Have you built a custom cooler?

Then I'd like a little info from you..

I've seen posts such as this but usually there isn't a whole lot of follow up by the builders.

So I'd like any of you who have taken the time to build your own cooler to please, show it off! Let some of us budding do it yourselfers see your work and possibly gain some useful lessons learned from your experience.

Thanks in advance and I look forward to any replies.

FYI, I'm leaning on building something similar to the platform shown in the above link though I'm probably going to make it wall powered since I mostly use my laptop near outlets and it would just afford me a greater range of cooling options while not worrying about putting too great a load on the USB port.

 

Subscribed. I really want to build my own cooler but I really have no idea what I'm doing. I have a feeling that I would waste too much money and end up with a crappy cooler.

 

I'm building one now, but for home use only. It's a bit involved but I will post pics and results when complete.

I'm basically taking one of those adjustable height laptop caddy stands on wheels (an old one I had for my 15" laptop) and making my own platform for it since it doesn't fit the P7805U. It will include 3 120mm fans, one each for GPU, CPU & North Bridge and Harddrives all controlled by a fan controller.

 

Thanks AZ.. that would be great!

I'm planning on doing a "for home" build as well and was definitely going to do at least two fans run through a controller as well.

I'm definitely interested in seeing what you work up...

 

I use a phonebook and just hang my HDX18 off the left side for now just because it has serious heating issues on the left side when you configure it with a QX9300. Serious as in I hit 200 degrees F for 5 seconds a couple of days ago. Does that count as home made?

 

Just checking in to keep this visible.

 

I'm toying around with the idea of building a custom one. Just took some measurements and a layout of my 7805u underside.

Thinking of building it out of an old computer case side. Drill some sparse holes in it for ventiliation, put 3 fans (1 under the GPU, 1 under the CPU and then a larger central one) and screw them in. Add a few more ventilation holes where the Hard Drive vents are.

Won't be able to work on it until I get a break from school, however.

 

Yes i have, and my temps under load were in the high 40s low 50s

And i was able to OC to 650 950 1650 on my 8800m gts.

But ah well

Now i had to give the fans to my lil bro.

It is a good idea and will only cost you a few bucks.

GOOD LUCK.

I DONT KNOW WHY I SPACED EVERYTHING LOL!!!! TOO LATE

 

Thanks for the reply Rot but you're reply isn't exactly what I and the others are looking for.. I'm glad it worked well for you but that tells us nothing of how it was built, what it was made out of, where the fans were placed, how the fans were powered, etc...

We're looking for specifics and lessons you may have learned while building that may help us avoid some "common" mistakes.

 

I don't have pictures, or the actuall device anymore..

But I took a Xmod RC Car BOX, cut out 3 square holes in the middle, and I cut out 2 long rectangle holes on the bottom sides on the left and right of the box.

The 3 fans were ANTEC Blue LED 80MM fans.

I don't know what temps it kept anything, but It sure as hell kept the laptop ice cold.

I used a mini 12V Power supply that I had laying around, low amps.

I actually have the tools to do it again, so maybe I will with a write up.

 

Ok just buy some metal mesh from staples. You know the black metal thing with the tiny little holes in them. Buy that and but 2 usb powered pc fans. Then the rest is pretty self expanatory.

 

Seriously Rot.. if you don't have anything constructive to add.. why bother? Obviously we can all figure out what you just said on our own.. I mean I linked to a post that outlined precisely what you said here.

The point being, if you'd read my post, is that there's rarely any follow up from the posters and further, I'd like to hear if there were any issues encountered during the design/build that some of us may be able to avoid.

We're looking for information, detailed information from the folks who have built their own coolers along with follow ups to let us know how whatever design they posted about building ultimately worked.

I wasn't bashing on you personally but trying rather to let you know that what you wrote was off the mark as far as what I'm looking for personally within the scope of my post.

 

Keep in mind when wiring fans, wire them in parallel and not series. What I mean is when connecting up the fans, the positive wire goes to the positive wire and the negative wire goes to the negative wire.

The reason I have behind his is so you don't need looking for a 24V power supply, or even a 36V power supply if you connect it in series. I would try and look for a 12V 1A power supply (possibly lower, say .8A for less demanding fans), either from an old appliance that is no longer needed or look at Radio Shack.

I've looked at creating one last summer, but never got around to. My plan for my P-6831FX was a mesh wire case from Wal-Mart/Staples and 2x120mm fans zip-tied to the case. I never found a power supply, which was my main reason for not completing the project.

 

Rubbermaid makes auto 12v powered coolers, they use about 2.5a. It would be cool to see someone impliment one or two of these, hacked from the cooler, in a powered setup.

 

Sorry it took so long but here is the write up on my custom laptop stand and cooler. There is a lot of woodworking involved that I am not describing in detail here.

Basically, I took one of those rolling laptop tables and built a new top for it with 3 120mm fans installed in it.

This isn’t the cheapest cooler to build and is definitely not portable, but I already had the laptop table and I’m not going to lug this thing around much anyway so didn’t have any need for portability. The original stand was for my old 15” laptop and didn’t fit the P-7805U anyway, so I would have had to get a new one regardless.

Original stand picture

Following is a list of the hardware and links to where I purchased it, other than the actual laptop stand because I bought that a long time ago from Walgreens for $19.99 and couldn’t find it currently for sale anywhere.

Logisys FP201BK fan controller

Scythe KAZE-JYUNI "SLIP STREAM" 120mm Case Fan - SY1225SL12M - 1200rpm
Fan Grills

120mm Black wire fan grill

110V AC to DC adapter w/ 12V 4pin molex connector

Rubbermaid Mesh Wastebasket – I purchased this from Walmart for approximately $4.50

Hardware picture

The new table tops are built from 1 sheet of ¾” and 1 sheet of ½” birch plywood laminated together. I did this so that it would be thick enough to house the fans and controller. I cut openings into the top that line up with the CPU, GPU and Hard Drive vents with additional space to allow for some airflow. The openings had to be cut in a certain way to allow for the original rolling stand to mount to the table tops.

New table tops before finishing

I routed channels into the bottoms of the table tops for neatly placing the fan and power cables along with one very large opening for the fan controller. I installed threaded inserts on the bottom where the original stand mount holes were and I drilled holes where the original laptop rests were installed.

Bottom of table tops after finishing

I cut the wire mesh from the wastebasket and cut 2 pieces for the openings in the table top, leaving about 1 inch overlap. I then cut into the corners and folded the overlap down into the openings and secured them with some screws. I sanded the support beams in the middle of the openings down about 2mm below the table top surface so the mesh would not protrude above the table top.

Table top with mesh installed

Detailed view of mesh from bottom of table top

The fan controller is simply press fitted into the opening that I routed for it. I left the opening slightly smaller so it would stay put when pressed into it.

Detailed view of installed fan controller

I sleeved the fan cables for a cleaner look and then mounted them directly to the mesh with black fan screws. Cables were routed through the channels I put in the table top bottoms.

Detailed view of installed fans

Finished product pictures below.





The following attachment is a spreadsheet that documents my temperatures throughout my modifications.

View attachment 33962

 

azrickster - that thing is amazing. Make me one please!

 

Nicely done .... very well done how badly did the temps drop.....

 

It's kind of tough to judge the temperature drops because I live in Phoenix and didn't do all of my testing at the same temperature's. My best guess is somewhere around 4 to 6 degrees celcius. You can take a look at the spreadsheet I attached above and judge for yourself. Also, when I tested I had already done other cooling mods, i.e. TIM replacement and Undervolting.