TopMate C12 Laptop Cooling Pad review: this laptop cooler sports a bold look – but could be much colder
TopMate C12 Laptop Cooling Pad Review
The TopMate C12 Laptop Cooling Pad is a mid-range cooling pad for high-performance gaming and creative laptops. Not only does it have three 110mm fans and three 70mm fans, but it also offers six different fan speeds, with the smaller fan capable of reaching 2400 rpm. So, I’m expecting some freezing temperatures here.
Unfortunately, running on our standard 3DMark stress test Acer Predator Helios 300 comes with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, I found the TopMate C12 to be colder closer to Chicago than Siberia. Our baseline test of the laptop found that its temperature increased by 31.9°C, from 20.2°C to 52.1°C, while the TopMate suppressed its heat generation from 21.2°C to 44°C at full fan power. While the 22.8°C temperature rise reduction is a clear improvement, it’s not nearly as impressive as the Liangxing Laptop Cooling Pad, for example, which reduced temperature rise to 15.3°C.
On the plus side, the TopMate C12 Laptop Cooling Pad runs about as quiet as you’d actually expect. Ten minutes into our stress test, I measured the combined noise of the cooling pad and laptop using a sound level meter – it measured 58.5dB from 3 inches away and 21 inches from my head height The noise is 45dB. That’s in line with any of the best laptop cooling pads I’ve tested, and better than the 60dB produced by non-cooled laptops.
Offering eight levels of adjustable height, you can angle the laptop between 6.5 and 50 degrees, which really allowed me to place items at the most ergonomic angle for my height. Thick flip-out stands hold the laptop securely in place; however, while these are adequate for a bulky gaming laptop, I did find that they dug into my wrists while typing. Ultrabook These dig into my wrists, so keep that in mind if you have a thin laptop. For extra highlights, the RGB lighting is well designed and offers 10 different settings if psychedelic gaming rainbows aren’t your thing.
All in all, the TopMate C12 Laptop Cooling Pad offers flawless performance and a sturdy, beautiful build. This might lead one to believe that it’s just as good as the other options, but I urge you to consider another factor before buying: its price. At $29.99 / £29.77 / AU$49.77, it’s more expensive than some other cooling pads I’ve reviewed, but it’s slightly less powerful. If you really want something good value for money I think $19.99/£19.99 People N5 laptop cooling pad Or $19.99 / £19.93 / AU$47.95 Liangxing Laptop Cooling Pad offers a better price.
TopMate C12 Laptop Cooling Pad Review: Price and Availability
- Release date: January 19, 2022
- RRP $29.99/£29.77/AU$49.77
First launched on 19 January 2022, the TopMate C12 Laptop Cooling Pad is available now for $29.99 / £29.77 / AU$49.77. Still, it’s worth keeping an eye out for better deals: it occasionally drops to £25.30 / AU$42.30 – it’s not a huge drop, but it does help it better compete on value with some of the best cooling pads out there.
However, in most cases, it’s easy to find cooling pads that are just as powerful but cost less – the Tecknet N5 Laptop Cooling Pad and the Liangstar Laptop Cooling Pad performed better in our benchmark tests while also costing less, for $19.99 / £19.99 $19.99 / £19.93 / AU$47.95 respectively.
Should I buy the TopMate C12 Laptop Cooling Pad?
Buy if if…
Don’t buy it if…
TopMate C12 Laptop Cooling Pad Review: Also Consider
How I Tested the TopMate C12 Laptop Cooling Pad
- After several days of testing
- Perform a pressure test and measure temperature differences using a thermal imaging camera
- Use a sound level meter to measure fan noise after 10 minutes of testing
When I tested the TopMate C12 laptop cooling pad, I put it through a number of the standardized benchmark tests used for all laptop cooling pads. First, I checked the Acer Predator Helios 300’s hottest spot using an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 test laptop, ran the 3DMark stress test for 15 minutes with the cooling pad set to maximum speed, and then rechecked the temperature.
I also tested how noisy it was with a sound level meter. Ten minutes into the test, I measured the sound levels from three inches away and at head height to get the absolute and subjective volume of a pad fan combined with a gaming laptop cooling system. I then compared this to a baseline of noise produced when the laptop fan was stress tested alone.
I also used the laptop cooling pad while gaming and performing daily office tasks to test its overall design, sturdiness, and ergonomics. To do this, I drew on my 30 years of experience as a gamer and laptop user, not to mention my 10 years in technology and gadgets.
