Svalt Launches New D1 Pro II and D2 Pro II Cooling Docks

[Bearxor]

Why isn't anyone making a dock that pulls air out of the rear vents of the Mac? SURELY that's the most helpful thing you can do! increase the airflow of hot air out of the Mac. All these cooling stations I see seem to randomly throw air at the chassis. not even at the intake vents.

Thats actually pretty tricky. If you put a fan further down the line pulling air from the first two fans and you don't balance the pressure properly you could cause the air to not move as quickly as it would have otherwise, or you'll remove the static pressure from the first fans causing them to spin faster and basically do nothing.

It's not impossible, but it's not easy. It's cheaper and likely just as effective to cool the air surrounding the device, bringing down the temperature that moves through the device overall.

 

[Maconplasma]

Why don't fans with heatsinks work? Isn't that what most computers are using for cooling?

I didn't say they don't work, but rather this gimmicky thing is just redundant. People who want to buy it think they are going to avoid fan noise because they think this will really cool down their computers. I haven't seen a device on the market that lives up their marketing that can truly cool down computers.

 

[tim_mop]

Thats actually pretty tricky. If you put a fan further down the line pulling air from the first two fans and you don't balance the pressure properly you could cause the air to not move as quickly as it would have otherwise, or you'll remove the static pressure from the first fans causing them to spin faster and basically do nothing.

It's not impossible, but it's not easy. It's cheaper and likely just as effective to cool the air surrounding the device, bringing down the temperature that moves through the device overall.

great insight, thanks!

 

[metrian835]

I actually own one of these and I can tell you it does reduce temps under long term load - think video editing or color correcting in Premiere or Resolve with two external 4K monitors - this thing is a little beast. Drops temps and prevents thermal throttling on my mid 2019 i9 MBP. sometimes by as much at ten degrees under load. As a guy who has a water cooled desktop PC in addition to an MBP, this thing works far better than I expected it would, for an air cooling solution that doesn't have a direct thermal contact (metal to thermal compound to metal). When at idle and the fan all the way up, The D2 Pro II can drop my temps to the 40's C. I've attached an image of the output of Sensei, my system monitor app, that is showing my real time temps as I type this response. That's damn impressive for any laptop cooling solution, considering how laptops, by design, often don't have great thermals. Without the D2 Pro II this computer would be running in the mid 50's or 60's. Heat kills computers and if this thing lets me get another year or two out of this MBP in the long run, it's worth it, even at the high price.

 

[Maconplasma]

I actually own one of these and I can tell you it does reduce temps under long term load - think video editing or color correcting in Premiere or Resolve with two external 4K monitors - this thing is a little beast. Drops temps and prevents thermal throttling on my mid 2019 i9 MBP. sometimes by as much at ten degrees under load. As a guy who has a water cooled desktop PC in addition to an MBP, this thing works far better than I expected it would, for an air cooling solution that doesn't have a direct thermal contact (metal to thermal compound to metal). When at idle and the fan all the way up, The D2 Pro II can drop my temps to the 40's C. I've attached an image of the output of Sensei, my system monitor app, that is showing my real time temps as I type this response. That's damn impressive for any laptop cooling solution, considering how laptops, by design, often don't have great thermals. Without the D2 Pro II this computer would be running in the mid 50's or 60's. Heat kills computers and if this thing lets me get another year or two out of this MBP in the long run, it's worth it, even at the high price. View attachment 964730

This sounds more like a company employee advertising their product in order to do damage control against the many negative comments about this gimmicky useless and overpriced product.

 

[pjny]

I can buy 20 of these for same price. I used to have a ton of smaller fans but they would end up making a weird noise after a while. This does not have a fan guard but has cloth blades. Very cool and quiet. I used to use cooling pads but they were too bulky and loud.

Vornado Zippi Small Personal Fan for Desk, Nightstand, Tabletop, Travel, Black

Zippi, A Small Fan with Big Attitude! Vornado's Zippi Fan has innovative soft cloth blades that quickly and quietly propel the air, but are safe to touch even while the fan is in motion! The Zippi is a powerful electric fan and doesn't require batteries. Ideal for travelers, the Zippi fan folds d...

www.amazon.com

 

[pjny]

Chad, is that you???

