3 laptopcoolers on each other

I currently own a logitech n100 laptopcooler. Basicly it belongs to the weakest coolers you can find on the market with 1 very weak fan. I don't see any difference in temps but I just use it because perhaps it has an effect during my intense gaming sessions.

Yesterday I found a laptopcooler with 3 fans on a dutch webstore and ordered it immediately since I couldn't find a CRYO LX laptopcooler anywhere. Here's the link to it in the webstore: Laptop Koeler 3 Fan - Laptop - kopen op blueface.nl

The basic info is this:
Size: 30cm x 27cm x 1,38cm
Coolers: 3x 60x60mm low noise 3000RPM, 21dBA

Since it was 10€ cheaper than my logitech and has 3 fans I payed immediatly and will receive it soon.

However, today I found a zalman nc2000 (which, depending on the positions of your fans is as good or better than the CRYO LX I wanted). It will cost me about 56€ (14€ shipping costs) from the Netherlands.
I found it on this link: ZM-NC2000 Silver Ultra Quiet Notebook Cooler tot 20 inch

Now I kind of regret I already ordered the other cooler for 20€. But now I'm thinking, since my laptop runs really hot (gpu = 87-91 celcius, cpu = 80 celcius) I might regret not buying it, since I recently upgraded to a 200€ ati hd 4670 gpu and am planning on buying a t9500 or t9300 to replace my t7300, and stuff a hitachi 7k500 in it aswell.
Since thats about 450€ of upgrades I want everything to run as cool as possible.


Now my question is, should I get the zalman? Or will my laptop run just as cool if for example I would put that 20€ laptopcooler on top of my logitech and use those 2 at the same time for laptopcooling.
Or how about I do get the zalman, and use all 3 of them on top of each other, since i'm using this laptop as a desktop replacement anyway it wouldn't bother me at all (though I might need to buy a netbook so the laptopcoolers don't use all the power from my usb ports).

So to sum up: what will be better?
1 logitech n100 + 1 20€ laptopcooler with 3 fans, or 1 zalman nc2000
and.... should I just go for it and use all 3 of them on top of each other?

 

Staking coolers wont do anything except cause instability... post a pic of the bottom of your cooler please

 

I couldn't find any pics on the internet, and don't have a camera atm but I can tell you that my laptopcooler has an opening at the bottom (ofc :d) and it is positioned in the upper midle.

[--- X ---]
[----------]
[----------]

Also, I just realised that the logitech designers made a huge error. The fan is supposed to take air from beneath, but when you put the cooler on a flat surface, the fan opening in the bottom is practily entirely closed because the bottom of the notebookcooler is flat without rubber feet to hold it up.

I was thinking that if I would put 2 or 3 coolers on top of each other the air would go trough more fluently and would also be cooler, resulting in lower temps. Btw, what do you mean by instability? Do you mean that to much power will be drawn from my laptop? Or do you just mean the construction will be unstable (I got special white flexible gum to hang up posters and could use that to reinforce my cooling tower :d )

 

Is that what the bottom looks like?

Nope youd end up clogging each fan just like the flaw of the logitech. By instability it would fall over and that gum wouldnt help if say you hit your desk walking by accident, the coolers would likely all fall over with you notebook.

 

Yes thats the bottom of my acer.

 

I would say the Notepal U3 (FAN EDITION) would give you the best bang for the buck and cooling experience. It would hit three vents unlike say a zalman nc2000 or the other one you posted it would likely not hit them very well as the vent placement is unusual. Also its pretty budget ranged, and will fit your notebook comfortably.

 

Atm I can't find the Notepal u3 in any store, perhaps it will become available in the future in the Netherlands (and probably never in Belgium rofl).
I always thought that the zalman nc2000 and cryo lx were the most powerfull notebookcoolers which is why I wanted them. But according to you the zalman will not give me the decent cooling i'd expect?

Since I already ordered that 20€ cooler with 3 fans I would only buy another cooler if it would really make a difference (i.e. I mean an acutal difference in temperatures, even if its only 2-5 celcius i'd be content).

