Since the launch of Notebook-Cooling.com, our visitor trends have showed that over a third of our traffic comes from mainland Europe. Although we have generally been concentrating on products available across the globe, a few of our products have left out our European readers. So today we have a review of a company more or less exclusive to Europe: Tacens. Founded in 2005, “Tacens” (which is the Latin term for “silent”), operates under the motto “Feel the Silence”.

In their line, they feature three notebook coolers, the Fero, Ferolite, and the Trio. Fortunately for us, we were able to get our hands on all three coolers. Today we will be focusing on the Tacens Trio.

The Trio is aimed at the portable user. In recent years the market of portable coolers has taken a backseat to larger, stronger, desk based coolers. In spite of this trend set by companies demand for portable coolers has always been there. Tacens is one of a few companies that have begun to take advantage of the demand with products such as the Trio. It features a unique three-fold design, as well as collapsible feet, and a light body to maximize portability.

Specifications

The packaging of the Trio is small and snug. Tucked into the box was an instruction manual, two rubber feet, a USB to DC cable and the cooler itself. The instruction manual is written in eight languages including English, French, German and Russian. Generally the manual answers all necessary questions and displays how to set up the cooler and how to connect the cooler to a notebook; however it does not explain or mention the two rubber triangles.

From what we were able to gather about the two triangular rubber pieces, they are to improve the portability and cooling efficiency of the Trio. To understand why this is the case we will run through the general design and cooling system of the Trio.

The first thing that comes to mind after grazing the rubberized plastic is “cheap”. In this case it is not necessarily a bad thing. If the cooler was metal, the weight difference would have made a sizable impact on the portability and even if the plastic body feels cheap, each segment and hinge has a sturdy and light feel to it.

Expanding on the quality of the hinges, they are hold rather firmly when folded up but allow for a smooth opening of the cooler. Closing it on the other hand is quite the opposite story. In the open position, the Trio’s hinges hold firm. The same can be said when closing the Trio. There are loud clicks associated with the abrupt, sharp movements closing the cooler. This may be an issue in places such as a library where silence is the norm.

As for other general remarks on quality and detail, Tacens did not shy out by giving the trio an aggressive design. With the striped corners, high spoked vents and aggressive dips for the top risers it is clear that design was important. The underside continues this trend as Tacens provides seven rubber grips. The two fold out risers may appear flimsy but have proved to us that they can hold their share of weight.

The Trio, like the majority of coolers on the market, intake air from the base and exhaust it upwards. The bottom risers lift the cooler giving the user a relaxing typing angle and more importantly more breathing space to the fans. Generally when a cooler’s fan is against a table it is being chocked, by lifting it, even a slight bit, it allows the cooler to process a higher volume of air.

This concept carries on to the top of the cooler. Embedded in the Trio’s design are two screw based raisers. They can raise a notebook over half an inch above the cooler. This allows the cooling area of the cooler to multiply and cool more parts of the notebook, thus improving performance and compatibility.

Pushing the idea of raising the notebook even further were the two mysterious rubber triangles. After some experimentation we believe we figured out their use; to hold the notebook on the cooler. As stated in the previous paragraphs, the cooler provides an incline. This incline can get rather steep, and we believe the two rubber triangles are designed to hold the notebook on the cooler. With most notebooks not having thick rubber grips on the base, it is unreasonable to expect a notebook to just hold on the cooler. With the rubber triangles adding grip to either side of the notebook (left and right), the user will not have to be concerned about the notebook shifting while in use.

The rubber triangles also raise the notebook’s front end help the dissipation of airflow between the cooler and the notebook. It is great to see a company getting back to basics and using little things in order to improve cooling rather than to attempt to use fancy new designs or larger fans.

The fans used in the Trio are a pair of 60mm fans. They are easily some of the smallest fans used in a notebook cooler today, but due to the design of the cooler it may not hinder performance. The same cannot be said about the noise produced.

It is often said smaller fans create more noise, though this is not always the case. As for the Trio we must admit the fans are quite loud. The constant hum is not a large nuisance but can be heard over music and at times it even has a rattle to it. Therefore if you are sensitive to noise pollution this notebook cooler is clearly not for you. But as a portable cooler, the noise should be drowned out in most public locations such as an airport, ferry boat, or train but not necessarily in more quiet circumstances (libraries).

There is no way to control the fan speed, though there is an On/Off switch, located in the back of the center triangle, allowing the user to use the cooler as a silent stand. On one side of the switch is a white power indicator light; while on the other is the DC Input port.

Benchmarks

To test the cooling properties of the Tacens Trio we ran a series of stress (load) and idle tests.  As you can see below, the performance is not great but enough to make a difference.  It is important to remember this cooler is designed to be as portable as possible.  This means that there has to be some sacrifice.

Conclusion

In simple terms, the Tacens Trio is reasonably designed, reasonably effective and reasonably built with unreasonable noise.

The body is strong and should withstand the marathon some call commuting. Its stylish looks and simple cooling system should also get you through the day with a cool notebook.

The only concern we ran into was noise. The loud fans are just too much in our opinion. They would be fine while in a public location, but in a hotel room or at home you will hear the fans over your music or other media.

All in all, if you are in Europe and want a reasonable cooler with high portability and can with stand some noise pollution the Trio is right up your ally.