Targus AWE01US Notebook ChillHub

I was doing a lot of gaming on my 17" i5 Acer laptop and it was running pretty hot most of the time during gameplay. So I decided to check out Amazon for an inexpensive cooler. I saw a few for around ten bucks and was going to choose one but then I spotted this Targus for the ridiculously low price of only $2.99. I thought it must be a typo because this wasn't some crummy generic brand, it was one of the top sellers. From what I could see it looked just like one of the highest priced coolers I'd seen. And it wasn't the familiar low price item high price shipping scam because the shipping rate was only $4.99. So I hit the one-click and just days later I was opening the box and looking at an actual Targus twin fan full size cooler in the factory bubblepack. I was surprised to see that it had an on-off button, but the really cool feature was the built-in four port USB hub which wasn't even mentioned in the ad. The rubber feet on the bottom and the top keep the laptop centered nicely and it doesn't slide around on the desktop. The laptop runs much cooler while gaming and the fans are totally noiseless. What I couldn't understand was the original MSRP on the bubblepack said it was $59.95. I see now it is selling for $9.69 which is still a super good deal. I seriously doubt you'll find a better deal on Amazon, or anywhere else, for a great laptop cooler.

I've had this for about 4 days and I am very pleased with this product, so far.I have a 14" laptop and for the size that this cooling pad is, it is only a bit shorter in length than my laptop which is no big deal. It does cool my laptop as it does not feel as hot when I am using the cooling pad; it is somewhat cooler. I am glad of the difference. It's also fairly quiet (sometimes you forget it's on). It does not look like it does in the Amazon image (I may provide an image with this review in the future), but I am not worried about that because it is a good-looking product and it fits my laptop in size. It operates by plugging in a USB cable that it comes packaged with. It also comes with what appears to be a charger that plugs into a wall. It has an ON/OFF button to turn the fans on and off.I like the design of the pad: it has an interesting form, a nice color (a sort of nice greyish-brown color), it is sturdy and very importantly it has ENCLOSED fans! I had trouble with 2 cheaper models I ordered in the past that had fans which were exposed on the underside of the pad (no cage to protect the fan to keep it from catching on services and eventually ceasing to work). The fans of this pad are protected. I also appreciate that this cooling pad has a built-in 4-port USB 2.0 hub (on the side of the pad at front).I would recommend this to buyers! : )

Bought over 2 months ago, I've yet to get tired of this little piece of ingenuity. I was looking for a multi-USB hub and got the Targus Notebook ChillHub because it had the hub plus those fans. As a hub it works great even when connected only to my laptop for those low-end attachments like flash drives, etc. If I need more USB power and/or want to utilize the fans to cool my notebook (which it does quietly and well), I plug in the AC adapter.Granted it's a bit smaller than my laptop and sometimes slipped when I moved it, but I fixed that with a small piece of two-sided tape in one corner. And even if it didn't have (or I didn't use) the fans, its good for keeping the laptop off flat surfaces so the heat doesn't get a chance to build up to more destructive levels.My only beef is with the adapter (hence the 4 stars), which should be unplugged from the outlet as it still pulls power even when disconnected from the Chillhub. And when the adapter is plugged in, it gets very warm even when the fans are not on. I'm not too sure it'll last the lifetime of the Chillhub. I also don't like its shape -- for its size it's made too wide taking over the next plug as well.Overall, though, I'm very happy with my purchase, which, at the time, was at almost half the price found at Staples.

Somehow, I thought that a product made to work with a laptop would be fairly quiet, or at least offer variable speed so that most of the time it would whisper. I played with this for about 10 minutes and will now just put it on eBay... it makes a quiet MacBook Pro sound like an old PC while raising it to an uncomfortable height. Fellow Mac users, try this first: smcFanControl (Google it). It's an app that lets you set the minimum fan speed, and has dropped my average CPU temp by about 15 degrees. I found it after ordering the Chillhub.Later note: Although loud, I have reached for this a couple of times when the laptop is working hard and heating up, and it DOES cool very dramatically. I just wish it had a speed control.

I bought 2 of these to keep my satellite receivers cool. I was ordering by size. The product I got actually surprised me. After looking at the one under my computer, I realized I ordered the exact same one, so I know not only do these work well, but also last. I have had the one under my computer for a few years now. I should have looked at the customer photos; image #4 shows the current item. The correct dimensions are:10.5x12.5x0.97. A little bigger than I wanted for the receivers, but will work well for one of them.

This is a great product for the money. It keeps my Mac sufficiently cool and is VERY quiet. I sometimes have to hold my hand over the fans so I can feel the air coming out just so that I can check if it's on. I especially like the fact that it also acts as a USB hub. You DO have to remember to turn it off when you close your laptop though. If you don't turn it off, it stays on.

It works, but the fans are not very powerful. Effectiveness is limited. I decided to buy a six dollar 4" mini-fan at Walmart which provides much better cooling for the laptop and it's VERY quiet. This is the second unit of this type that I purchased and the first one seemed to work better than the second. Still the 4" mini-fan works better than either of the Targus units.