Completed: DIY Laptop Cooler!

[Dbz Hertz]

Hey everyone, I've finished building my laptop cooler. It took me a couple of days to research, acquire parts, and assemble. Here it is. let me know what you think.

I decided to build this out of a tote because I can carry all of my laptop peripherals in one, convenient, package. The laptop sits right on top, securely. I used a 5 gallon Hefty tote. I liked how it had the snap handles, and it had a very sturdy (not flimsy) lid.



I ended up buying some Noctua fans. I like the way they look, and they have good airflow, they are very well made, and they are extremely quiet at full blast. They were expensive, but worth it for the quietness. Yesterday I bought some ENERMAX fans with LED's just to see how that would look.

I used nylon screws because I didn't want the look of metal. I also used rubber washers to eliminate possible noise. Besides, it looks cool with the washers. I used a 3" hole saw for the holes.



Pep Boys had the cheapest price for this 36", self adhesive, LED strip. Just for show, obviously. I cut 1 1/2" holes around the entire box for air intake and for USB cord routing (i.e. if I had an external HDD inside).



I bought both switches (SPST), and the DC input jack from Radio Shack.



I decided to whether strip the top of the box to keep the lid from potentially rattling. The lid fits nice and tightly now.



I also bought this power adapter from Radio Shack. The voltage settings are used to reduce the fan speed or LED brightness at will.



I bought this suction cup thermometer at Home Depot. During initial, basic, testing, the temperatures inside the enclosure have dropped 3 degrees F compared with temps outside of the enclosure. I will do some testing with dry ice to see how cool I can get the air inside.







I'm contemplating installing a card reader or USB ports, but I'm not completely sold on the idea. I'd like to keep my storage space within for my peripherals.

That's it! I hope you all like it. Let me know if you do, and throw some more ideas out if you like.

[hizzaah]

Before/After temps for the laptop? Looks great though. I probably would have painted it to match the laptop, but yours does have a finished look. I like how you installed the power jack/switches as well as how you grommeted the holes. Very professional looking!

[Dbz Hertz]

Before/After temps for the laptop? Looks great though. I probably would have painted it to match the laptop, but yours does have a finished look. I like how you installed the power jack/switches as well as how you grommeted the holes. Very professional looking!

Thanks! I may just paint it. I'm not sure where it'll go from here, but I can't imagine I'll leave it alone.

I'll be doing a first test later today comparing my old cooler vs. the new one, then I'll be disassembling my laptop to clean out the dust bunnies, and put in my new processor, SSD, and upgrading the thermal paste to ICD7. Once I finish that, I will do a second test with both coolers to see how the temps have changed.

[hizzaah]

Woah, major overhaul it sounds like good stuff. Keep us posted!

[Dbz Hertz]

First round of testing completed. The testing consisted of an Intel Burn Test for 10 passes and one pass of 3DMark06 for each cooling method. Method #1 was no external cooling. Method #2 was using my Targus USB powered twin fan cooler. Method #3 was with my DIY cooler.

Method #1 (No Cooling)

3DMark06 score: 9037
Intel Burn temps: 50C min, 95C max


Method #2 (Targus Cooler)

3DMark06 score: 9082
Intel Burn temps: 46C min, 94C max


Method #3 (DIY Cooler)

3DMark06 score: 9330
Intel Burn temps: 35C min, 89C max


I have to say I'm very pleased with the results. The 3DMark06 scores aren't very far apart, but I'm happy to see an improvement regardless. The Intel Burn test results are a little more drastic. I wasn't expecting to see a 5 degree C change in temps with the new cooler, and I am very pleased with the Linpack output.

There was a pretty drastic difference in time taken to complete the 10 rounds of IBT.

The no cooling solution finished the IBT in 1058.18 seconds (17.6363333 minutes). It had double digit speed scores in only the first 2 rounds.

The Targus cooler finished the IBT in 829.255 seconds (13.8209167 minutes). It had double digit speed scores in 6 of 10 rounds.

My DIY cooler finished the IBT in 709.465 seconds (11.8244167 minutes)! All 10 rounds showed double digit scores! Awesome!

Overall, I am very very pleased. Round 2 of testing will commence after I swap my P8400 for a T9900, install my SSD, apply ICD7, and clean out all of the dust. I will run the same tests next time.

[hiarieshi]

Dam dude, you're laptop is wayyyyy tooo hot!

But I like the invention, storage space and you can use it on your lap or elevated coffee table

[Dbz Hertz]

Dam dude, you're laptop is wayyyyy tooo hot!

But I like the invention, storage space and you can use it on your lap or elevated coffee table

Oh, yes, WAYYY TOO HOT. I completely agree with that. That's why I'm cleaning it up and upgrading parts. I've neglected it for the past year or so because I thought I'd have a new one by now, but things have changed and I have to squeeze every last ounce of life out of this.

This is the test before the test. I just wanted to test this laptop the way it sits now so I can see how drastically the temps change. Starting later this week I will be disassembling this laptop and performing the upgrades.

Thanks for commenting.

[aznpos531]

Looks pretty good! +rep
Good choice on the Noctua fans. Quiet and excellent airflow; definitely worth the money.
If you want a little more airflow with minimal noise check out the MegaFlow 200 Blue/Red LED (R4-LUS-07AR-GP). They're larger so they provide an impressive 110 CFM at only 19 dBA (about 2 dBA higher than the Noctuas IIRC). They don't last as long as the Noctuas but they're also a bit cheaper.
I've been itching to build a custom cooler for my system as well. Might just start up my project after seeing your thread.

[hizzaah]

waiting on an update for this...

[Dbz Hertz]

Looks pretty good! +rep
Good choice on the Noctua fans. Quiet and excellent airflow; definitely worth the money.
If you want a little more airflow with minimal noise check out the MegaFlow 200 Blue/Red LED (R4-LUS-07AR-GP). They're larger so they provide an impressive 110 CFM at only 19 dBA (about 2 dBA higher than the Noctuas IIRC). They don't last as long as the Noctuas but they're also a bit cheaper.
I've been itching to build a custom cooler for my system as well. Might just start up my project after seeing your thread.

Thanks for the rep! As for the Noctua's, besides being quiet and having good airflow, they seem to be very well made. It's a little hard for me to explain, but even the insulation around their wiring is top shelf.

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll be sure to check them out. You should definitely get started on yours. I had a great time designing and building mine. I made about a thousand trips to Home Depot, Lowes, Radioshack, and Harbor Freight, and I had a lot of fun doing it.