Building a Cooler

OK, so the Zalman ZM-NC1000 was a cooler I was very interested in because of it's great performance and quality. However, the fact that it wouldn't work comfortably in the lap deterred me from purchasing it. I've searched the web for many coolers, but none of them met my expectations. Thus, I have decided to go ahead and build my own.

So, the basic idea is to take pieces of clear plastic (or some other material) and use it to make the rectangular frame of the cooler. Inside I'll put two high performance fans (quiet) that blow on to the notebook. I would probably want to power them through USB, but I'm not sure exactly how to do that. On the top, I'll stick on some rubber grips. Also, if possible, I really want to try to somehow put in a fan controller so I can easily adjust the speed of both fans. Of course I'd need and on/off switch. And, last, if I have any money left over, I'd put some lighting inside it. All of this, I hope, should come in no more than $50.

Now, I'm not an expert in notebook cooling. However, I have quite a bit of knowledge in desktop cooling. I know this description is a little vague, but that's why I'm open to suggestions on how to do this.

The main questions are:
1. What are the best fans to use?
2. How will I power them through USB?
3. Is there any fan controller that can work?

I own a 15.4" Sager NP2090 with the 9 cell battery coming out from the rear.

So, does anybody have any tips or suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

 

As A Simple Controller, You Could Use A 3 Position Toggle, With Full Current Pass-through, half current pass-through, and zero pass through...

just a thought

 

Well, I have considered that, but I sort of want a little more control over the speed of the fans. Although, if I can't do that, using a toggle will have to do.

 

can't you just buy a cooler and put the internals in your own case?

 

It would be possible to do with some coolers, however I'd much rather build it all myself. Plus, it would cost me more to buy a whole cooler then put it's fans into my own case as compared to buying some inexpensive fans.This project is also for my own fun, as I enjoy doing these types of things.

 

For USB power:

You can draw up to 500ma from the 5V USB supply.

Buy a USB extension cable, or the proper usb connector(or remove the connector from an old usb device that you don't want to use any more).

There are four lines in a USB connection. Two of them are power(+5V and ground) and the other two are for data. If you figure out which pin is the 5V and which is the ground, you can solder wires to the proper pins of the connector. Leave the data pins unconnected. Your laptop will always power anything plugged into the usb ports. Just be sure not to draw more than 500ma, or you may damage your laptop.

You can find USB pinout diagrams on the internet, or PM me if you have any more questions about this.

 

Well, I was aware of the 5 Volt and ground terminals, but my main worry is damaging my laptop. How can I make sure that nothing happens, as in how can a make sure the current is not above 500 mA? That's the main problem I have, since the only thing I've really powered through USB (excluding hardware that draws power from USB as default) is my cell phone. I would never risk my laptop.

Also, what desktop fans do you guys recommend I use? I need something quiet, but efficient. I'd also say that they should be 80 mm or 92 mm. Also, would you guys say that I get LED fans or fans plus cold cathodes? I see that one problem with getting LED fans is that I can't turn the lights off.

Also, what should I do about the fan controller?

 

Interesting, you could reverse engineer a cheap cooler than you don't like the design of

 

Heh, yeah, but as I said...I just want to make it all from scratch.

Anyhow, I was looking at these fans. They are all 80 mm and they have built in fan controllers. Out of these, which ones would you guys recommend? And also, I figure that not being able to turn off the lights won't be too much of a problem, so I'd be fine with either LED fans, or fans plus cold cathodes.

 

Have a look at:

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Laptop-Cooler/

this may help (I have not looked too close yet)

Edit:

There are a couple more links at the bottom of the page.

 

Great link scroobytec...I never would have stumbled upon that

 

Whoa, thanks for the link. There are some really nice links towards the bottom of that page to other coolers, and they're all very helpful. I can now see how I'll have my USB powered setup. Now, the only thing I have to do to is decide on the fans I'm going to get, and I'm good to go.

Thanks again.

+1

 

Not trying to put you off you project...but have you seen the Notepal Infinite? Have a look at my review and see what you think...air in take is at the back, + it has a flat bottom so you can use it on your lap

 

Actually, I have read your review, and I should mention that after the Zalman, that was my favorite. Even though the design was really close to my tastes, it still came out a bit short. It is definitely a good cooler, but I'll my sticking to a DIY solution.

 

500mA at 5V really isn't much, and that is part of why many notebook coolers aren't sufficient, they literally lack the power necessary. Here is some about my homemade cooler (one of them).

