my custom designed m17xR3 cooler design (PLANS)

well due to the cost of powder coating im going to sand it smooth and spray it with about 4 coats black and 2-4 coats clear, i think ill go flat because ot matches the lappy but otherwise ill go gloss

 

gonna add any cable management?

there's some that run around the coolermaster sf-19 i picked up, and i love it (since i hate having cables everywhere)

also, just fyi : this cooler dropped my idle temps by 15c for the mainboard and cpu in about 3 mins.

 

15 degrees is pretty good, I've never bought a laptop cooler ever. Made 2, both wood till this one for style and being in an open area and having no fans, increased airflow.

Cable management: yes only a few cables are going to visible and only if you look closely. I want a main goal of this to have a clean organized look.

About the sf-19 cooling, I think it is a very good production cooler, probably the BEST money can buy from a store if not close. But that system has only 2 140mm fans I believe (correct me if I'm wrong), which don't think I'm bashing because I'm not. That is a lot of cooling power, but the one I am working on has (2) 200mm fans pushing about 76cfm each and (1) 120 pushing about 45cfm which totals to about 170cfm-190cfm. That compares to desktop cases. The sf19 has (2) 140mm fans pushing about 50cfm each for a total of 95cfm-105cfm overall. So close to double cooling power means you could Mabey suck 25-30 degrees off your machine over 15 from the sf-19. Sorry I'm ranting and this is not directed at you either there was many people asking Why not just buy a market cooler such as the sf-19, and the facts show why. Not that most need it but a laptop could last probably a year longer with this being used over no cooler or even bottle caps on the feet. And I want more then 4-5 years from a $3000 range computer. Also noticing lots of people on here are using laptops other then alienware with 485m cards and other heat producing monsters. This should work for anything up to about 20" laptop (if there is one) and will still cool like a freezer lol

 

Ahh.. Completely forgot about that. It's a shame that no (or hardly any) EE ppl chimed in regarding the wiring lolz.

Heyo, can you explain what "cfm" means? Also, please link me to some good fans. I'm not sure if any of the case fans I've seen at Frys or online spin "fast." Please advise on what I should be looking for (I'm pretty sure it's the RPM I'm supposed to be looking at, right?).

 

Sure dookie, I know I'm confusing I m new to computers myself and came from working on motors/fourwheelers/using tools if you haven't noticed lol.

cfm is an abreviation for "cubic feet per minute" it is used on all air tools and compressors is the tool industry.

rpm is speed and is an abbreviation for "rotations per minute" and means speed typically in fans this can be good and bad, usually high rpm means high decibels (sound) and that is really annoying to listen to. That's why I chose 200mm fans they spin at 800 or so rpm and have very low decibels and high cfm.

To sum things up, when you look for a fan typically what you want is hight cfm (rpm doesnt matter as long as it has low decibel reading) and low decibels (20 and up is fairly noisy for a computer) and the fans I'm looking at as said put out 76cfm(high) at 800rpm (low) and 17 or so decibels(medium level).

Some people are not sure on decibel ratings so here is a little comparison:
160- jet taking off from 20 feet away
100- jackhammer/race car
50- home vacume cleaner/average tv volume
25- driving down the street in an average family car with mufflers etc intact
10 or 15- home refrigerator from outside

 

Sorry dookie forgot links. It's getting late, il post a whole bunch for you tomorrow of a whack of sizes from 100mm to 230mm

 

Plz just share links to fans that are of the 180mm range. I think anything above that is too big. Also, please share links to the fans that you will be purchasing, to give me an idea

Thx mang. Hopefully it's not only 1 person embarking on this project. (I'm hoping to join you in making one too)!

EDIT: Also, how about this one? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812123309? My gf's brother said that we could buy "splitters" or something to add more connections. Additionally, if I remember correctly, fans usually have the extra socket too, right?

This too: http://www.crazypc.com/products/acdc-12v2-7415.html, and this: http://www.amazon.com/LK-13821-LK-13811-Supply-Adapter-Connector/dp/B003WUZIDO/ref=pd_cp_e_1

Here's a cheap one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...pters+and+gender+changers-_-OKGEAR-_-12123308, and another one by the same brand: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...pters+and+gender+changers-_-OKGEAR-_-12123309

The last link might actually be the best one, cuz it's actually got a powerbrick, and the description says that it can support up to 5 fans.

 

Yeah I've seen spliters before and I'll post a link on one tomorrow with the rest but I have a few concerns on if they will work properly the way there wired. Anyway I'm signing off guys. I'll check this in the morning but don't expect a reply till tomorrow evening. Thanks dookie for the suggestions.

 

Gnite. I'm kinda regretting not buying the 2pack of coolermaster blue LED fans yesterday for 10bucks. I think it was 140mm or 180mm, can't remember. The box was as big in dimensions (L X W) as a cd-case.

