Temperatures, Cooling and Noise
The cooling system on the Valkyrie CZ-17 is pretty respectable. It managed to keep the entire system running fairly cool without producing large amounts of noise. That's not to say I couldn't hear it, but the sound wasn't your typical whiny sound that is associated with smaller fans.
The reason for this great cooling ability is due, in part, to the thickness of the system. This allows for a larger fan, which is quieter and a larger heatsink that can remove more heat. While the keyboard still warms up under a load, it's bearable and not as unreasonable as it could have been.
On the front of the system, we logged a maximum temperature of 110 degree Fahrenheit and a maximum of 105.5 degrees Fahrenheit on a location that is likely to be touched. For our friends using Celsius, those temperatures are roughly 43 degrees and 41 degrees, respectively. The palm rests stayed a cool 94.5 degrees Fahrenheit or 35 degrees Celsius.
Moving around to the back side, temperatures were even lower. The maximum observed temperature was again 110 degrees Fahrenheit or 43 degrees Celsius. This was observed directly above the heat sink assembly. The rest of the system was around 85 degrees Fahrenheit or 30 degrees Celsius.
The maximum observed GPU temperature was 97 degrees Celsius, not unreasonable considering I've seen desktop graphics cards that run hotter. Most GPUs can withstand temperatures in excess of 100 degrees Celsius (but don't aim for this temperature), so this isn't anything to be concerned about.
Even in light of the cool underside temperatures, it's still recommended to use the system on a hard surface to allow adequate airflow to the heatsink. It's a good idea to avoid prolonged use of the system on your lap, though doing so is unlikely to cause issue if you avoid the heatsink location. You will also have a hard time gaming if you don't have a hard surface for your mouse.
As previously stated, the cooling system is audible, though not necessarily annoyingly so. The sound it produces is more of a low whoosh, like a ceiling fan, as opposed to a whiny sound that can be produced by smaller systems. Overall, it shouldn't bother you too much during gaming and watching a movie, you won't be able to hear it at all as we tested.