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Another custom Laptop Cooler

post #1 of 21
4/25/06 at 12:57pm
Thread Starter 
This post is basically to show one option for the improved cooling of a 17” laptop, and hopefully it will provide some inspiration for those who enjoy improving and creating.

That being said here’s what I was up against when buying my new Dell XPS M170, and trying to use the old cooler from my previous laptop (Acer 15” something or other).

My old laptop cooler: A Vantec Lapcool 2

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.c...ler_1892_26263

Not a bad little device, has 2x speed variable fans, USB hub, and can be USB powered directly from your laptop.

Problem is that on the XPS the bottom air intakes do not come anywhere near the fan locations of the Lapcool 2.
Most of the laptop coolers I’ve seen for sale would also have this problem.

Here’s my solution:

http://home.insightbb.com/~bucky.f/cooler1.JPG
http://home.insightbb.com/~bucky.f/cooler2.JPG
http://home.insightbb.com/~bucky.f/cooler4.JPG
http://home.insightbb.com/~bucky.f/cooler5.JPG
http://home.insightbb.com/~bucky.f/cooler6.JPG

I started by taking the guts out of the Lapcool 2- just the circuit board for the USB hub and fan controller.
I used a sheet of ¼ inch think Plexiglass and cut two pieces to size. Along with some spacers and bolts this made the frame of my cooler.
Pulled 3 low profile power supply fans out of some old PSU’s sitting around the shop. (yes they are 12 volt fans)
Then cut the Plexi to allow for the fans to line up with each vent on the bottom of the laptop.
I can run the device on the 5 volt USB straight from the laptop, or plug in a 12volt power adapter for even faster fan ops.

Few other things I did to finish it out, smoothed the edges out on the Plexi- edges can be very sharp after being cut! Also I counter-sunk some holes in the top to line up with the laptop feet so it doesn’t slide.

Cost = not sure since I had all of the parts sitting around.
Weight = 3.76 lbs not exactly light, but not anywhere near the XPS weight.
Time ~ 2 hours.

Results are ~ -3 to 5 degrees Celsius for the GPU and CPU, and ~ -2 to 3 for the memory when idle. Tested using I9KfanGui to log temps while playing HL2 and Oblivion and no parts got over 60 degrees Celsius, average temp is about 50 C.
However because this laptop is only a few weeks old I have as yet tried any overclocking on it, so I’m not sure how much of a benefit this device would be to anyone who has.
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post #2 of 21
4/25/06 at 2:03pm
Very nice! I think I'm gonna have to try to build one to replace my very old Lapcool 1.
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post #3 of 21
4/25/06 at 2:08pm
Wow..

Very nice work. Man, you could sell those here. Hell, I would buy one...

for the right price..

Awesome Work..
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post #4 of 21
4/25/06 at 2:28pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks guys.

Believe me I'd be willing to make more, I had alot of fun in it's creation. Unfortunately I think all the parts and time would cost way to much for most people. Probably over $50 for parts alone.

I just happened to have the spare parts around from other projects, and of course the Lapcool which I bought for around $30 new. Of course to make one you wouldn't necessarily need a USB hub for it, just a low DC voltage for the fans, so that'll save some cash.
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post #5 of 21
4/25/06 at 5:16pm
I like the idea.. but here is where I see a problem. You have the fans mounted so that there is no intake. With it sitting flat on a table there is no place for the air to go.

It's kind of like putting a sheet upagainst a box window fan. It has to work harder at sucking the air and there is no Flow.

I think you need holes at the bottom of the plexy as well, and it needs to be raised at least a 1/2 inch in order to let the air in.
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post #6 of 21
4/25/06 at 5:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pugsly0014
I like the idea.. but here is where I see a problem. You have the fans mounted so that there is no intake. With it sitting flat on a table there is no place for the air to go.

It's kind of like putting a sheet upagainst a box window fan. It has to work harder at sucking the air and there is no Flow.

