M17 Ventilation

For some reason, the racing game GRiD gets my GPUs hotter than any other game I own. I noticed my keyboard was a bit warmer than typical, so I started HWMonitor.

I set my M17 on a large hardback book, then on my lap. I was hitting 95C. I stuck a couple of bottle caps under the back end of the laptop. Now I was hitting 87C. I then took the bottom access cover off AND used the bottle caps. I was down to 83C. Give or take a few degrees for ambient temps, although my house is never very warm.

My old E1705's GPU was on the top of the motherboard, so there really was no way to get air flow across it without pulling the keyboard. The M17's GPU/CPU heatsinks are on the bottom.

Is anyone with a notebook cooler willing to take some baseline gaming temperatures with the bottom panel intact, and then remove the panel to see if there's any difference?

The M17 bottom panel is poorly designed.
It has small vents that are further covered with a black cloth mesh.
It has a reflective surface (like a mirror) that directs heat back toward the GPU/CPU.

I'll no doubt be removing the reflective tape, and drilling some extra holes in the cover.

 

I was thinking of removing the cloth mesh on mine. That stuff alows air flow, but not as much as it would without it, it does help keep dust down but if your not affraid to open this thing then dusting it out everynow and then wouldnt be to much of a problem.

 

I removed the mesh on the vents directly above the intake fans some time ago. Didn't seem to do too much. Gonna try to bribe the wife into getting me a laptop cooler today.

 

removing the bottom panel should definitely remove temps.

if you're going for a laptop cooler, the (generally speaking) best models are Zalman NC200, NZXT Cryo LX and Enermax Aeolus (although Mike2011 said it didn't work very well with the m17x, hope m17 is different). Vantec Lapcool Pro looks powerful, but it's pretty new, so not alot of data/feedback on it yet.

 

I've got what is available at my local stores. I'm just looking for something that will blow a bit of air on the bottom of the machine.

 

fair enough. M17 vents are all at the back, right?

 

No, I'm talking about the underside, where the fans intake their air.

 

sorry, yeah that's what i meant. the air intake vents are at the back of the bottom panel.

EDIT: was asking because i'm trying to figure out which cooler would work best with m17. Zalman's NC2000 for example has all the air vents towards the front, so it might not be as effective as other coolers where the cool air comes out towards the back of the cooler as well.

 

I just ran a test after reading your post, on Lord of the Rings Online, on my M17 which I have only had now for about a week.

Card 1:179F
Card 2:170F

If it got any warmer I could use them to reheat my coffee.

 

and in °C?

 

179f=81C
170f=76.6C

 

sounds about on-par for the m17's ATI cards. are you gonna measure the temps with the bottom panel removed too?

 

I wasn't planning on it. If they are right on par, then I really didn't see a need too.

I will say this much both those things run hot compaired to my EVGA 8800GTS in SLI I have in my desktop system.

 

Make sure that when you buy a cooler it pushes air into the bottom of the notebook instead of sucking air away.

 

aren't most modern notebook coolers built to push air out the top anyway?

 

Went and got some Targus notebook cooler, the 'Laptop Cooling Chill Hub'. Fired it up on AC power, and one of the two fans is vibrating like an SOB, so it's torn apart right now. Trying to get at the bearing for the fan to see what the hell the issue is. I'll let you know what the temps are whenever I fix this piece of sh*t.

 

It puzzles me why you don't just send it back?

 

Because brushless fans are easy to fix. 10 minute job.

 

OK. Piece of sh*t fixed.

I got down to 82C on one GPU, and 79C on the other. This is considerably lower than just the machine, access panel intact, sitting on a flat surface, which was ~95C.

EDIT:

In retrospect, the notebook cooler doesn't appear to be reducing temperatures at all. I've been running a game without it, panel off, getting the same 79C and 82C. I'll then start the cooler, allow temps to stabilize, and get the same.

I really don't like having the back panel off, so I'm going to run some tests to see if the cooler does any good with the panel on. I'm also going to remove all of the mesh cloth and the reflective sticker.

 

has anyone tried to undervolt the M17 to lower the temps?
a friend of mine did that with a PC a year ago.... his system works fine and at a lower temp

I was thinking to undervolt my M17...

 

undervolting can cause some stability problems.

 

I had the T7600 in my E1705 under-volted, and the CPU idled a few degrees cooler. The program was called Notebook Hardware Control.

On another note, is there a temperature monitoring program with a better user interface than HWMonitor? Something that displays temps down with the battery power icon?

 

i think Rivatuner has a feature like that. not quite sure though.

EDIT: nope, couldn't find one.

 

I traditionally used I8KFanGUI, but it won't read any of the temp sensors on the M17. I think it had very limited compatibility, as in a few Dell models.

 

Looks as if the M17 has the same vents as the M9750. Which I have on 4 bottlecaps as well, no cooler. It allows the air to flow suffeciently enough to do the job.

 

which kind of probs should have the M17 if undervolting?

 

CPU might become unstable or fail.

 

You'll just get a BSOD. At this point move the voltage back up a little at a time until you don't BSOD. Then you're gonna want to stress the system somehow, Orthos, Intel TAT, 3DMark, whatever.

 

Has anyone had the problem of air leakage in the plastic covering the media buttons? I know it's a little issue but it's annoying the hell out of me!

