M860TU / NP8660 - Easy ways to keep the HDD cooler

:wink: Easy ways to keep the HDD cooler :wink:
Updated: 2008-08-30


To whom it may concerns:

(mainly Clevo... or Sager & other importer OEMs)

Note: current mobile HDDs are rated at around 60C degrees, so anything below that is fine.
(~64-65C and above is when you should worry)

____________________________

:wink: Software Fix :wink:

A possible driver fix for the Intel chipset:

Also, check out this thread:
Driver Fix for NP8660 hot HDD in_Vista

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Looks very promising. And you should give it a try before going to the hardware fix.

Recently, I have been doing tests with my HDDs and found some interesting facts.

When the HDD is spinning up or has activity... it heats up... WOW.

So for XP, HDD temps are cooler since there are usually less services and resources keeping the HDD from always being spun up.

For Vista, HDD temps are higher since there are many background services and utilities constantly accessing the HDD.

Try to disable these:
- Drive Indexing service
- Windows sidebar*
- Auto Defrag*
- System Restore
- Volume Shadow Copy (Volume Snapshot Service or VSS)*
- Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider service*
- Vista's "SuperFetch" service.
- AntiVirus / Spyware suites

* found and enabled by default in Vista mainly.

Read these for more details:
Ways to Solve Hard Disk LED (Activity) Non Stop Blinking Issues
Stopping Vista From Thrashing Hard Disks to Death
Vista's Constant HD Activity Craziness

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Turn off the HDD when its idling (I recommend 10-15min):

For XP:


For Vista:


____________________________

:wink: Hardware Fix: :wink:

I am suggesting a very simple modification / improvement to the Clevo M860TU (aka. Sager NP8860).

Instructions:
1.) use the original panel and create vents in the HDD area
2.) (optional) have a basic thin metal mesh on the inside of the modded vents, which can help filter dust that can come in.
3.) (optional) have a better/larger heat shield that lies between the HDD and the motherboard.
4.) mass produce the new panel
5.) ship the new panel to M860TU owners (upon request)

The original bottom panel of the M860TU:


The modded bottom panel (outside pic):


The modded bottom panel (inside pic):


Real life example (thanks balrogmorgoth for the pic)


It has been done before on other systems, very simple and cost effective.


For current M860TU owners
And yes, you guys can do it yourself if you do not want to wait, just order another panel if you feel you want a stock backup.
1.) This should not void your warranty, just order a stock panel
2.) Use the current panel and drill some small holes in a ~2.5"x3.5" pattern
3.) (optional) get a cheap metal mesh sheet from a hardware store plumbing isle, mount it to the inside of the panel where you just made the vents (you can use hot glue to make it easy)
4.) thats it, you now have HDD vents that can now get active cooling from a notebook cooler.

Last note: this mod/improvement works best if you are using a good notebook cooler that is pushing air through the new vents to help actively cool the HDD.

What do you guys think?

-Gophn

P.S. There is a difference in HDD temp for me when I am using Vista and XP (XP being cooler)... strange, but I am looking more into it.

 

Why didn't they just do that in the first place?

 

great idea Gophn! i dont think that it is too difficult?

 

notebook HDDs are usually not supposed to get airflow to... for reasons of dust and maybe causing static.

But the strange thing is desktop HDDs love to have active cooling.... especially the high performing drives like the Raptors.

It might be the PCBs in the mobile HDDs might be somewhat more sensitive.

 

If this is the case, wouldn't this mod be a bad idea? (Especially if you're not running at 65+, which no one seems to be). The bottom panel looks specifically built to avoid any air intakes around the hard drive; I assume there was a good reason to build it this way (of course, it could be a mistake as well - the 17inch models seem to have intakes & fans all over the place).

Very nice post! Every time I see the bottom panel of the M860TU (or really, any Clevos) I'm impressed by how simple they are to take apart/mod. I've had notebooks where I would literally have had to crack the plastic siding to get access to say, the full heatsink over the cpu :/

The part of this post that seems to be a great idea is the wire mesh addition; I might do that even if temps are alright (likely) on mine. I also have a cooling + dustfree fetish like Gophn apparently has

 

That's what its all about.

 

still,i like this idea

 

It's probably not the case that additional airflow would hurt a notebook hdd, but more likely that it's just habit to put as few holes as you can get away with in your notebook casing, partly for aesthetics but also because each additional opening presents the possibility of "stuff" (e.g., liquid) getting into the internals. Since notebook drives are typically built so that they only need minimal clearance from the casing, it's likely that it's just designer's inertia to simply assume, without more, that if the 2mm min. spacing is met, nothing further needs to be done to cool the hdd.

In terms of a notebook hdd getting at least some minimal airflow, this Hitatchi Travelstar Installation Guide indicates that 2mm clearance must be kept in order to ensure adequate airflow, which at least implies that airflow is not, per se, bad.

In terms of dust, I would think that more airflow rather than less would be better. Dust is going to get into the internal cavity in any event, and it's most likely to settle where there's the least amount of airflow, so the smaller the airflow around the hard drive, the more likely it is to get dusty.

