Custom M1530 cooling pad

Hi all, I’m thinking of building a cooling pad for my M1530 to keep the temps. low while gaming.

I'm hoping this will add a bit more headroom for overclocking too, currently I set the clocks to 610/902/1220 on my 8600m GT, and the temps max out in the low 80s while gaming. I have overclocked it to 700 before but only testing on 3Dmark06, so I fear while gaming this will bump the temps. up too much. This is where the cooler comes in.

My basic design is to use an upside down baking tray (lol) with a desktop PC fan mounted so it would sit directly underneath the air intake for the system fan. I am also considering adding a second fan at the rear of the laptop help draw air from the exhaust outlet.



Another idea I had was to use a desktop exhaust fan to blow air into a hole in the side of the cooler and channel it into the air intake fan of the laptop. I’m not sure whether this method would be as effective though...



So, what do you guys think? Which would be the most effective cooler?

Any comments or suggestions greatly appreciated!

EDIT: should add that im thinking of powering the fans from an AC to DC converter, so there shouldnt be a problem regarding not getting enough power from USB ports etc.

 

Heres some custom ideas with benchmarks.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=286894&

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=300297

 

Hey, thanks for those links they will prove useful.

Anyone got any ideas on the best fan set up though?

Would it be best to have just the one fan underneath? or will it make a difference having oe for the exhaust aswel?

Also can anyone recommend which fans to use?

help much appreciated!

 

I've seen a couple retail fans that attach to the exhaust vents, and none of them got very good reviews, it would have to be fitted pretty well such that it would only suck in air from inside the notebook (can't leave any of the vent uncovered or it would suck air from the open part of the vent instead of inside the laptop), and that it wouldn't physically block the exhaust vent too much.

 

necromas is right. theoretically, if your vent is not properly sealed, the vacuum effect of an additional fan is lost and it in fact begins to impede the airflow of the original exhaust, thereby making the situation worse. best thing is to have the fans blow air into the vent underneath so as to generate a cooler ambient intake temperature.

 

Ok, thanks for the comments, i'll just stick to one fan below the main intake.

Does anyone know if there is a specific fan i should use for maximum cooling? Or do i just want to look for the biggest one with max rpm?

I'm going to have a look for a base for the unit, those other posts have given me a few ideas...

 

For fans you'll want to worry about:

-Size, you don't want them to be much larger than the vents if you're going to line up the fans directly with the vents.

-Noise Levels, usually lower than 20 decibels is considered fairly quiet.

-Variable Speed, do you want to be able to turn them down to reduce noise?

-Air Flow ratings in CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute), this is more important than RPM and is a measurement of the actual volume of air moved by the fan.

-Quantity, if you're lining up the fans directly with the vents, figure out what components are behind each vent and decide which vents need fans under them.

-Power is also important but it looks like you already decided to go with external power instead of USB, which is what I would have recommended anyways.

 

Ok, thanks for the input!

With regards to your comments:


-Size: So I should just go for a fan as big as the vent? A larger one wouldn’t offer more cooling to the rest of the laptop?

-Noise Levels: These won’t really matter too much; I will be playing sound through my external speakers so this should drown out any fan noise.

-Variable Speed: Not too sure about this one. It would be handy to have, however is it much hassle to set these up? Can anyone comment on adjustable speed fans? Will I need any extra switches or the like?

-Air Flow: Can anyone recommend any fans with high CFM for me?? Also best place to buy? I’m in the UK.

-Quantity: I was going for one fan, directly below the system fan for my lappy. Will adding extra fans simply blowing onto the components themselves make a difference?

-Power: yeah, as I mentioned, I’m planning on powering it via an AC to DC converter I’ve got.

Those are some good points you've raised, I'll need to bear them in mind. I'm going to have a look around town today for some components! If I cant find much it will be an internet job I think....