I think you need holes at the bottom of the plexy as well, and it needs to be raised at least a 1/2 inch in order to let the air in.
Yeah, I'm seeing the same thing. Looks like a great idea, but it doesn't look like there is enough room there for the fans to suck in any air. Need to do something about that or they will be moving virtually no air at all.
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post #7 of 21
4/25/06 at 9:32pm
Thread Starter 
Actually there's about 1/8 to 1/4 inch gap between the bottom plexi and the fans. They have plenty of room for air flow. It actually kicks quite a bit of air out of the top when in 12 volt mode. I have the top plexi at a bit of a slant so it may be hard to see the gap. I forgot to take a picture from the side-sorry!
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post #8 of 21
5/1/06 at 4:44pm
Wow, good work, this is a cool mod, not sure if I can do something like this, but I am inclined to try.
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post #9 of 21
5/1/06 at 7:05pm
s33ckzzzzzyyyy!!
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post #10 of 21
5/2/06 at 12:46am
Great looking rig Dave!
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post #11 of 21
5/2/06 at 3:13am
It looks pretty badass. Have you done any comparisons to a Spire Pacific Breeze in terms of temps?
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post #12 of 21
5/2/06 at 10:03am
Thread Starter 
Those Pacific Breeze coolers are a nice design, but I can see a few flaws in thier design when being used with my laptop in particular.

1) how do you operate one of those with your laptop in your lap?

Seems like it would be tricky to keep the cooler lined up. Thing is, with my M170 the fan intakes for the CPU and GPU are right where my legs would be if my laptop was in my lap. With the cooler design I made there's a bottom plate that I can rest the whole assembly and laptop on my lap and move it freely as one complete unit.

2) Air flow. It looks like the Pacific Breeze takes air from above the cooler and pushes it down and under the back of the laptop. Well with the M170's design the exiting air from the laptop comes out of the back, right into what would be the intake of the Pacific Breeze, thus you are constantly recycling the exausted hot air. Now this won't be a huge problem, but it seems to me that once again my design is better in that it takes air from all sides UNDERNEATH the laptop(hot air rises right?) and forces it directly into the intakes of the fans. Also there is a fan to push air directly into the memory vent as well, so you have active cooling there too.

Just my opinion on how that cooler would stack up with the M170. Although for the price I'm sure the Pacific Breeze is a great item, and that it will do a nice job of cooling your laptop. Unfortunately I have never used one in person, so I couldn't say for fact what comparison there would be between it and my cooler.
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post #13 of 21
5/2/06 at 10:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Infamous_dave
Those Pacific Breeze coolers are a nice design, but I can see a few flaws in thier design when being used with my laptop in particular.

1) how do you operate one of those with your laptop in your lap?

Seems like it would be tricky to keep the cooler lined up. Thing is, with my M170 the fan intakes for the CPU and GPU are right where my legs would be if my laptop was in my lap. With the cooler design I made there's a bottom plate that I can rest the whole assembly and laptop on my lap and move it freely as one complete unit.

2) Air flow. It looks like the Pacific Breeze takes air from above the cooler and pushes it down and under the back of the laptop. Well with the M170's design the exiting air from the laptop comes out of the back, right into what would be the intake of the Pacific Breeze, thus you are constantly recycling the exausted hot air. Now this won't be a huge problem, but it seems to me that once again my design is better in that it takes air from all sides UNDERNEATH the laptop(hot air rises right?) and forces it directly into the intakes of the fans. Also there is a fan to push air directly into the memory vent as well, so you have active cooling there too.

Just my opinion on how that cooler would stack up with the M170. Although for the price I'm sure the Pacific Breeze is a great item, and that it will do a nice job of cooling your laptop. Unfortunately I have never used one in person, so I couldn't say for fact what comparison there would be between it and my cooler.

As for #1 I have never used my laptop in my lap, but I guess for thoes who do it would be a problem.