 

I realize that, but I have no other options. Powering it through an outlet would mean that I can't use it everywhere, which would be a big problem. Most of the work I do on this machine is through battery while on the go. So, even if they aren't very powerful, these fans will still help a little bit. While playing Need for Speed: Pro Street, the CPU was around 75 degrees while the GPU was around 80. With basic work it's around the lower 50's for both. I would like to decrease the temperatures at least a little bit to make sure this notebook lasts for 4+ years.

There is one thing I have considered though, and that's powering each fan with it's own USB connection. The only problem with that is that I would be left with only two USB ports, while I need at least 3 (for phone, mouse, and flash drive). This also brings up the question about if I should install a hub in the cooler. Thoughts?

 

well use the power from two usb ports...?

 

If you are worried about drawing too much off of your laptop and damaging it (which I don't think would be possible), you could always put a fuse in line with your wiring. It would be in between the usb plug that goes into your laptop and the fans.

 

Yeah, well actually I'm not too worried anymore. I never bothered to do a simple calculation, so I've concluded that I'm safe. However, a fuse line might not be a bad idea. I'll consider it.

Anyhow, I'm considering getting two of these fans. It only has a switch to control the fan speeds, so it's not as good as some of the other ones, however the performance, noise, and LED lights seem to make up for it. Thoughts?

Also, any more ideas about using two USB ports instead of one?

Thanks

 

be sure to put up a step-by-step tut. on how you made your cooler for the rest of us!

 

Well, your fan is a 12V that uses 250mA. If I am remembering correctly, you could put the two supplies in series and have 10V at 250mA, or in parallel and have 500mA at 5V, neither seems to be ideal, as this isn't even enough to fully power 1 fan.

 

Well, the performance will obviously not match a desktop, but I'd like to squeeze out as much performance as possible from USB ports. I'm still trying to decide if using 2 USB ports is a good idea. The problem is that if I use two ports, I'd be lacking ports, and a hub would be necessary. Now, another problem that arises is how I'll be able to use one of the ports to power the fan, as well as be used for the hub. I know it's doable, but not easy. I could use a third USB port just for the hub. Any ideas?

Also, would you guys say these are decent fans? I'd like to order them either today or tomorrow so it ships before this weekend.

Thanks

(Oh, also, I'll be sure to do a tutorial for this project )

 

Remember that if you put a hub in there that will use power, but any devices you put in there will use power, which you already are more than just lacking. I don't think the hub is a good idea.

If you are trying to do things on battery, why not underclock CPU and GPU? If you are doing really intense things, than you should be plugged in, which implies you could make a cooler that is not powered by the laptop.

 

i built my own ages ago and still use it everyday.
i have a 17" Acer aspire which would get very hot to the right of the touchpad.
all i did using 10mm MDF,foam sponge,and a 240v adapter with a range from 3.0v to 12v.
and im now thinking of a USB powerd verison.
as this was just for home use it was built more for comfort.

oh yeah and some cardboard tubes

will find pic's...
im an x engineer and love home builds

 

That is a good point. Another consideration is to simply get a hub and use one of the two remaining USB ports for it. I could try that, and possibly install the hub in the cooler for some more ease.

Anyhow, I do quite a few intense tasks while on the go, where there is no socket nearby. This is one of the reasons I have two batteries. However, my CPU will underclock itself down to 800 MHz when needed, and it actually runs around 1.1 GHz most of the time. The idea is that I want to lower the temperature as much as possible without losing the power of the high end components I payed for. I want the temperature to stay low so I can lengthen the life of the machine. Since most of my work is on the go, I need something that can run without a socket.

Cool. It would be great if you could show me some pictures.

 

Awesome man! This thread, along with your post, has inspired me to build my own as well. I have some scrap MDF that would be perfect for this.

 

Yeah, definitely one of the benefits of building your own is that you can position the fans anywhere. I'd also make sure that mine blows into the notebook, and has a direct hit on the CPU and GPU. Oh, and by the way, nice cooler.

OK, so I can't seem to find any better fans than the ones I posted above. If nobody else has any suggestions, I'll go ahead and order two of these. Thanks.

 

I just found this, which might be worth a shot at $3.00. Its 5V, and uses 400mA (you have 500mA per USB port), so it will at least be able to run full powr with no risk of damaging the computer. It might be the way to go, plus its a tad thinner than the others. I know it isn't the 80MM you said you wanted, but lets face it, you can't power that large of a fan anyway.

Found this too. You could power 3 of them safely from one USB port. They are also really thin, which makes design alot easier too.

