Pimp My Cooler

Ok guys, so if you are like me, you realize that notebook coolers don't do much for actual cooling. There are a couple of factors that determine a cooler's effectiveness, such as the laptop's bottom vent placement and alignment with the cooler fans. Another critical factor, and the one I decided to address, is the actual power of the fans. USB only provides 5V and 550ma of power, hardly enough to really spin the fans for effective airflow. In desktops most fans run at 12V with 2-3 Amps of current. This is the effect that I wanted. So what I did:

1) Replaced the fans on my Rosewill RNA-7000W cooler with 12V desktop fans (70x15mm). You don't actually need to replace the stock cooler fans, they will run at 12V and produce great airflow. I had to change mine because I burned one of them during testing.
2) Wired the Fans to the original circuit board of the cooler in order to retain the function of the switch.
3) Added a 12V, 2A Power Supply to power the fans. This power supply came from a cheap Hard Drive to USB adapter. You can use a different 12V power supply but make sure it has a high enough amp rating (~2000ma is ideal) in order to properly spin the fans.
4) Added a cheap fan controller to control the fan speeds. At 12V, 2Amps, the fans spin really fast, and really loud. With the fan controller you can adjust the current to be effective enough without being deafening.

Results are moderate so far. Under load my GPU and CPU are anywhere from 2-3 degrees cooler. I haven't done any extensive testing, just some Furmark and Prime95 tests. I can say that before the mod, the cooler had ZERO effect on my temps. In fact, I could hardly feel any air coming from the stock fans. Now, I have serious airflow. The problem with my laptop is the placement of the bottom vents. I will eventually mod the bottom for better airflow and report back with results. Anyway, this is a cool little project that I thought I'd share with you guys. Have fun!

Here are some pics:

 

Interesting, I did something similar (originally for my toshiba notebook, but using it with my GT627). Anyway, my temps are more than 10C cooler, but I run it with the backplate taken off (and I use 3 12V fans running at 15V).

So can you take the backplate off your GX640, or will that void your warranty?

 

I just tried it with the cover off. I ran Prime 95 for around 5 minutes, the CPU peaked at 57. With the cover on, it peaked at around 66. For the GPU, I ran a quick 60 second Furmark and it peaked at 63, 12 degrees lower than with the plate on. I'm gonna mod the the plate soon to allow more air inside. This will obviously make a dramatic difference.

 

Maybe you should check ebay for another cover, just in case you need to send the notebook in for repairs. I think a lot of MSI models use the same chassis, so getting a cover shouldn't be hard.

 

Way ahead of you, ordered one last week

 

Or you could just leave the bottom cover off for maximum cooling effect if the system is stationary most of the time, I don't suspect dust to be much of an issue...

 

So you just rewired the power adapter to the USB pins?

 

isnt removing the backplate and using bad in the long run?