With the Tacens Fero we will complete our indepth analysis of Tacens entire notebook cooler line. The Fero itself is the flagship of the line, boasting double the fans as the others and having all the features of the other coolers and more.. Also it is the only “non portable” cooler that Tacens produces. Four fans, a USB Hub, fan control and more, sounds great eh? We will have a look at how great it really is in the following review.
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Specifications
Dimensions: 12.6 x 11 x 1.5” (W x D x H)
Estimated Weight: N/A
Material(s): ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) = Plastic
Noise: 9 – 16 dBA (Not in our opinion)
Input Voltage: 5V / 500mA
Color(s): Black
Supported Sizes: All notebook and netbooks
Fan
Fan Quantity: Four
Individual Fan Size: 60mm
Bearing Type: N/A
RPM: 1500 ~ 2500 RPM
Price: N/A
The packaging is similar to that of its siblings, black and shiny and functional. Inside the box there is an owner’s manual, a USB Cable and the Fero itself.
We have been intrigued by the portability of Tacens notebook coolers; the Fero dumps that trait to bring on a more aggressive approach to cooling. Immediately the thickness of the cooler was apparent. At nearly an inch thick it already shows its difference to the others in the lineup. Compared to other coolers on the market, the Fero appears to be thicker, though this is not the case the cooler is a square rather than a rectangle. The square shape is a disadvantage as widescreen notebooks, which are the majority, will over hang on either side. To compensate for this there are two risers on the top-rear section of the cooler. The two screw based risers allow for the airflow to be spread over a larger area making the Fero as suitable for widescreen notebooks as well as for full screen notebooks.
Aesthetically the Fero is satisfying though not overwhelming. Like its siblings the Fero is lathered in a rubberized layer on top of the plastic, but to give it a hint of aggression and style the top surface features a black metal plate. Moreover this plate allows for better heat dissipation as metal had better properties to do this over plastic. There are also two indents on the left and right side of the notebook cooler giving it a modern appearance.
So besides the shape what makes the Fero unique in the Tacens line? Well, the Fero can be raised to a rather extreme level, enough so that Tacens has included a push-pop-out bit at the front in order to hold a notebook on the cooler. It is even lined with rubber to prevent scratches and equipped an arched gap for notebooks with audio ports or memory card slots in the front to be accessed.
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Opening and closing the flap is simple as all you must do is simply click it, like the access panel on older CRT Televisions.
There are a total of five different heights that the cooler can be adjusted to. Although the maximum tilt makes the notebook difficult to use it is great if you use an external keyboard and mouse. It not only raises the screen of a notebook making it less strenuous on your neck and back, it also saves precious desk space.
The lower levels allow for users to adjust the height to their comfort while using the notebook without external peripherals. Regardless of the height the Fero is adjust to it holds solidly. Even though the cooler wobbles somewhat when pressure or weight is applied it will not collapse.
To make the perspective of using an external keyboard and mouse even more intriguing is the USB 2.0 hub built into the left indent of the cooler. There are a total of three USB ports, the cooler uses two on your notebook so you will gain a spare port. These ports can be used for less demanding peripherals such as flash drives, mice, keyboards etc.
For those who do not mind the large footprint of the Tacens Fero and would like to carry it around, there is a small slide open compartment on the underside of the cooler to store the cable.
Also embedded into that left indent is a on / off switch; however, the on/off switch is not as simple as most other on/off switches as it allows you to only turn on the rear two fans or to turn on all four fans. Besides, the on/off switch has a sexy white power indicator light and a speed control dial.
Finally, to power the cooler Tacens has fitted the Fero with four 60mm fans that run at 1500 rpm. The RPM can be easily adjusted by turning the dial on the left. The option to do so and to switch it from running all four fans to only running two is great as the fans are fairly loud. At full blast the fans are slightly louder than the fan of a notebook.
Benchmarks
To perform cooling tests with the Fero we ran the cooler with all four fans on full strength. The Fero was able to cool the notebook as fans tended to hit the ventilation holes of the notebook.
Conclusion
Overall the Tacens Fero has very attractive features that function and perform well. Even if its body is plastic and feels relatively cheap it is still durable. Unfortunately, the noises produced by the fans and lack of width hold it back. We think that if you are ok with a bit of noise and mediocre cooling and would like to conserve desktop space with the mouse and keyboard this is a great cooler.
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