 

I really don't want to get a 40 mm fan. I actually have one and I tested it. It had almost no effect on the temperature. I realize that I won't be able to power the 80 mm fans to their max, but I hope to get enough performance to be more effective than 40 mm fans. I'll go down to 70 mm at the very minimum. Also, these fans don't look too high quality.

Oh, how do these look? Apparently 7-12 volts at .327-.75 mA. This might mean a little redesigning, though.

 

Does anybody else have any suggestions? Should I go with the first ones, the second one, or something else? I won't be able to build it this weekend since I'm a bit busy, however I hope to have it built before Thanksgiving.

 

OK, I really need to decide what to buy tomorrow so I can place the order and have the parts for this weekend. Should I get a pair of the Arctic Cooling fans or one of the Vantec fans?

 

I think the Vantec will end up as a whole lot more work. You will have to destroy the assembly to separate the fans to position them properly, which will make them hard to use. Of the two, go with the Arctic cooling.

 

just buy one

 

Alright, Arctic Cooling it is then. Won't work as well as it would with AC, but it hopefully will provide a decent amount of cooling while on the go. Plus, it will be a head turner.

And like I've said before, I'd rather not buy one since most coolers aren't to my liking, and this seemed like a fun project to do.

Thanks a lot for the help guys. I'll be ordering two of these fans, one or two USB cables (have yet to make my final decision), and some wires. I already have the plastic for the frame and the sealant.

I'll put together a tutorial once I'm done, and I'll post results as well. If anyone else has any suggestions relating to how many USB cables to use, or anything at all, let me know.

Thanks.

 

What you need:

Home Depot / Lowes : Plexiglass, rubber feet or equivalant (try bathroom stuff like what goes on the floor of your bathtub)
Radio Shack : mini adjustable pentometer, some wire 12-18ga should be fine
Computer Store: 2 120mm Case fans

Thats the basics of what you need to construct it.

What you need to have or barrow:

A saw or other cutting tool for the plexi
A soldering iron for a professional job, or other means to work with the wires (ace spades and crips, silicon beans ect)
A electrical multimeter.


What to do:

If you really insist in using usb, then just get a usb extension cord and splice it, I forget the exact wire colors as i have not made a usb device in a while but you can test it with the multi meter easy, you just need the 5v and the ground wich I think is red and black. You will have to do alot of research for fans that will run well with that much power.

My project will have you use the battery directly for the power, or a header from the motherboard. You want a 12v source and then you can have some real power from your fans and a better reason to use a pent to control them.

Best thing to do is google for a few guides on making your own fan controller for a pc, they will have the right size pent in the guide and also probably have some other good instructions for things you can do to help you make this.

Cut the plexi to how you want it, put the fans where you need them, wire the pent on there and mount it. leave the wires to a central connector that is of the interface of your choice. Then wire the oppisite interface to your power source in the laptop.

These are just the basic instructions, If you have the modivation to build one yourself I think you can fill in the blanks easy, but if you have more specific questions you can ask me. As a electrician and a computer system builder I think a cooling pad would be an easy project.

 

I am intended to build a custom notebook cooler and will use 2 120 mm fans.
Can any one suggest a way how to power these up ?
If possible i wuold like to avoid using usb power.

Any suggestions are appreciated

Regards
Lawrence

 

Why do you want to avoid using USB power? You could draw power from a different place on your laptop motherboard, or you could use some sort of external power source(a small battery, another wall adapter, etc).

 

I have all the usb ports occupied

 

You could draw power from an occupied usb port, but I would worry about over-drawing from the usb. I believe USB is designed to be able to supply 500milli-amps at 5 volts. Some can provide a lot more than that, but that is all you are guaranteed.

Also, a lot of 12 volt case fans will not spin up at 5 volts, and they won't move as much air. Are you looking to construct a mobile cooler, or just something to keep on your desk?

 

Well..what do oyu intend by mobile ?
I would like to be able to shift it from one place to another but no too often either.

 

Btw...how much is supposed to be the RPM for a 120 mm fan ?

 

For 80 mm fans how much is the rpm and input voltage ?

 

RPM depends on the fan. All computer case fans are designed to run from 12 volts, so an 80mm case fan will be rated for 12 volts.

If you want to make something to just keep on a desk, and maybe move to another desk every once in a while, then you could just power it from a cheap wall adapter. If you want to be able to use the cooler wherever you go, you might want to think about building a small rechargable battery into your cooler. You could power the cooler from the wall when at home, and have the battery for when you're on the go.

 

I have changed my mind to using USB as main power source. What maximum voltage will I have available ?

 

You can only get 5 volts from a USB source.