Removing the bottom panel while gaming

I was wondering if anyone else does this, for better cooling. I find that while gaming I shave around 10-15c off just by taking the panel off alone! gpu drops from 83c avg to 72c avg, cpu down to 52c, even overclocked! no cooler, no extra copper, no nothing, just a wooden desk.

as you can see the bottom panel on the g50 reveals everything, which makes for some good airflow (image from clutch)

http://s728.photobucket.com/albums/ww285/ClutchX2/?action=view&current=G50VTX5-INSIDE-F.jpg

When I'm done with my game I just snap it back on, whole thing takes a few seconds. This particular model notebook works really well for it because of how much gets exposed, its just one big panel, and it doesn't need screws to stay on, it clips so no need to screw anything.

I'm weighing pros and cons here, maybe you can help me out? im not sure if doing this is dangerous or not... if just when gaming on a flat surface with no water around no harm done right?

pros:
-runs a lot cooler, 10-15c for cpu and gpu.
-makes notebook last longer
-could improve performance for laptops that overheat.

cons:
-more susceptible to spills ( I don't keep liquids around anyway),
-more susceptible to drops (if you just take it off while gaming you shouldn't be dropping it off your desk =p)
-only works with some laptops, as others need screws or have multiple, smaller covers.

Anything im missing? any other dangers? I'm doing this hoping to extend the life of my computer, not shorten it =p

 

as long as you don't have to worry about moving it and keep it propped up only problem I see is it collecting dust in the fan faster.

 

if your laptop is not under warranty you could drill a lot of holes in that panel XD then you can keep it on

 

For my desktop tower i had to drill 4 holes into the back of the desk cabinet, when that didnt work i just drilled out the whole thing out. I guess this could be seen as the same thing.

 

Yeah on my desktop I've leave the side panel off, helps a lot.

Just don't want to start any fires of short circuit anything you know?

 

interesting..my dell is same but has 10screws but it's a single back panel that reveals the gpu/cpu and all that.. though I have no issues w/ heat at the moment..have NC2000, undervolted and AS5 but more options is always nice.

 

I have to remove the bottom panel in order to play games.

 

Good to see I'm not alone here

My cpu is undervolted/overclocked and runs at a cool 60c while under full load, and idles at around 42c.

My GPU on the other hand is too hot for my taste at up to 86c load and around 50-55c idle. I like the idle temp, but I don't want my GPU in the 80's, period. It gets to 86c when the high speed fan kicks in and brings it down to 80, then it heats back up to 86 as the fan spins down, rinse and repeat. I really wish these companies allowed you to control the fan through software or bios...it's not hard.

With the panel off...idles go down a tiny bit, but the CPU under load goes down to about 50c and GPU to about 72-77c. Keep in mind my fan never goes on high speed this way. I can't wait to combine this with a zalman cooler

 

I never bothered doing this with my laptop (I usually use it on my lap, so the bare memory sticks, wireless cards, etc. touching my leg = freaking OW), but I run my desktop with the side panel off and a box fan pointing right at it.

 

awesome!

just keep in mind itll let more dust in. so spray it out with compressed air frequently.

 

On my never ending quest to cool things off I found this thread.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=393228&page=2


"I game more then i run around with myne so like some other people with the zalman I just take the bottom panel off and it runs 15C cooler. I only get to 75C or so with it like that. It is NOT recommended to run the laptop without the bottom panel without a cooler."

I wonder why he said that. hmm...any ideas?

also, here are some other cooling methods im considering...

-installing AS5 to cpu and gpu
-getting the zalman cooler
-ordering some copper pieces for my heatpipe ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=414147)
-undervolting the gpu vbios or whatnot

did i miss anything?

its weird i wasn't going above 77c before, but now ive maxed out at 85c with the cover off. with the cover on i get to 86c but the fan kicks in and brings it down. perhaps im better off with the cover on, at least till i get my cooler (maybe thats what clutch was talking about)

 

The part about AS5. The stuff's outdated. MX-2 or MX-3 are good balanced choices.

Or you could be the guinea pig with the new Arctic Silver Matrix paste.

 

Because the cooler otherwise operates like a 'cooler' version of your back panel - providing a flush metallic surface while keeping out the dust. It's not necessary, but it helps.

 

Why do you say this? Just wondering since I'm always up for "better" alternatives. AS5 seems to be the most popular I've been reading about for awhile. It's what I have on my CPU/GPU. What makes the MX-2/3 any better? Thanks

 

I used to do this until I got a case that has a fan that takes up the entire side of the case

It houses an older, heavily overclocked system. Now I have a cooler master case with 8 120mm fans, so cooling isn't an issue.

I got the case with the entire side that is a fan from Newegg, but they don't seem to have it anymore, and I looked but it doesn't list who made it. I want to say XClio, but that may not be correct.

 

Eh, I still feel uneasy taking off any panels (laptop and desktop) as the dust being collected is far greater than having the panels on

 

Did it too, then placed it on cryo LX

coooooool

 

I'd like to know why as well

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/archive/index.php/t-2489409.html
http://verdisreviews.com/reviews/arctic-cooling-arctic-mx-2-mx-3-thermal-paste-review/

I found these... mx-3 sure is expensive, but id like to see some comparison temps to that vs. AS5, im sure it performs better though if you and others claim it to be. I read there's no burn in time with mx-3, which is awesome. I might have found my new best friend

 

Well I took the liberty of doing more research on the mx-3

http://www.vortez.co.uk/contentteller/articles_pages/arctic_mx_3_thermal_paste_review,5.html

amazing cooling, especially after 48 hours. I didn't even see AS5 in any of the benchmarks I looked at.

Thanks for the heads up Forge. It's good for CPU and GPU right?

what about the chipset?

 

Works perfectly for the exposed dies on CPUs and GPUs.

For the northbridge, just stick with thermal pads. The stock ones should be fine. However, I switched out the stock thermal pads on my GPU and replaced them with these. Nice cushioning on the GPU memory.

They also work perfectly on the northbridge, but for that I used a MX-3/copper shim combo.

AS5 is talked about a lot because it's been around for a while and, back in the day, was very good. It's still a decent performer even today, but if you want the bestest pastes, AS5 is not it.