I actually own one of these and I can tell you it does reduce temps under long term load - think video editing or color correcting in Premiere or Resolve with two external 4K monitors - this thing is a little beast. Drops temps and prevents thermal throttling on my mid 2019 i9 MBP. sometimes by as much at ten degrees under load. As a guy who has a water cooled desktop PC in addition to an MBP, this thing works far better than I expected it would, for an air cooling solution that doesn't have a direct thermal contact (metal to thermal compound to metal). When at idle and the fan all the way up, The D2 Pro II can drop my temps to the 40's C. I've attached an image of the output of Sensei, my system monitor app, that is showing my real time temps as I type this response. That's damn impressive for any laptop cooling solution, considering how laptops, by design, often don't have great thermals. Without the D2 Pro II this computer would be running in the mid 50's or 60's. Heat kills computers and if this thing lets me get another year or two out of this MBP in the long run, it's worth it, even at the high price. View attachment 964730

 

[tim_mop]

I actually own one of these and I can tell you it does reduce temps under long term load - think video editing or color correcting in Premiere or Resolve with two external 4K monitors - this thing is a little beast. Drops temps and prevents thermal throttling on my mid 2019 i9 MBP. sometimes by as much at ten degrees under load. As a guy who has a water cooled desktop PC in addition to an MBP, this thing works far better than I expected it would, for an air cooling solution that doesn't have a direct thermal contact (metal to thermal compound to metal). When at idle and the fan all the way up, The D2 Pro II can drop my temps to the 40's C. I've attached an image of the output of Sensei, my system monitor app, that is showing my real time temps as I type this response. That's damn impressive for any laptop cooling solution, considering how laptops, by design, often don't have great thermals. Without the D2 Pro II this computer would be running in the mid 50's or 60's. Heat kills computers and if this thing lets me get another year or two out of this MBP in the long run, it's worth it, even at the high price.

Can you show us more data? Like iStat history graphs of CPU Frequency under load with and without the pad/fan? And leaving internal fans to automatic.

If there's a genuine advantage then I'm interested, but so far the testing data I've seen hasn't exactly been "real world"

 

[ckWTB]

This is Chad, designer, founder, etc with SVALT. I understand that many assume a company is motivated primarily to make money and that marketing is primarily used to generate sales, but that isn’t always the case. While money can provide some motivation, when a significant amount of work is required then the motivation usually goes much deeper.

ABOUT

I started SVALT in 2011 for the opportunity to dive deep into a project and to make consumer electronic products locally in Portland, Oregon with a focus on sustainability. I wake up early every morning to start my workday filled with a desire to refine design and to improve upon what I do in work and life. There is always room to do better and I’ve work very long hours during that period to make improvements. While that kind of pace results in personal sacrifices, it has been an effort fueled by the opportunity to dedicate oneself to a meaningful project and the kind of endlessly renewable joy that creative pursuits yield. That is something I have been grateful to have during my professional life, and I am especially grateful to have during these challenging times.

MONEY

Since launching in 2015 with the original Cooling Dock revenue has gone to paying my local fabrication team, using high-quality materials/components and developing new products. Making high-end professional consumer electronic accessory products locally with high-quality materials/components is not an exercise in chasing lowest costs, which means SVALT products aren’t for mass-consumption. That means it is also okay if everyone does not want or need to buy the products. We each get to decide what we value in life through how we spend our time and money. However, it is a personal and professional goal to make local, ethical and sustainable consumer electronic products more accessible and affordable as resources allow.

REVIEWS

MacRumors was provided with a link to a SVALT press release page and a short intro excerpt, nothing more. All of my encounters with MacRumors indicate they do excellent work and seek to serve the larger Apple community. It has been many years since I have done any paid advertising or marketing. I put all of my effort into making products and making personal connections, and this has allowed SVALT to grow through the quality of products and connections. You can see customer workstations and read testimonials on the SVALT reviews page.

