 100% for about 50 minutes in each test. The test system was a Dell XPS M1710 laptop with an Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 CPU, 4GB of RAM, an nVidia GeForce 7950 GTX, and Windows 7 Professional 32-bit. The M1710 has five different settings for the internal fans: Both fans off; one fan on "low" (around 1500RPM), one off; both fans on "low;" one fan on "high" (around 3600 RPM), one on "low"; and both fans on "high."
Temperatures were recorded with I8kfanGUI, a third party program designed to read the GPU, CPU, chipset and RAM temperatures of Dell Inspiron laptops, and used as an alternative fan controller to the one built into the BIOS. While there were thoughts of testing the temperatures that occurred during gaming, the notion was dismissed due to the lack of consistency in the testing variables. Finally, because this cooler has the ability to shut the fan off, we also tested how well the Royal works as a passive cooler.
It became clear soon into out testing that the test computer was causing rather erratic results due to its construction. Active fans like the test computer (and, indeed, many high performance laptops) bring an entirely new element into the testing procedure in the form of air flow, which is something that it doesn't seem like this cooler was designed to cope with.
As an example, the cooler seems to transfer heat quite well with the fans shut off, but it doesn't quite cool the insides of the test computer enough to have the fan turned off. However, when we forced the internal laptop fans off, the cooler kept the laptop to a temperature of around 51°C. This is particularly odd, because that is actually several degrees below the threshold for when they would turn back on themselves.
These problems continue over to the tests done under load. During the load tests, the test computer shot up to the peak temperatures at roughly the same speed with the cooler fans on or off. However, after the quick rise in temperature, the cooler started doing its job and the temperatures slowly dropped back down to those seen in the averages.
What we took from these rather puzzling results is that there seemed to be some interference with the cooler when it was trying to do its job. Furthermore, because of what we discovered with our tests conducted at idle, it seems the culprit for our results is actually the test computer's internal fans interfering with the airflow provided by the fans of the cooler. Despite the problems we found when testing the cooler with the fans on, our testing done with the fans off does still show that the cooler itself is actually quite capable just being used as a heatsink.
With all of that taken into consideration, a fair conclusion to be made is that a more multimedia-focused laptop would probably get more out of a cooler such as this than our test system did.
Testing
In order to get a good idea of how effective the Royal was at cooling, we put it through a series of tests. Each test was using Avidemux to transcode an AVI/MP3 movie into a MP4/AAC movie. Each test was run with the priority set to maximum. What this basically means is that the CPU was running at 100% for about 50 minutes in each test. The test system was a Dell XPS M1710 laptop with an Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 CPU, 4GB of RAM, an nVidia GeForce 7950 GTX, and Windows 7 Professional 32-bit. The M1710 has five different settings for the internal fans: Both fans off; one fan on "low" (around 1500RPM), one off; both fans on "low;" one fan on "high" (around 3600 RPM), one on "low"; and both fans on "high."
Temperatures were recorded with I8kfanGUI, a third party program designed to read the GPU, CPU, chipset and RAM temperatures of Dell Inspiron laptops, and used as an alternative fan controller to the one built into the BIOS. While there were thoughts of testing the temperatures that occurred during gaming, the notion was dismissed due to the lack of consistency in the testing variables. Finally, because this cooler has the ability to shut the fan off, we also tested how well the Royal works as a passive cooler.
Temperature Testing Results (all numbers in °C)
- Name
- Value
CPU Temperature At Idle
- Laptop Flat On Desk
- 43
- Laptop on Royal NP-901: Fans Off
- 38
- Laptop on Royal NP-901: Fans On
- 32
CPU Temperature Average During Full Load
- Laptop Flat On Desk
- 75
- Laptop on Royal NP-901: Fans Off
- 68
- Laptop on Royal NP-901: Fans On
- 53
CPU Temperature Max During Full Load
- Laptop Flat On Desk
- 78
- Laptop on Royal NP-901: Fans Off
- 73
- Laptop on Royal NP-901: Fans On
- 70
It became clear soon into out testing that the test computer was causing rather erratic results due to its construction. Active fans like the test computer (and, indeed, many high performance laptops) bring an entirely new element into the testing procedure in the form of air flow, which is something that it doesn't seem like this cooler was designed to cope with.
As an example, the cooler seems to transfer heat quite well with the fans shut off, but it doesn't quite cool the insides of the test computer enough to have the fan turned off. However, when we forced the internal laptop fans off, the cooler kept the laptop to a temperature of around 51°C. This is particularly odd, because that is actually several degrees below the threshold for when they would turn back on themselves.
These problems continue over to the tests done under load. During the load tests, the test computer shot up to the peak temperatures at roughly the same speed with the cooler fans on or off. However, after the quick rise in temperature, the cooler started doing its job and the temperatures slowly dropped back down to those seen in the averages.