 

Could you post a picture?

 

Thats precisely what I was suspecting. BTW there is a useful guide to undervolt here in the forums. I am expecting my M17 with a QX9300... I will let you know how it goes after undervolting it...

Thx Turbodtalon

 

CONCLUSION TO NOTEBOOK COOLER TESTING.

I bought a Targus Chillmat, which has two descent-sized fans, that can be operated on either USB power or the A/C wall plug.

Using the Chillmat to blow directly on the guts of my M17 (bottom panel off), there was absolutely no difference in CPU/GPU/Chipset temps. Using the Chillmat to blow on the bottom of my M17 (bottom panel on), there was obviously a difference in how hot the external portion of the laptop got. Still, there was no difference in component temperatures.

I ran all my tests with the Chillmat on A/C power...so the fans were running at maximum capacity.

In conclusion, having proper ventilation and lowering your ambient temps is ALL you can do to lower component temperatures. Even with both Chillmat fans blowing directly on the internals of the M17, there was no discernible difference in temperature. Don't waste your money on a laptop cooler. Instead, go buy two bottles of your favorite beverage and use the caps under the rear of your M17 to increase ventilation.

 

i'm surprised. i noticed a sizable decrease in all system temps when using my Zalman NC2000. might be a design thing.

 

In a week or so I will be posting some picks of something I have been thinking of for some time now that I'm sure will help. I will be adding some washer/dryer venting tube to a wall mounted air conditioning unit as to direct the conditioned air directly to my computer desk and then into the m17 via the bottom intakes. I want to make it look real art nouveau style, like steampunk, as the duct work itself has that "Brazil effect". I will of course settle for a working unit first. As an added bonus the outside temperature in Canada is pretty low right now so I wont even have to run in cooling mode, just have the fans going.

A note for desktop owners... Most models of 120mm fans fit pretty even with the dryer exhaust duct (at least with the help of duct tape). I would take the blades out and add the duct to the frame of the fan. If you leave the blades in watch for pressure issues. Also remember to switch the forward facing fan to exhaust to get a nice tunnel going. That's if anyones even interested.

 

Hey whizzo. I just watched some youtube video on that Zalman. The guy claims a 10-15 degree drop in temps with his M1730. That's odd considering I can't get even a 1 degree drop with this Chillmat. The Chillmat has two fans running on A/C power.

It kinda sucks, actually.

 

yeah, that's close to what i'm getting. i think the reason is the different designs and fan sizes/speeds. the Zalman spreads the air from two 8cm fans over almost 2/3rds of the cooler, while the targus has two fans (which look kinda small tbh) that blow air directly upwards. so basically, the zalman is cooling the whole bottom of the notebook (which also means that at least some cool air is getting into the GPU & CPU intake vents), while the targus only cools what is directly above the two vents, which are placed in the middle of the cooler, where the intake vents for GPU and CPU usually aren't.

just my 2c worth.

 

I wish I could get one of those Zalman Coolers locally. That's a huge temp difference, which would lengthen the life of all the components.

 

ebay or newegg isn't an option? newegg especially has a great RMA/warranty service if that concerns you.

 

I wouldn't get the Zalman cooler, since it cools the front of the laptop.

I would get this NZXT cooler, since it cools the back end of the laptop where the M17 air ducts are.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834997340

 

the vents on the m15x are on the back too, and the Zalman does an admirable job at cooling my lappy... but the NZXT is definitely a beast and should deliver great results.

 

Has anyone used the NZXT cooler on their M17 laptop? I would like to know if it cooled the laptop much.

 

i use it but still used some 1/2" rubber spacers to raise it from the base. i like it because the fans are underneath the M17 vent holes.

 

Is there a big temperature difference?

 

Those are the exhaust vents and cooling them is not going to happen with the hot air blowing out. You want the air under the machine to be cool so it can be sucked up into and through then out. Just raise it enough for air to flow there.

Plus if you really do it right put the money towards an external keyboard so you dont have to get uncomfortable with the raised machine.

I use 4 plastic bottle caps which do the trick. Less the 4 dollars for the entire thing.

 

At the moment i have my M17 raised in the back. My CPUs idle at around 40c, while my GPUs idle at 50c.

The fan is constantly on, so I'm debating whether to buy a cooler or not.

 

While I whole-heartedly agree with the bottlecap method, and am even using it currently, I love GADGETS. So if I can get my hands on a sweet notebook cooler (that actually shows real world results), you bet I'll be using it!

 

Raise both the front and the back, the back alone is half just half of the remedy.

 

I had the Zalman NC2000 before I bought my m17. That thing is silent.
I have my m17 positioned towards the front of the chiller, the feet are almost on the front edge of it; it is stable though. The air vents do cover most of the intakes and it pushes air across the entire bottom of the laptop (which may cover the rest). On a cool morning, I will notice the draft on my hand while using the mouse.
Due to a poor internet connection, I am not trying to download the temp. software, so I can't give you numbers. Maybe when I return to the States.
Plus, as an added bonus, my NC2000 is black with a blue LED that matches the m17 very well, an unplanned bonus. But that LED is bright, if I leave the computer on overnight, there is no need to turn on a light when I wake up. I think it acutally interferes with my sleep so I usually turn the computer off.