LAPTOPS

If you want to learn how built-in cooling systems in Apple laptops work, then I highly recommend reading the SVALT laptops page. Back in 2011 I started SVALT after a decade of using MacBook Pros for professional architecture design and photography. Apple laptops have always had incredible industrial designs and have been made with high-quality materials and components, but like all products there are compromises. A slim laptop is going to have diminished built-in cooling capacity, and for most laptop users that strikes the right balance. Intel’s Performance division independently purchased and tested the original Cooling Dock model D2, and then after verifying the performance results invited me to meet with the team. I got to checkout wild prototypes and see what it takes to make laptops that have no heat limitations without throttling. These non-throttling laptops were over one inch thick, weighed over ten pounds, and were transported in a rolling suitcase. While it would be great to see Apple offer an oversized super high-end laptop for the community, it is unlikely to happen.

COOLING

As shown in the SVALT laptops page, Apple removed the center air intake vent with the 2016 MacBook Pro. No current generation Apple laptop has an air intake vent located next to processors and that supports direct internal cooling. The new Cooling Dock Pro II models include passive and active cooling optimized for current generation Apple laptops, as well as many PC laptops that use a similar built-in cooling system. The support and cooling system is also designed so that it is more likely to be compatible with future generation laptops. The Pro II’s passive cooling system features a 1.8 pound aluminum heat sink located next to laptop processors that absorbs heat through line-of-sight radiant heat transfer. The Pro II’s active cooling system features ten side vents that drive cooling air onto the laptop’s metal enclosure at the processor location and then sends cooling airflow to the sides of the laptop enclosure. The side vents combine with cooling airflow from a lower vent that drives cooling air at the laptop enclosure’s central processor location and then sends air upward along the laptop enclosure. Raised laptop pads direct airflow for optimal cooling, as well as house the D2’s laptop temperature sensor. Pad size is minimized to reduce contact area on the laptop, reduce heat trap and maximize cooling. The managed airflow helps generate more efficient and quieter cooling.

TESTING

The product page includes testing graphs as well as details under the specification’s testing tab. All tests are connected under highly controlled testing conditions, which you can learn more about on the testing page.

POWER SUPPLY

All powered SVALT products use a 12-volt fan with wall outlet power supply for more power and cooling performance. 5-volt fans are typically less powerful and efficient, while pulling power from the laptop's USB port will increase demand on the laptop’s internal power system, which in turn increases internal heat generation. That means there’s more heat to be removed by the supplemental cooler, and depending on the laptop model the system may already lack sufficient power to avoid power throttling under extremely demanding conditions.

CONNECTING

I enjoy making personal connects so if you want to start a conversation then you can reach out through the SVALT contact page.

Wishing the incredibly large and diverse MacRumors community the best,
Chad

 

[justperry]

Does blowing on a laptop from the outside actually works?! Plus, we are in the transition to ARM which is supposedly much cooler

Yes it does, been living in the tropics before, it DOES help.

------

I also do think this is overpriced and probably overstates what it does but unlike most people I know this will work.
But the price is just insanely high.
I am in a cooler country nowadays, but in summer it can become quite hot nowadays, I have a small 12 cm fan, it will bring the temps down significantly, by more than 10 degrees celsius and it's about 6 inches away from my Mac Mini.

Who the flying **** needs this? Just get your computer cleaned off of dust!

Computers can get hot without dust and even when it's a brand new one, depends on the workload and ambient temperature.

Why isn't anyone making a dock that pulls air out of the rear vents of the Mac? SURELY that's the most helpful thing you can do! increase the airflow of hot air out of the Mac. All these cooling stations I see seem to randomly throw air at the chassis. not even at the intake vents.

Because it messes up the internal fan...maybe.

This sounds more like a company employee advertising their product in order to do damage control against the many negative comments about this gimmicky useless and overpriced product.

Which negative comments, this is the first one which has the fan, he shows/proves it to readers here and then you call him a liar, nice job man...really well done..NOT.

It does work, you can read above here in the this same post.
And here's the post from the makes himself, might be worthwhile to read it instead of insulting people.

This is Chad, designer, founder, etc with SVALT. I understand that many assume a company is motivated primarily to make money and that marketing is primarily used to generate sales, but that isn’t always the case. While money can provide some motivation, when a significant amount of work is required then the motivation usually goes much deeper.

