The magic of bottle caps and floor fans

Hey there NBR peeps!

I just thought that I'd share with you guys my super sweet and super-inexpensive cooling solution. I, like so many of you other notebook gamers, had been having problems with laptop temps, not just when playing BF:BC2 and other CPU-intensive games but when running overall less-intensive games that shouldn't be making my temps go as high as they did. Idle temps never were bad, but when playing a game like CS:S or COD4, which my rig (in sig) should be able to easily handle, I was getting GPU temps in the upper 70s and lower 80s, and CPU temps in the upper 50s. Not exactly ideal. I was really nervous to run BF:BC2, so when I did I only ran it for about 15 minutes. GPU temps never reached that high since it's not a GPU-intensive game, but the little amount that was played had CPU temps in the mid 60s, which was way too warm for comfort.

So I decided to check to see if there would be a few easy solutions to my problems. I cleaned out the vents, but I had done it about a month ago so there wasn't really much in there. I looked into undervolting, but decided I would use that as a last resort kind of deal seeing as how I'm not that into modding my computer (and yes, before any people object, I've been assured of how safe it is, I just figured I'd save it for last). And the good laptop coolers that fit my laptop were running around $40-50. Not exactly pocket change for a college kid like myself, though nothing that donating a little plasma couldn't cover =P

So I found some threads where people mentioned putting bottle caps underneath in strategic locations (mostly just on the "legs"), so I figured hey, I can spend the $4 to buy a few bottle caps and test this out. So I went to my local gas station and picked up a few bottles with the taller caps, poured out the soda (sorry conservation peeps, but I'm not a huge fan of high fructose corn syrup so I wasn't going to drink them), and placed them under my lappy. I then took a fan that is about desk-height that I've had for the past 4 or so years and put it about a foot and a half away from my computer blowing into the left side, the GPU side, and cranked that sucka to high. Luckily, it's really not loud at all.

I then proceeded to run BF:BC2, but this time I ran it for an hour straight because I found a good group of peeps to play with and was enjoying the games. After the hour of continuous playing, I checked out the temps verrrry warily only to find out that my sketchy, cheap cooling solution had done it's job remarkably well. GPU temps topped out at 65 and lo and behold, CPU temps peaked at only 52! For a game like BC2, that's pretty low.

So all in all, I want to A) show that you can keep your pad cool for only a few sodas and a fan, and B) thank you folks here for the basic tips and such. Cheers!

 

I use an old math book. No need to spend.

 

Wait, you actually went out and bought pop and poured it out to get bottle caps instead of just finding something else a half inch tall?

I made my laptop legs out of cardboard and electrical tape.

 

I use my netbook. It's the perfect height.

 

I use bottle caps also but they came from some iced tea.... I forgot what brand it was but the caps are bigger than normal and work well to lower temps.

 

its viable but IMO , i'm too lazy.. i just put a notebook cooling pad underneath.. although not very portable..

 

I dont put anything underneath cos my cooling system works as it is

 

It's not about not working, it's about making it work better.

 

Yeah... I have a Gateway P-7811 FX too. Horrible cooling system and nearly impossible to access the GPU heatsink... well not really, I'm just scared I'll break or lose something. And before you ask, Gateway's warranty repair was useless. I use a cooler now, but before I used a big DVD case.

 

can't say that for hp but that's really a problem..

i fell for u..

 

Congratulations! Being in love is a wonderful thing.

 

lol bottlecaps. If you were going to buy something buy erasers. They are soft and will hold in place better.