What we took from these rather puzzling results is that there seemed to be some interference with the cooler when it was trying to do its job. Furthermore, because of what we discovered with our tests conducted at idle, it seems the culprit for our results is actually the test computer's internal fans interfering with the airflow provided by the fans of the cooler. Despite the problems we found when testing the cooler with the fans on, our testing done with the fans off does still show that the cooler itself is actually quite capable just being used as a heatsink.
With all of that taken into consideration, a fair conclusion to be made is that a more multimedia-focused laptop would probably get more out of a cooler such as this than our test system did.
Page 5
Use
One thing that cannot be emphasized enough is how nice the Royal feels to the touch. Everything has a smooth feel. Even the fan intakes, being cut out top of the cooler, have nice smooth edges. In fact, there isn't a sharp edge to be found anywhere. The plastic portions of the cooler are also nice to the touch and sturdy in build.
With the fans running, the cooler does get a little loud. However, it was still quieter than the internal fans on the test system. It shouldn't be that noticeable after a while.
There are a couple little niggling problems that we found in our use of the cooler, though. The first one was the angle that the cooler was set at. Not only is the Evercool Royal quite low to the ground in height, but it also doesn't have much of an angle in its design. Excessive angle can be bad for your wrists, but we were still longing for a little bit more than the nearly-horizontal slope that the Royal had.
Another issue that we had is with the storage bins. While they worked fine and the springs showed no sign of weakness at the end of our testing, we found that if you remove the bins from the storage tray entirely it can be quite difficult to get them back in place without physically moving the cooler to see what you are doing. The tolerances for the trays the bins slot into are too tight and located in an inconvenient area to reinsert them easily by feel alone.
As far as the overall quality goes, there is little that can be done to make the Royal feel better. Even the weight of the cooler started feeling like an asset after a little while, because it gives off a feel of durability in the design. In fact, the only thing we really didn't like about the cooler is the DIP switch that controlled the fan. Compared to the plastic used in the rest of the cooler, the DIP switch feels kind of cheap and rough, and we think something like a push-button design for controlling the fan would be nicer. Still, when the only thing you can find wrong with the build quality of something is in the DIP switches, you know you have a winner on your hands.
Conclusion
The Evercool Royal really is a fantastic entry into the increasingly crowded notebook cooler market. It contains a level of build quality almost honed to perfection, and the performance is pretty good as well. For those reasons, ASE Labs can easily recommend the Evercool Royal NP-901 notebook cooler. The $40 asking price (Newegg Link) may seem a bit steep to the casual observer, but the old adage of "you get what you pay for" certainly rings true in this case, and the build quality and design make the Royal well worth the money.
ASE Labs would like to thank Evercool for making this review possible.
Use
One thing that cannot be emphasized enough is how nice the Royal feels to the touch. Everything has a smooth feel. Even the fan intakes, being cut out top of the cooler, have nice smooth edges. In fact, there isn't a sharp edge to be found anywhere. The plastic portions of the cooler are also nice to the touch and sturdy in build.
With the fans running, the cooler does get a little loud. However, it was still quieter than the internal fans on the test system. It shouldn't be that noticeable after a while.
There are a couple little niggling problems that we found in our use of the cooler, though. The first one was the angle that the cooler was set at. Not only is the Evercool Royal quite low to the ground in height, but it also doesn't have much of an angle in its design. Excessive angle can be bad for your wrists, but we were still longing for a little bit more than the nearly-horizontal slope that the Royal had.
Another issue that we had is with the storage bins. While they worked fine and the springs showed no sign of weakness at the end of our testing, we found that if you remove the bins from the storage tray entirely it can be quite difficult to get them back in place without physically moving the cooler to see what you are doing. The tolerances for the trays the bins slot into are too tight and located in an inconvenient area to reinsert them easily by feel alone.
As far as the overall quality goes, there is little that can be done to make the Royal feel better. Even the weight of the cooler started feeling like an asset after a little while, because it gives off a feel of durability in the design. In fact, the only thing we really didn't like about the cooler is the DIP switch that controlled the fan. Compared to the plastic used in the rest of the cooler, the DIP switch feels kind of cheap and rough, and we think something like a push-button design for controlling the fan would be nicer. Still, when the only thing you can find wrong with the build quality of something is in the DIP switches, you know you have a winner on your hands.
Conclusion
The Evercool Royal really is a fantastic entry into the increasingly crowded notebook cooler market. It contains a level of build quality almost honed to perfection, and the performance is pretty good as well. For those reasons, ASE Labs can easily recommend the Evercool Royal NP-901 notebook cooler. The $40 asking price (Newegg Link) may seem a bit steep to the casual observer, but the old adage of "you get what you pay for" certainly rings true in this case, and the build quality and design make the Royal well worth the money.
ASE Labs would like to thank Evercool for making this review possible.