Making custom fan controller for laptop cooler

People might think I'm crazy or just silly but I'm new to making custom things and I'm interested in getting more familiar with building circuits etc.
I have a Cooler Master U3 (except I removed one of the fans in the hope it would increase the power of the other two but probably not???).

I bought a case fan and a suitable adapter, wired it up and strapped it to my laptop cooler.


It works great but its fiercely loud! I want to get another fan (possibly with LEDs) and control both from a rheostat type fan controller. Also thinking about putting some LED or Cathode tubes on laptop cooler.
It may be that I just wire my adapter to a molex socket and plug fans + LED to that, if that is even possible.
I thought about buying a pre-built one but if possible I'd rather make my own. Any ideas or tips?
Could I use the controller from my cooler master (5v) to control my 12v fans?

Feel free to make fun at my naivety about these things!

 

hey. Nice project - I'm thinking of doing something very similar. I feel the fans are not powerful enough for cooling
I was thinking of upgrade all my 3 fans to something a lot more powerful. I looked it up and the stock coolermaster fans that come in are only 1800rpm max! I would really like something a lot more powerful for cooling my alienware m17x XD

The stock fans are 5V 0.25A. I'm wondering if I'd be able to replace all 3 fans with 12V fans and make it run off USB....do you know if that's possible?
As for the sounds, I don't really mind too much. I wear a headset when i'm gaming anyway, and when i'm not I can just turn down the cooling, if the fan control will work with 3 12V fans that is XD

 

I did the same thing you did. I modded a pair of case fans and hooked them up to a molex adapter. I got a pair of LED fans on it right now, but I had the cheap black fans on it to begin with. As far as adding LEDs and Cathode tubes to highlight the cooler, the sky's the limit. The only challenge is getting power adapter which puts out enough power for the 2 or 3 fans you need and all the lighting.

As far as the sound goes, you can find quieter fans on Newegg, but the more air the fan moves, the noisier it can be. You will need to evaluate how much air you want your fans to move versus how quiet you want them.

U3 Fan Mod

 

Thanks a lot radji!
I'm looking to do something very similar project, and update my U3 fans to much more powerful 3000+ rpm fans that will keep my laptop really cool under gaming conditions

Which adapter did you buy? I'm trying to find one over in the UK but I'm have no luck at the moment

 

Local hardware store had a 12v 1 amp double molex AC adapter. It was a no name brand (aka real cheap) one. Depending on the fans you plan on running, you may need a 1.5 amp adapter or higher current.

 

These fans I'm looking at don't seem to go beyond 0.3a each, so I think a 1A will do, but if i find one at slightly higher i will go for that.
Do you have you buy ones with 4 pin molex prewired? Is it possible to actually just cut the solder it from wire to wire and tape it over? Because i think that would be preferable for me.

 

Oh, absolutely. You can splice a molex pigtail to a 12v adapter. Only reason I suggested a higher output capacity adapter is some people want to use high flow fans with their cooler mods. Those fans sometimes take upwards of 0.5 amps so to run two of them, you'd need an adapter which puts out 2 amps.

 

Amazon.com: Manual 12V DC Variable Speed controller with Molex connector: Computers & Accessories

here is tis but note it murders current....so expect it to kill fans performance. They also sell a 12v 2 amp power supply but it is super cheap but works.

Note this review from amazon...it points out the voltage range and how it kills current.

PM me if you need me to reply