 

Question for you:

Does M17x R3 need a cooler? I heard that it has a very good cooling system... or not?

 

It indeed has a good cooling system. But some of users (including me) want to make it cooler. But it's not needed depending on your room temps.

 

Ditto. I live in SoCal, so come summer time, it will be 100degrees, and I have very poor ventilation in my house, and no A/C so I'm gonna need all the cooling fans I can get. The room fan wont do nuttin either, cuz I cant just concentrate it on the computer while I'm burning at the same time in my room An external cooler, and possibly new thermal paste will hopefully aid in the longevity of our new toys. It's not that the R3's cooling system is bad or anything, but it's just the 2nd day of Spring, so we aren't really sure how hot it's gonna get quite yet, so better to be safe now

 

Yeah. It's just like adding extra TLC to our beast!

 

Well if you did want it powder coated then I could recommend a shop on the east coast. I used a local automotive customization shop when I built my custom water cooled gaming rig a few years back. Prices were fair, quality was top notch.

 

thanks for the suggestion but im on the west coast, Alberta Canada to be exact...

dookie im working on some links right now and i should have another rant up in a couple hours after i eat.lol turns out the 200mm fans put out 110cfm each at 700rpm so the whole system = about 290-310cfm






so its gonna be crazy cooling!!!!!!!

 

ok everyone, here are some details on what fans im thinking about.

the 200mm fans: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103073

the 120mm fan: Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER R4-L2R-20AC-GP 120mm Blue LED Case Fan

the total cost of the fans: 30.98$ (a little higher then i thought but high quality fans)
the total cfm of the whole system: 289cfm on 12v!!!!!!!
the total cfm of the sf-19: 121cfm on 12v


dookie here is a good 180mm fan like you asked... Newegg.com - SILVERSTONE FN181-BL 180mm Blue LED Case Fan
but is more expensive for this then the 200mm cooler master. but has very good cfm.


im gonna sinp the blue LEDs on the fans off and put some white ones in there place because the only ones with white LEDs had 166cfm BUT!!!! about 40dB

 

Man, those truly ARE expensive. Anything you recommend which is a bit cheaper for the 180mms?

 

Dookie, I look again but most others were either really loud, had horrible cfm, or had stupid hight rpm (not really that safe).


Also I just noticed I missed a fan on my price estimate. The real total comes to about $52 0_o which is stupidly overpriced but also stupidly powerful and I'm willing to pay it.

 

Can you re-list the correct fan links?

Also, please advise on where I would need to go to buy the correct metal to build the cooler's frame.

 

hey dookie. the fans are the same fans i listed but i missed one of the 200mm fans, i only counted one but i need 2.

to be honest, my best advice on where to get angle iron...is not on the internet, try a local welding shop or welding supply store, i dont know if there are princess autos in the US but i know they sell it usually. they also sell welders although there usually crappy quality, i bought one and it works fine for i use it for. if your buying a welder for the first time but a MIG gasless, a but more spatter then a gas one but hundreds less and better for recreational welding

 

K. My pop knows a couple of welding shops. He was just at one a couple hours ago placing an order for a gate or something for his work (he does construction). So I'll ask him to take me some day when I have the day off.

 

wow nice project. i always wanted to make my own cooler but never found the time to do so. plus in the end it would prolly cost me more then buying one, hehehe.

if you can find a sheet metal shop, depending on the gauge of the metal, you can just bend most of the frame without needing to weld.

 

had a little free time today, so i decided to do a little mock up 1/3 scale, with some extra material i have laying around. just took your idea and adding a little alienware favor to it. prolly won't ever make a real one, but hope this help you to make yours. only had an hour or so to spare so i didn't do the side panels but you get the idea and also sisn't have enough mesh to cover all 3 alienheads.

 

thats looks great man... good work and i think your right about the bending instead of welding im going to look into that. plus ill get nice rounded corners with no weld marks at all. thanks for the idea and creating that model it looks just awesome.

 

Yah! Rounded corners so you don't snip your fingers off Typically, how much would a custom metal shop charge for this kinda job?

Also, hooray for papercraft! It looks pretty tight.

 

sell the pattern to Alienware!!!
They would rebrand it as Alienware SPACE COOL PAD!

They could pay u from 100k - 1million usd

send a proposal tbh

 

Haha yeah I wish. The mockup is actually made from thin aluminum. I do a lot of custom fabricating for work, so I have alot of materials and tools handy.

 

Wow cool! That's quite laborious/handy of shenker!

