As we stated in a recent review of the Tacens Trio, the supply has begun to catch up with demand in the portable cooler market. Today we will have a look at another one of these portable notebook coolers, the Vizo EZSurf. The EZSurf is a passive notebook cooler, meaning true silence. Moreover it features a “patented” curved based design and has a thermally conductive interface pad. Making things even juicier is its compact size and durable build.
At first thought one may be questioning the usefulness and effectiveness of the product. “A silent cooler, with no fans, a patented curve base design and a thing called a thermally conductive interface pad?”; heck it may even sound downright sketchy to some. Others may overlook the product and miss its potential. To us the EzSurf looks like a viable cooling solution given the right circumstances.
Specifications
Dimensions: 10.4 x 3.94 x 142” (264 x 100 x 36 mm)
Weight: 0.57 pounds (260g)
Material(s): Aluminum and Plastic
Noise: 0dBA
Color(s): Black, Silver, Orange, Gray
Supported Sizes: 14” to 17” Notebooks
The EZSurf comes well protected in a firm box, while showing off its diagonal laced surface. Inside there are only two items: The EZSurf and the thermally conductive interface pad. Instructions can be found on the packaging of the thermally conductive interface pad and box. They are simple to follow and the illustrations are clear.
The variation we were provided with is the “Hyper Black” Color variant. There are 3 other color options available: Light Silver, Brilliant Black and Northstar Silver.
Design, Durability and Installation
Let’s get into the design of the EZSurf. Its small footprint is a clear indicator of its portability. If you neglect the taller feet on the sides the metal interface of the EZSurf measures only around a mere centimeter. The absence of fans incorporated into the cooler keeps the thickness and overall size down. This makes the EZSurf an “ECO-friendly” product according to Vizo, though we are not really sure about the validity of this argument. Moreover because the compact design and aluminum body cuts back on weight, the EZSurf feels surprisingly light. In fact weighing in at only 260g it may be the lightest cooler we have ever reviewed.
As condensed as we have made the cooler sound it is designed to support larger notebooks in the 14” to 17” range. Smaller notebooks will struggle trying to use the EZSurf as it is too large to support them. The depth of the notebook would be too short creating an unusable angle and thus recommend your computer be at least a 13” notebook.
When a notebook is placed on the cooler, it readjusts itself to the depth of the notebook. The rotating curved feet will in turn, alter the angle of the notebook. Unlike the contact surface, the feet are fabricated out of light and durable plastic. They are held to the aluminum body with rigor.
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For those who have not caught on yet, the EZSurf is fundamentally a giant heatsink. The curves make up the fins while the contact surface is flat as can be. This is what makes the cooler very selective. It will not work for many notebooks on the market as there is too much space between the components and the shell or not enough heat generated for the cooler to be effective.
Where the EZSurf will excel is in notebooks with thin shells and packed components. In the case of any aluminum bodied Apple laptop in the Macbook line the cooler should prove to be even more effective as the body of the notebook is designed to be a heatsink. Putting more fins on a heatsink can help dissipate heat and is occasionally done on computer components.
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We got a hold of a 14” Sony Notebook. The reason we used this notebook for testing was its design. With the components not only tied in tightly together but also nearly touching the shell, it is exactly the type of notebook that the EZSurf takes advantage of.
When we applied the thermally conductive interface pad we ran into a few issues with it sticking everywhere but eventually we were able to seal it onto the surface of the cooler. We continued by flipping over the notebook and sticking the cooler on. We were forced to cover some of the fan’s intake vent though as you will see later it did not cause any issues.
The cooler held firmly to the notebook, however it is recommended to hold your notebook from the base of the cooler when moving your notebook around.
The only concern we had with the EZSurf is with the thermally conductive interface pad. Due to its very sticky nature it attracts dust and other fine particles. This will be an issue after a while, especially when frequently carrying the EZSurf in a bag. It would be great to see Vizo include a few extra strips in the package to help deal with this issue. Using the cooler without the thermally conductive interface pad will prove to be a challenge as the EZSurf will just slip out from under your notebook.
Benchmarks
During the idle temperature test the cooler did make a difference but nothing major. There was simply not enough heat produced for the cooler to be effective.
The EZSurf really kicked in when we put stress on our test notebook. As you can see the CPU temperature dropped significantly .
Conclusion
Like any other cooler the Vizo EZSurf is not a perfect match for all notebooks. Although even pickier than most it still has its forte. Its build quality is the best we have seen from Vizo. Its light weight, color variety and 0dB noise level makes it an attractive option office or library use. With the only concern being the thermally conductive interface pad it has overall more ups than downs.
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