#2 you would have to see it sitting in the back of the laptop. It's fans do not interfear with the exaust of the laptop fans. It sucks it from the middle and blows it underneeth where the intake ports are. I have noticed from using it that it does help. Usualy after 20min of playing WoW my CPU fan goes in to High speed. IT doesn't do this when I am using the PacBreeze. I am happy with it. It fits in my backpack and doesn't take up a lot of room. I havn't had to use it on the high speed mode and it's more queit then my CPU fan on at high speed.

All in all, I say it's a big win for under $20.
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post #14 of 21
5/2/06 at 2:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pugsly0014
As for #1 I have never used my laptop in my lap, but I guess for thoes who do it would be a problem.

#2 you would have to see it sitting in the back of the laptop. It's fans do not interfear with the exaust of the laptop fans. It sucks it from the middle and blows it underneeth where the intake ports are. I have noticed from using it that it does help. Usualy after 20min of playing WoW my CPU fan goes in to High speed. IT doesn't do this when I am using the PacBreeze. I am happy with it. It fits in my backpack and doesn't take up a lot of room. I havn't had to use it on the high speed mode and it's more queit then my CPU fan on at high speed.

All in all, I say it's a big win for under $20.

I agree completely. I also play Wow using the Pacific Breeze. The fans do not interfere with the exhaust whatsoever. There is a huge difference when gaming with it or without it......although it does require to have the fans blown out frequently.
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post #15 of 21
5/4/06 at 5:10pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pugsly0014
All in all, I say it's a big win for under $20.

Ahh thanks for clearing that up, I was curious.

For less than $20 you can't beat that deal!
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post #16 of 21
9/13/06 at 3:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pugsly0014
I like the idea.. but here is where I see a problem. You have the fans mounted so that there is no intake. With it sitting flat on a table there is no place for the air to go. It's kind of like putting a sheet upagainst a box window fan. It has to work harder at sucking the air and there is no Flow. I think you need holes at the bottom of the plexy as well, and it needs to be raised at least a 1/2 inch in order to let the air in.
One could purchase two of those pci-slot style fans like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835166038 and reverse the polarity so they are sucking in from the side instead of blowing out. That would give you tons of air intake. I don't know how well those fans would work in reverse, since the blades are probably a hamster-cage design, but it might be worth an experiment for $4. I hate to do this, but it looks like this one has the same fan-location config as yours does, and it's only $14... http://www.hardwarecooling.com/produ...luminum_Top_Pl
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post #17 of 21
9/16/06 at 9:30am
I have tried several coolers and found teh best way to keep my M170 coosl is by removing the the little covers that has the XPS logo on it right above the keyboard. It also has the power button on it. I then place a small 9.8 CFM fan right over the opening above the Nvidia card. Turn the fan on and voila my temps never get above 72 for my GPU,(GPU is over clocked to 450/1250). I also use the same small fans and and use velcrow to hold them to the undrside and force the flow directly into the air intakes of the fans. Again leave enough room for proper air intake. This is what I have found works the best for me. It might not be what works for you, Because I travel for business alot with my XPS i just want to keep it all small and portable. All three fans are powered by a 12V adapter that has multiple Voltage outputs.

Cheers

I am currently trying to make a more cosmetically appealing version LMAO, I will post some pics when I am done.
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post #18 of 21
9/16/06 at 9:47am
Nice project! Mine is similar except for the USB hub, but that's mainly because of my many fans' power usage. Don't want to kill my on-board USB port by overdrawing power.
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post #19 of 21
9/16/06 at 1:26pm
After the 6-7 months of using i8kfangui, I've noticed that I can do pretty much anything on my laptop while it's sitting flat on a surface (no cooler) and fans turned on low and it will never get over 32°C. I can also play games and turn the fans on high and never got anywhere near seriously hot temps. I don't think a cooler is really even necessary. That's my experience anyway.

Only thing I've done is put in AS5 and undervolted.
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post #20 of 21
9/16/06 at 1:45pm
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