 

You might achieve a slight bump in airflow if they're perfectly aligned, but you're very likely to burn out the fans as well.

 

Hu burn them out? how? Its just air I doubt the fans can go any faster just because the air is more easily available (they are clocked at a steady speed right?), so I expect the air to be cooler instead of faster.

 

Only if they're perfectly aligned and there's no gap between. I only mention it because I've seen over-rotated fans go bad very quickly as a result of dryer hose cooling hacks on desktops.

As far as airflow, the air will only go as fast as the fastest fan can push it. More fans do not increase airspeed or the amount of air cycled. They do increase the available pressure, so if there's resistance in the way (imperfectly aligned vents, for example), the fans push through.

The air is not cooled, there is no refrigeration cycle. "Cooler" is a misnomer, but "wicker" would be confusing.

 

Ehm what do you mean by push trough? Will they go faster despite their set rotation speeds?

 

i think u need to really throw that idea about stacking the coolers on top of each other out of the window. it's simply not safe, impractical, and doesn't make too much logical sense.

the cryo LX is one of the most powerful coolers available, designed for gaming/powerful/bigger laptops. the NC 1k/2k is a cooler more geared for general use and is renowned for it's very quiet performance. with that being said, either of those coolers will work if they are not compatible with your specific laptop's vent setup.

if u have no luck findin a cryo LX, or a notepal u3, maybe a coolermaster infinite might work for u.

 

The fan with the greatest CFM (cubic feet per minute, a measure of fluid throughput) will be the dominant factor. If there's no gap whatsoever between the fans where other air can come in, the CFM will only get as high as the fast one, no faster. For simplicity, I'm going to refer to the higher CFM fan as faster, even though there are more factors than just blade speed, and I'm going to assume that the fans are the same dimensions, just different speeds.

If a slower fan is pushing into a faster one, the faster one will produce some suction that speeds up the slower fan. If the faster fan is pushing into the slower one, it will create pressure that forces the slower fan to speed up. You cannot get faster than the fastest fan. If there's a gap between the two, the suction/pressure will be drawn/pushed through the gap, so the effect diminished. There's still some suction/pressure on the other fan, but it diminishes rapidly as the gap widens.


Personally, I just use a single cheap bytecc nc-500 that's nigh indestructible with a 5v 120mm high CFM fan and tons of mounting and vent holes drilled in by me (pain in the butt) to push lots of air quietly.

 

Ok guys thank you very much for all your advice. I couldn't find a coolermaster infinite, but thats no surprise since they barely have anything decent in Belgium and only the most known electronics can be found in the Netherlands.

I'm a bit dissapointed that my idea will probably lead to the death of the fans of my slower laptopcooler due to overstress, without any drop in temperatures.

I might try it just once out of curiosity to see what will happen, but that'll probably be nothing

Also, thanks for the advice about the zalman. I expected it to be an insane laptopcooler but since it won't fit my air vents in the right spot according to you guys, you prevented me from throwing away +-56 euros.

 

your next best option would to just build a DIY-type of cooler. u can get some really nice fans and wire everything up yourself. there are a few how-to threads that have already been posted in the past. some came out a little "rough around the edges", others came out really nice, but they were all relatively cheap and effective. u can buy some nice fans for yur GPU and CPU vents, and get a smaller/cheaper fan for yur HDD/wifi/palm rest area to cut down overall costs.

don't give up hope, and most importantly don't settle with an inferior product. there is always a cooling solution!

 

If you are desperate to lower the temp of your CPU/GPU, you can drill some small round holes on your backplate around the CPU/GPU area, it will dramatically increase the air flow and also make your laptop cooler much more efficient. I did that to my Asus G50vt, this simple mod made a huge difference for me. My Zalman NC2000 could only reduce the GPU by around 3-4 C before, after the mod it lowers my GPU by around 10 C!

The downsides are minor IMO, besides the obvious fact that you will have a slightly unpleasing look of your new backplate(well, that depends on how you drill the holes), the internals of your laptop will get dusty more quickly, I gotta clean mine with compressed air every month or so.