Questions regarding a DIY Cooler

Hey, I live in the UK and I'm finding it hard to source a good laptop cooler that is within my budget of about £20-30, as a result, I would like to build my own cooler. It may be better as I can position the fans where I want them.

My biggest concern is how to power the fans, I'm not good with DIY or with wiring for that matter. Research tells me that fans powered by means other than a USB socket are more superior to those powered by a USB socket.

I would be really grateful and happy if someone could give a guide on how to wire the fans together, and to a 12v plug (I think?) which plugs into a wall socket.

Thank you!

 

for USB, the limit is 5v 500mah, and a usb port is used up(you can make the cooler with a usb port, but devices that draw a lot of power like 2.5" external HDD can't run with the same USB port).... coolers with usb are more portable, but i guess when you design something yourself, it'll probably be heavier/bulkier than products that use plastic...

there are 120/240v AC->12v DC adapters available... you can use desktop fans or whatever you want, figure out the voltage and current needed and connect them.. basic highschool/college electronics

 

Thanks for replying. I'm going to be totally honest and admit I'm useless with DIY and wiring, but hey, everyone was new at one point. I have an AC Power Adapter that was lying around. Say, for example, if I bought this desktop fan:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-003-AK&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=819

It has a 3-4 pin adapter, how would I connect that to the AC Power Adapter?

 

for pc fans, it either comes with a 3 pin small connector that connects to your Motherboard like attachments, or oa 4 pin molex connector.

both of these connects to a computer PSU molex.
they have adapters that can be used to do so.

this item, for instance, connects 4 fans to a molex...

but basically, you'd be better off trying to connect it to your USB...

you can google USB cables and see which ones is the 5v and solder the connections of your fan to it...

take a look at this here...


you can connect your fans to the black and red connectors here via soldering and some shrink wrap... plug this to your USB in your laptop and it'll power it up...

 

Hmm, would a PC PSU (<300w), with a few connectors for the fans be okay? Maybe I could place the PSU in a seperate box to the cooling stand, so I don't have to make the stand really high to fit the PC PSU.

 

FYI, a quick look on Dabs.com shows the Akasa Libra can be had for twenty quid. The Zalman NC1000 is also under £30.

 

You could use a 220VAC 120mm fan, which produces huge airflow. There's also 140mm and 80mm version. Just easy to wire (no red or black wires) and use.

 

Forgot about Dabs, whoops , but thank you. The Zalman NC1000 looks insufficient for my laptop tbh, and it seems, according to some other diy cooler projects, that a diy cooler when built properly and designed properly, can be cheaper but also more effective than pre-built commercial ones, but we'll see how this diy one goes, I'm quite excited.

 

you can use any PSU... if you have a really old computer, or even some of those slim desktops, the PSU is nice and small...

you will need to learn to short out the 20 or 24pin atx main power connector so the juices get flowing... (it's just inserting a paper clip to short out the green and black wire connectors)

 

Got it all sorted thanks! Main concern now is, would a 300w PSU fry or blow, if I only used about 3 fans which totals to about 50-70watts?

 

Personally I'd have other concerns such as noise, ungainliness, etc going by what's been written so far. If the 13/14-inch friendly NC1000 is too small, Akasa and Cooler Master I think do 17-inch friendly coolers within £30 too.

 

it's safe, but you will be wasting some power, a psu is more power efficient when operating at about 75% of it's full capacity or so i have heard.

 

I've found the CM Notepal Infinite on ebay for about £27, will save it and keep it in mind.

Regarding the DIY, I think I'll scrap the PSU idea and just wire a fan or two to a 12v AC-DC Adapter, after some research it seems easy enough (hopefully)