 

probably a lot more then i want to pay lol im thinking in the $100 range for bending all of the material with labor and all. material is cheap like $20 but labor is about $60-$120 depending where you go so im thinking for a first try ill just weld/grind to a smooth finish and maybe try to mock up a better one later. 100% honest... inap has a WAY better knowlage of aluminum/metal bending then i do, i can weld and bend pipe but thats about the extent... so what do you think inap what would a ballpark be for price of all that bending. and i bet if all of up put all these ideas together and used inaps fan hole design alienware would be interested but probably not enough to pay a lot of money for, they would just get an alienware employee that knows about metal work to mock an almost identical one up and it would cost them half as much, hate to say it but thats how big industry's work. heck if i had all the equipment and time i would make and sell these as "The most Powerful Laptop Cooler in the Universe" lol every person that had one overheat ever would purchase one i bet. sigh*** if only i had the time,money, and equipment i would do it.

edit: lol inap as soon as i posted this i read your sig and it made me think you should probably make a full size one asap if your really melting holes in gpu's that made my day!

 

price will depend on the thickness of the metal. but the bends are pretty easy, prolly around $20 for the bends, but price will vary depending on the shops.

haha my real laptop cooler is a 13k btu ac unit, so i should be fine.

 

I would love to see a picture of that lol.

 

If anyone on here is expert or electronic hobbyist and wouldn't mind telling me what power supply I should use. I don't know what to use or where to get it from. It is needed to power the fans and LEDs.

 

The first thing I would due is take a look at the fans. Post here how much amperage it needs. It should say on the sticker. LED's can be figured out on line, the PSU will probably cost the most out of your project.

 

Grab the thing I suggested from Frys. It's only 9bucks, and is meant for 2 fans
http://forum.notebookreview.com/7276769-post48.html

 

you could probably use USB 3.0 to fully power the device since it supplies a lot more power then USB 2.0 did or give it the option to run off either or

Then you can start mass producing them and selling them. I bet you could make a pretty penny if ya did.

I'm sure a cooler built by hand perfectly customized for the m17x r3 to give max cooling benefit and look good doing it. I'm positive people would be willing to spend in the 75 range for something like that since high quality coolers can go for 50 easily already and they aren't hand made custom tailored to the m17x r3

 

i used a cnc router to cut the whole design.

 

@Shenker,

What's the update, mang? Anything tasty to show us??

 

sorry guys been on vacation, i will post the power consumption details in a while and we can go from there. @dookie, i would and have actually almost ordered it but i really have my heart set on three fans for some reason and would like to stick to that if i could

 

So what have you decided to be your powersource/wiring?

 

nothing as of yet... i think im gonna have to go back to getting a projectbox and switches, but still then i need help on what type/gauge wire to get because the only wiring i have ever worked with is wiring a house/garage with that thick wire used to carry 110 volt. im still working on redeciding what fan to go with because $21 is a bit steep, but the only other fan with comparable cfm is by NZXT and moves 166.2 cfm BUT produces a monster 37 dB! and is $18 so im kinda lost now, its like starting over again.lol im open to any suggestions for fans, wiring, layout, etc at this point.

 

man i love your idea, but in the end is it really worth all your money and time. i'm using the cm storm for $60 its one of the best coolers out there but i use it more as a docking station, and the looks goes great with the r3. btw the r3 cooling is superb a cooler isn't really necessary at all. just my 2 cents.

 

i guess your right, but i still would like to accomplish this one day, its also kind of hard without a real m17x to use for measuring and heat concerns. once i get an r3 ill open this thread back up and continue but for now im done with this guys, i really wanted to continue, and i will but not right now... thanks for all the help everyone, i really appreciate it and im gonna keep looking at this thread for reference because theres a lot of good info on here.

 

Can you use the CM Storm on your lap in bed? That's one of the reasons why I never wanted to buy a cooler.

 

No I only use it at work more as a docking station. I use a logitech lap desk at home, its doesn't have fans but is super comfy on the lap and also gives a nice angle for typing when on a desk. Like I said the r3 temps are excellent so a cooler really isn't needed at all.

 

Hey inap. Would you mind posting pics of your beast with the CM storm? Thanks!

 

Can you also post pics of the lapdesk with the R3 on and off of it, and with the R3 on it and on top of your lap? I wanna get an idea of how big and comfy it looks Thx mang!

 

I've read so many bad reviews of laptop coolers failing within the first year. I really want a good quality cooler; willing to spend $100 for it.

Read newegg and Amazon. CM Striker has many bad reviews of it crapping out. Same for NZXT Cyro cooler.


If you all know of some quality coolers, I'm very interested!

 

i'll get some photos up tonight, since the lapdesk is at home. will up load some cm storm pics in a little bit.

 

Thanks! Is your CM storm the 3.0usb version?

 

i think i got the usb 3.0 version but the outside box only said it was usb 2.0 but the ports are labeled "SS".