Targus Portable Chill Mat HD3 Gaming with 3 Ultra-Quiet Fans and Integrated Airflow Ventilation Prevents Overheating, LED USB Port, Cooling Pad for up to 18-Inch Laptop, Black (AWE57US)

I run a busy, hectic social network. This means I'm online 12-14 hours a day right now while setting it up, dealing with the servers, etc. I had bought a cheap fan at a big box store when I noticed my Compaq Presario was overheating majorly on the left side. Unfortunately that one only had one center fan, and I had to sit my laptop precariously off the edge of the table in order to get the fan where it was needed, and it still just wouldn't keep it cool, not with the heavy usage I was subjecting it to. Determined to not ruin my work laptop, I started hunting. The Targus brand had decent reviews, and I found this one, that said it was for heavy duty usage. Bonus, it was on sale. I nabbed one quickly to try. It came today and I must say, I'm pleased. I had the laptop running for 2 hours before it got here, and it was already incredibly hot to the touch on the blasted left port again. Chucked the chill mat under, put it up to the high speed, and I've been online all day long. The left side of the laptop is maybe slightly warmer than regular room temperature, 2-3 degrees perhaps. For heavy usage, I highly recommend trying this out, especially if the single fan units weren't getting the air where you need it, like mine did.Also, yes, it's a bit noisy. However, it's background noise. It's really no more distracting than the hum of the air conditioner, the dog snoring, the drone of the TV, or the radio left playing in the basement. It just blends in with the cacophony from my insane house. If you're used to complete quiet, yes, this will probably bother you. But for most it's just a slight annoyance, way easier to handle than overheating and frying your laptops motherboard.EDITING after using for awhile. This is used a good 12-14 hours a day. I won't run my laptop without it. It keeps it brillantly cool and I haven't had a single issue since. Love this product. The ONLY downside I've found is that there is no way to take it apart to clean the fans... I have dogs and cats, so there is lots of fur. We damaged it a bit trying to pry it apart before we realized it was glued or soldered in. We just blew it out with an air compressor and will just do that every few months as needed. It'd be nice to be able to take the top off and clean it though.EDIT TWO- It is now 2016. Almost three years and this thing is still as essential to me as it was the day I first chucked it under the laptop. The hair is still an issue, but honestly, it hasn't diminished how it works at all. If this ever does break or get too overloaded with pet hair to work, you can bet your behind I'll be buying another Targus Chill Mat.

I read a lot of mixed reviews about this cooling pad, but with all the other cooling pads I was checking out as well they all had their good, bad and ugly side. After reading a few comments on Amazon about the HD3 I decided I would test this one as the one I had was at end of life.So about the Pad well start with..THE GOOD:It works, my Alienware M17xR4 has never ran as cool (5c cooler) as it does now with my old cooler pad.It looks good, great finish, goes well with my M17xR4.Its flat all over and one height.My old cooler pad was higher at the back where the fans were but it angled down at the front but this was a nuisance as the laptop slid down, that problem doesn't happen with a flat cooling pad.THE BAD:The sound, this pad is LOUD!!!It's definitely due to the huge fans inside I can honestly say I am not bothered by it as I am wearing headphones generally the whole time I use my laptop but when I take them off my ears are harassed by the whirl of the fans.THE UGLY:2 USB slots is a huge nuisance, for this device to run at its optimal it requires the 2 slots.The M17xr4 has 4 USB slots, 2 on the left, 2 on the right, I need a mouse port on my right, the 2nd port on my right is for my portable HDD this I always need connected. I have 2 on the left I have USB soundcard (Asus Xonar U3) for my headphones to experience full DDL, not only that I need a USB slot for my headphones Mixamp TX (Astro A50's). To make all this work I had to purchase a USB HUB (D-Link Hi Speed USB 2.0 7-Port Powered Hub) it can be a mess of cables if my laptop had more ports it would be easier but unfortunately laptops generally only have 4 ports so you can see the dilemma.I am a really picky person and am not easily pleased but overall if you want a cooler pad that works well and don't mind the small things (how loud the pad is, 2usb ports to run) like myself and can adapt to what you have with ease definitely BUY this cooler pad you won't be disappointed at all, but do bare in mind if you use your USB ports to buy a USB HUB with at least 4 ports on it to accommodate this item requiring 2 slots.