ABOUT

I started SVALT in 2011 for the opportunity to dive deep into a project and to make consumer electronic products locally in Portland, Oregon with a focus on sustainability. I wake up early every morning to start my workday filled with a desire to refine design and to improve upon what I do in work and life. There is always room to do better and I’ve work very long hours during that period to make improvements. While that kind of pace results in personal sacrifices, it has been an effort fueled by the opportunity to dedicate oneself to a meaningful project and the kind of endlessly renewable joy that creative pursuits yield. That is something I have been grateful to have during my professional life, and I am especially grateful to have during these challenging times.

MONEY

Since launching in 2015 with the original Cooling Dock revenue has gone to paying my local fabrication team, using high-quality materials/components and developing new products. Making high-end professional consumer electronic accessory products locally with high-quality materials/components is not an exercise in chasing lowest costs, which means SVALT products aren’t for mass-consumption. That means it is also okay if everyone does not want or need to buy the products. We each get to decide what we value in life through how we spend our time and money. However, it is a personal and professional goal to make local, ethical and sustainable consumer electronic products more accessible and affordable as resources allow.

REVIEWS

MacRumors was provided with a link to a SVALT press release page and a short intro excerpt, nothing more. All of my encounters with MacRumors indicate they do excellent work and seek to serve the larger Apple community. It has been many years since I have done any paid advertising or marketing. I put all of my effort into making products and making personal connections, and this has allowed SVALT to grow through the quality of products and connections. You can see customer workstations and read testimonials on the SVALT reviews page.

LAPTOPS

If you want to learn how built-in cooling systems in Apple laptops work, then I highly recommend reading the SVALT laptops page. Back in 2011 I started SVALT after a decade of using MacBook Pros for professional architecture design and photography. Apple laptops have always had incredible industrial designs and have been made with high-quality materials and components, but like all products there are compromises. A slim laptop is going to have diminished built-in cooling capacity, and for most laptop users that strikes the right balance. Intel’s Performance division independently purchased and tested the original Cooling Dock model D2, and then after verifying the performance results invited me to meet with the team. I got to checkout wild prototypes and see what it takes to make laptops that have no heat limitations without throttling. These non-throttling laptops were over one inch thick, weighed over ten pounds, and were transported in a rolling suitcase. While it would be great to see Apple offer an oversized super high-end laptop for the community, it is unlikely to happen.

COOLING

As shown in the SVALT laptops page, Apple removed the center air intake vent with the 2016 MacBook Pro. No current generation Apple laptop has an air intake vent located next to processors and that supports direct internal cooling. The new Cooling Dock Pro II models include passive and active cooling optimized for current generation Apple laptops, as well as many PC laptops that use a similar built-in cooling system. The support and cooling system is also designed so that it is more likely to be compatible with future generation laptops. The Pro II’s passive cooling system features a 1.8 pound aluminum heat sink located next to laptop processors that absorbs heat through line-of-sight radiant heat transfer. The Pro II’s active cooling system features ten side vents that drive cooling air onto the laptop’s metal enclosure at the processor location and then sends cooling airflow to the sides of the laptop enclosure. The side vents combine with cooling airflow from a lower vent that drives cooling air at the laptop enclosure’s central processor location and then sends air upward along the laptop enclosure. Raised laptop pads direct airflow for optimal cooling, as well as house the D2’s laptop temperature sensor. Pad size is minimized to reduce contact area on the laptop, reduce heat trap and maximize cooling. The managed airflow helps generate more efficient and quieter cooling.

TESTING

The product page includes testing graphs as well as details under the specification’s testing tab. All tests are connected under highly controlled testing conditions, which you can learn more about on the testing page.

POWER SUPPLY

All powered SVALT products use a 12-volt fan with wall outlet power supply for more power and cooling performance. 5-volt fans are typically less powerful and efficient, while pulling power from the laptop's USB port will increase demand on the laptop’s internal power system, which in turn increases internal heat generation. That means there’s more heat to be removed by the supplemental cooler, and depending on the laptop model the system may already lack sufficient power to avoid power throttling under extremely demanding conditions.

CONNECTING

I enjoy making personal connects so if you want to start a conversation then you can reach out through the SVALT contact page.

