Any Ideas on making a custom Notebook cooler

I got 2 120mm fans to start, solder gun, wiring, etc. Need ideas on the tough part...which is what to use as a platform. I'm thinking a cheap home depot part will do...and maybe some black spray paint to make it look nice. Let me know what you guys have come up with. I need something to work with a 17" laptop in Sig. Thanks.

 

my opinion would be to design and build a frame for your laptop and then buy one of those cheap mesh office supplies things and use that as the surface. If you get creative enough you could even make it foldable and thus portable

something like this (sold in black also)
OfficeMax Silver Mesh Stacking Side Load Letter Tray

i find the best way to do things like this is to actually draw up plans taking into account the vents and normal "hot" spots for your particular laptop. For example my laptop doesnt really have issues with cpu and gpu cooling but the hdd's get extremely hot so a fan there would prove very beneficial. Just make sure you take your time and "research" your laptops heat issues and youll be happy with the result. (ive had a couple that look Frankenstein-ish but work fantastic)

 

I'd probably go with an aluminum-type mesh or a thin aluminum sheet with drilled holes. A rubber material for the feet would be good for providing better traction between the cooler and the working surface. You could also add a couple USB ports if you're up for the challenge

 

in my experience the difference in metals only really affects durability and not effectiveness so with whatever material you go for your best bet would be to get a mesh that has a honeycomb hole design as that offers a much better effective airflow percentage than say just round holes.

there is also something called modders mesh that is sold in 22 gauge steel with a honeycomb design but that stuff isnt really cheap and you have to paint it or plate it otherwise itll oxidize. (shouldnt really make much difference which ever way you go) if you buy this though make sure you follow their directions to paint it because if you dont your paint will just peel off.

 

starting to doubt this project. I've seen a barbecue grill converted into a laptop cooler, but the guy just zip tied 3 120mm fans, lol. Ultra cheap, but I don't know, the nzxt lx cooler might be worth it to me since it has all those extra usb ports.

 

You can check out my guide for a custom laptop cooler. I will make it more detailed throughout the summer.

World of Warcraft / Alienware Desk Laptop Cooler

 

if you want more ports just glue a usb hub to it on the bottom somewhere so the ports stick outwards and it may look pretty cool

 

Don't doubt such a project. You think I could have made such an amazing cooler if I doubted?

 

Love your set up Joe, so clean too. Going to make a mock up design with a cardboard box, and see if two fans under the laptop will even make a difference on temps.

 

buy one of those 3 dollar laptop stands from Ikea and put a couple of fans in it.

 

It does make a difference to the point that my M17X fans are on low to medium power while gaming...

 

The fact of lifting the back end does wonders without any additional fans powered on for most notebooks. Be very careful about which way the air flows on the bottom of the laptop when you're placing the fans - some vent out on the bottom, not in. A small desk fan pointed crossways and a bit down ended up being more effective for me than fans pushing air up and in - I suspect this is because the warm exhaust was getting slightly circulated back into the laptop when I was running the extra fans at full speed. You might want to block off the (typically) left side of the cooler to prevent that from happening.

 

What you say is correct for some laptops yet most gaming laptops which would require extra fans will have the hot air taken from the bottom and the hot air going out of the back. It's true for Asus gaming PC's, Alienware's, etc...

Only these laptops would require additional cooling.

 

Gaming laptops aren't the only ones that require additional cooling. Most media laptops, especially with i5/i7 and/or discrete graphics, appreciate cooling assistance. I wouldn't call my Studio 1558 a gaming laptop, but it can easily hit 80C if both the CPU and GPU are gonig full tilt on a warm day.
Regardless of the orientation of the ports, it's pretty important to make sure hot air doesn't get cycled back through the fans. I've seen plenty of notebook coolers and stands that have intakes from the back and/or the sides.

 

Stick it in the fridge....I don't mean to make fun here but I fail to see the point of the whole project.Just get a $5 netbook stand with fans on it and be done with it.

 

Heh, on occasion my netbook IS the stand.

The commercially available stands tend to have vents in the wrong place, so cooling effectiveness drops considerably. Using a generic stand could create a case where the fans blow air in nowhere near the vents. A netbook stand wouldn't be the right width for most laptops - edges hanging off everywhere and very unstable. Read the only stickied thread in this subforum, it should help clarify the "why?"

 

Yeah i hate it when people try to come up with their own creative solution.