Thinner but larger than the Tacens Trio, yet far smaller than the Tacens Fero, the Tacens Ferolite fills in the middle space in the Tacens lineup. Much like the Trio the Ferolite was designed to maximize portability but rather than the fold up design that Tacens used for the Trio, the Ferolite has a cool looking slide design.
Though however cool a notebook cooler may appear, it should still remain practical and effective. Throughout our time with the Ferolite we were able to test these qualities and we will report our results in this review.
Specifications
Dimensions (Closed): 12 x 7.09 x 20.94 inches (305 x 180 x 24 mm)
Dimensions (Open) 12 x 11.69 x 20.94 inches inches (305 x 297 x 24 mm)
Estimated Weight: Double a paperback novel
Material(s): ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) = Plastic
Noise: 14dBA (Not in our opinion)
Input Voltage: 5V / 500mA
Color(s): Black
Supported Sizes: All notebook and netbooks
Fan
Fan Quantity: Two
Individual Fan Size: 60mm
Bearing Type: N/A
RPM: 1500 RPM
Price: N/A
Closed up inside the thin, black, glossy box is the Ferolite itself, a couple of rubber feet, a long USB 2.0 Y cable, and the user manual. Like other Tacens products, the user manual comes in six languages: English, Spanish, German, French, Italian and Polish. Generally, the simple images and instructions in the user manual are enough to get you started and provide some details.
We decided to start by analyzing the cooler by listing the similarities between the Ferolite and the Trio.
1) They share the same 60mm fans
2) They both have risers on the top and bottom of the cooler
3) They both incorporate a method of compacting the size of the cooler
4) They both use the same light weight plastic
5) They have the same approach to cooling
As you can see five is a party. The Ferolite and Trio have many things in common including central features and theories. So when it all boiled down, we asked the question “What is unique enough about the Ferolite to fill in the line between the Trio and Fero?”
Let’s start with some basics about the cooler. The Fero is designed to be portable, to be used on the go and at home on the desk. In order to accomplish this task, Tacens has mapped it out to be thin and slide together to compact its depth. It is about as thick as your average paperback book, though a bit wider and roughly double its height. Still this slim, compact design makes the Ferolite easy to slip into a bag with a notebook.
(15.4” notebook on the Ferolite)
Though like anything else in our world, portability has its pros and cons, the main con we found in case of the Ferolite was the width of the cooler. At just over 12” wide it is hard to fit wide screen notebooks in the larger half of the market (15.4” and up). It is possible to use larger notebooks on the cooler, but it may feel cramped and unstable.
The weight of the Ferolite is nearly double that of a paperback novel. The light weight is achieved through the same plastic used on the Trio. The outer casing, that slides open, and the base are particularly firm on the Ferolite. However once open, the center area plastic appears inexpensive, and has a large amount of flex to it.
Fortunately, the flex does not affect the effectiveness of the notebook cooler. As we stated earlier, to set the cooler up for cooling you simply slide the cooler open. When closed the sliders hold firm, but when open the cooler does not hold open. For us this was a major issue, we continuously had trouble holding the cooler open on non-flat surfaces. Moreover, the noise created when re-shutting the cooler is loud and may not be appropriate for quiet environments such as an office.
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Besides the fans, opening the cooler also reveals the various ports available on the Ferolite. These ports include the DC and USB B ports that power the cooler and transfer data to the onboard three port USB 2.0 hub. This means you will not only avoid losing any ports when using the cooler, you will also gain one. This is a major feature of the Ferolite as you lose a port with the Trio but you gain the same amount of ports with the Ferolite as you do with the Fero. This feature pushes its argument for being the middle step in the Tacens lineup.
Continuing on, next to the ports on the left side of the cooler is the on/off switch and white power indicator light. The two fans that are controlled by the switch are the backbone of the cooling system. They are located in the center region of the cooler. This means, unless your intake or vents are in the same region, or your notebook is lifted the cooler would be ineffective. This is why Tacens included two risers on the top of the cooler that can raise your notebook up to 0.6”.
Yet, it is important to note that that you must be careful and avoid tightening the top two risers too tightly as they can get stuck. The two risers on the bottom do not fold up or screw in; they are intended to be stationary … well not so much. We lost our pair pretty quickly inside our bag. The adhesive does not have enough material to grab onto rendering them obsolete.
As for the fans themselves, they have the
It is not only the top of the cooler that has some slide to it, on the bottom, between the two fans is a small closeable compartment designed to fit the cable. This saves space and keeps your bag more organized as it will help you avoid a tangle of cables.
Benchmarks
We could go on and on about the details of the Tacens Ferolite but it’s time we look at the numbers it has produced. As you can see below the numbers are not drastic but there is always a trade off to portability. Moreover, there is a trade off for expandability as the Ferolite did not stand as strong as its little cousin the Trio.
Cooling is obviously not the Tacens FeroLite’s forte. The differences in temperature were there. The hard drive saw no difference and in the case of the idle temperatures there was a rise.
Conclusion
The Ferolite has its place in the Tacens line up though there is more justification to purchase either the Trio or Fero. The Ferolite is just too similar to the Trio and its offerings that make it a more functional cooler are outshined by the flagship Fero. Nonetheless, if you want a cooler that is slim and will slide into that tight notebook bag like a book then the Ferolite is worth considering.
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