Wishing the incredibly large and diverse MacRumors community the best,
Chad

 

[macsound1]

As someone who used to have a hot PC laptop, some cooling platforms work, but usually it's because how you place the laptop decreases the laptops ability to cool properly, so the cooling platform works as a makeshift desk, preventing you from smothering the air intakes with your comforter. Like this: https://www.amazon.com/Coolertek-Adjustable-Non-Slip-11-17Inch-Notebook/dp/B07VSLQPRP/
I've seen some Macbook Pros where the black plastic piece that's below the screen, the plastic that gets pelted by the hot exhaust air, is cracked from extreme heat. It happens because the amount of airflow is reduced so the air is quite a bit hotter.

In the case of this Svalt cooler, everyone above is right, the place it's moving air isn't helpful to the Mac's existing cooling system. Maybe it has enough power to compensate for defeating the mac's fans and keeping it cool enough to not let them want to spin up more, but it would be much more effective if it was complementary to the mac's built in airflow, most important of which is physics - heat rises.

Also Chad seems to be contradicting the images on the Svalt website that shows the cooler is designed specifically to blow air IN the hinge located air exhaust vent.
Macbooks and Macbook Pros since the original white Intel Macbook all the way through the current USBC MBPs, air has always been exhaused out the hinge located vents, it's just that the air intake used to be through the keyboard and since the Superdrive has been removed, intake is now through slots on the bottom left and right chamfered edges.

While any device that is hot can have better performance when cool, including an iPhone in a hot car getting improved performance when placed in front of an AC vent, this particular product seems ill conceived.

 

[svenmany]

From what I gather from looking at the SVALT website, you really should match your laptop to the correct version of the dock. The D2/D1 Pro II models do not seem to push air into the lower vent. They force air flow over the hotter parts of the outer surface of the laptop. It seems the main focus is to cool the outside of the case through increased airflow and the large heat sink. The "Legacy" D1 Pro does push air into the central intake vent which later laptops do not have. (I think I'm interpreting the descriptions and pictures correctly.)

It's not an easy decision for me considering the high price. But, as a software developer, I'm constantly annoyed by my fans ramping up (sometimes screaming at me) and I might give this a try. From what I can tell, if it doesn't work well for me and I return it within the first 30 days, it will cost around $35 for the experiment ($15 restocking, $10 each way for shipping). Tossing away $35 isn't easy, so I'm not quite ready to pull the trigger.

I did appreciate the spirit of Chad's post. That does sway me some.

 

[macsound1]

If it's not pushing air into the hinge vent and rather just along the face of the laptop itself, the illustration really doesn't do it justice.

Also if that's the case, even more reason that any desk fan blowing at the computer would do just as good of a job.

 

[svenmany]

If it's not pushing air into the hinge vent and rather just along the face of the laptop itself, the illustration really doesn't do it justice.
View attachment 966527
Also if that's the case, even more reason that any desk fan blowing at the computer would do just as good of a job.

I have to agree with you on the illustration being vague. I drew my conclusion from some of the wording and a comparison of the upward blue arrow with the shorter arrow on the legacy cooling picture. I also threw in a little "give them the benefit of the doubt" since they were very clear that there was no air intake at that location for the later computers.

I definitely think a simple fan would be just as good if all the dock did was cooling via airflow. But, I had to look up what Chad meant when he said "line-of-sight radiant heat transfer". The very hot portions of the case use radiant heat transfer to warm up the doc's heat sink. If the dock had used thermal conduction then the heat sink would have been pushed right up against the laptop's case, which would have limited the airflow. So the doc instead sits a bit away from the laptop and the dock's fans help to compensate for the loss of airflow in the restricted space next to the surface of the case.

I did some more research on their website. The dock has quite a number of cooling profiles which can be set using a switch. The program takes it's input from a thermistor in one of the support pads. Also, they provide some upgrade paths for their docks (e.g. switching out an older fan with a new one while keeping your existing heat sink). I do get bothered by all the cheap, disposable plastic things we buy (like fans) that just end up in landfills or the ocean.

Anyway, if the price had been $150 or less, I would already have ordered. But, close to $300 is probably beyond my means. If the company gets much bigger and produces things in higher volumes, they will probably be more able to drop the price. I wish them well, but I'm not in their target audience right now.