CES 2015: SVALT Launches Stylish Cooling Dock for Apple MacBooks - MacRumors
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CES 2015: SVALT Launches Stylish Cooling Dock for Apple MacBooks

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SVALT today announced the launch of a new cooling dock designed for Apple MacBooks and select PC laptops, which the company promises offers a 12x improvement in cooling, 129 percent improvement in CPU power, and 53 percent improvement in CPU Turbo Boost by eliminating CPU throttling due to heat issues.

Created from solid aluminum and designed to match up with the style of Apple's MacBooks, the two-pound SVALT D is compact and holds a closed MacBook vertically in a dedicated ledge. A 12-volt fan sends air through the laptop's closed screen to reduce system temperatures while allowing GPU resources to be used for an external display.

svalt

Transform your laptop with a level of performance and functionality previously limited to the highest-end desktop computers. Heat buildup in the laptop negatively impacts performance and long term durability. Anchored by the passive cooling capacity of a highly engineered 2 pounds of aluminum, SVALT D enhances cooling with a 12-volt 80x25mm fan to drive airflow through the laptop's closed screen position air vent. Airflow is directed over the internal electronic components and bottom panel, feeding cool air into one or more of the laptop's fans and driving waste exhaust air out vents, flushing out heat.

The company says that real world results using the SVALT D will depend on the laptop used, the workload, and ambient temperatures, but it detailed testing on a 2012 11-inch MacBook Air:

- Fan: Red 1600-1700RPM
- Environment: 21 Celsius +/-1 and 50dB +/-5 office standards
- Cooling: 13C increase without SVALTTM D verses 1C increase with SVALTTM D
- Power: 0.748W increase with SVALTTM D verses -2.616W reduction without SVALTTM D
- Turbo Boost: 1.000GHz increase and sustained max Turbo Boost with SVALTTM D verses a throttled 0.653GHz increase without SVALTTM D
- Noise observation: slightly louder than background noise at 2ft from front

svalt2The dock ships with a power supply and it can be used with the fan on or off. There are two fan options -- a higher-powered red fan that runs at 1700RPM/15 dBA and a quieter Yellow fan that runs at 1200RPM/12 dBA.

The SVALT D works with current-generation MacBook Air and Retina MacBook Pro computers, including 11, 13, and 15-inch models. The SVALT D is currently in production, and the company plans to begin taking orders in February. The dock will be priced between $130 and $150.

Tag: SVALT

Top Rated Comments

Hedwigg Avatar
148 months ago
I've never have a need for a cooling dock on any of my MacBook pro.

Sweet! Your usage dictates everyone else's usage! I'm so psyched to know I'll never need one since you've never needed one... thanks!
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
148 months ago
Sweet! Your usage dictates everyone else's usage! I'm so psyched to know I'll never need one since you've never needed one... thanks!

Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
148 months ago
Operated in clamshell mode

The MacBook can be used while docked--the MacBook operates in clamshell mode, with external monitor and peripherals. See http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201834 for instructions regarding use in clamshell mode.

*disclosure, I'm a consultant to SVALT, so not disinterested.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
penter Avatar
148 months ago
This looks awesome, but I wonder if placing the laptop vents *downward* is the best way to go...
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PowerBook-G5 Avatar
148 months ago
I feel like you've mistaken the speaker grill for vents, but I've never had a 15" rMBP.

I don't have a rMBP, but the speaker grills are on the top, with the keyboard nestled between them. The air vents that he speaks of are on the sides on the notebook. Check out this picture...



If I recall correctly, these vents (on either side of the MacBook) draw in Air that cools the machine. The vent by the hinge is for exhaust. Also check out this (http://youtu.be/uzK0Cu5nfUE?t=3m20s). It should help clarify this...
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
148 months ago
Extra real estate is key (I'm a film editor so I've got my 27" iMac along with 2 external monitors), but you're not really gaining all that much real estate if you're not using the monitor that you paid for in the laptop...all you're doing is pushing the information over to another monitor...

Are you really this dense? Can you put your iMac in your backpack and take it with you? People like the portability of a laptop but at home want a bigger screen and monitors are a lot cheaper than whole computers. Plus the not everyone wants to deal with having two computers.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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