 

lol! i just broke a lamp at work and realised "hey! that grate on the inside would work perfect for a mesh in my laptop!!"

 

Maybe the designer's were too worry about the CPU and GPU and forgot the hard drive. After all, when you quote your temps, you just say the ones of your CPU and GPU. Anyway, that looks promising but I would wait and see what Sager has to say about this.

 

When I tried that software fix, I get the BSOD at the start of my vista ultimate 64 bit. Is it because it's a 32bit fix?

Not that I need the fix, but I was just curious. Now it looks like I have to go reinstall everything on my M860tu cause I can't even get into safe mode.

By the way, I left my machine running installing programs and moving files without any AC in the room for two hours, idle temps were 46 and it reached a max of 50.

I'm guessing I didn't need this fix after all. Curiousity really did kill the cat.

 

lucky you to have such low temps ...

 

The software drivers should work for all versions of Vista regardless. Out of curiousity, in your BIOS settings, is the OS setup for Vista with AHCI or IDE?

 

updated the thread to cover easy ways to cool down the HDD by disabling stuff in Vista.

 

If I remember correctly, hard drives have the small holes in them to dissipate heat. I wonder if all we need to do is drill a small hole in the center of the back cover directly over where the hard drive is. But since I'm not an engineer, I don't know if this will throw off the air/thermal dynamics inside the case for better or worse.

 

just added this:

Real life example (thanks balrogmorgoth for the pic)

 

Will all new Sagers ship with that from now on?

 

^^^
woh! did he do that himself or did he purchase it like that?

 

I would like to know how significant the temperature drops would be with such a design.

 

They should.

But for the moment, there are only modded panels done by OEMs or end-users.

nope, he said a Clevo vendor in France modded the panel with the extra vent opening.

pretty nice mod, but I would have liked the mesh filter to be better to filter out dust.

 

That is a beautiful piece of work; you're absolutely right about needing better filtering, though - a filter that is going to block out dust will also help to minimize the risk of splashed liquid intruding on the interior of the system as well, which is something that should be kept in mind (at least for systems that'll be sitting next to a cup of coffee or other liquid).

 

Sealing off my main vent grille dropped my HDD idle temp by about 5'C and load temp by >10'C.

People should try it.

 

The fact is, if you get the panel drilled and put it on a laptop cooler,there will be lower temps to deal with. I estimate an at least 10C drop in temps.

 

Does drilling holes in the panel or sealing off the vent void the warranty?

 

PCMW told me it doesn't. They are both cosmetic changes and once it doesn't actually lead to any of the components screwing up. You are in the clear.

 

In the worst case scenario, you simply would have to replace the back panel, which shouldn't cost much. Be sure to remove the back panel before drilling holes . Also, I wonder if its better to make one big hole or a lot of small holes?

 

Small holes would make more sense, something resembling the vents on the m860tu would be ideal. A huge hole would just end up become a dust haven.





Here's a little modification I tried myself. Aluminium Foil held down with electrical tape, a small 'hump' in the center and next to one of the vents for increased airflow and to keep the aluminium cool. I've noted temperatures of 45-49C idle and 52C for full load.

Maybe someone else can try this and see how it goes for them. Just make sure not too make that hump too high so that the aluminium is touching the hard drive itself but merely just creating a slight airflow for it.

 

so where can you buy these backpanels, Mine is at 56 idle and Ive disabled every possible thing that Ive read about, sometime it goes up to 60

 

as long as it does not float past and stay around 64-65C degrees its okay.

As for custom bottom panels... that would be a great idea for someone to stay selling them separately... if I had the time I would do it.

 

are there any vendors that sell them separatly, I dont mind drilling the holes myself, I just want the backlid and see if that would help. Cause Im thinking of reverting to XP just because of this.

But if anyone can make one of these or have them I would be happy to purchase it from you.

 

yes, you can contact almost any vendor (preferably the one you bought the notebook from) and order an extra one.

then you would have one that is stock and one for experimenting.

 

sweet, I just sent and email requesting for one, but I most certainly wnt get and anwser until monday , wait wait. estimate price on it?

 

not sure actually.

It should not be much since its just a panel with not main/major components.

Tell us when you know the price.

I might be able to find them for cheaper if its more than $30-40.

 

I just bought a notebook coolerpad which is the Zalman NC-2000 which have a 30% discount.. was wondering is it a good coolerpad???

p/s: thanks for the guide!! me and my friends did it on my notebook and everything went smoothly!!

 

Awesome.

the Zalman ZM-NC2000 is awesome, especially for this notebook.

so did you do the panel mod? because we want pics.

 

just thought id post that frys has the antec notebook cooler on sale for only $9.99 with free shipping!

i ordered myself one

 

the Antec coolers are average at best.... cannot expect the best from a $10 cooler.

But as long as the static fan(s) on such coolers actually line on up the bottom vents/fans, then it should be useful.

 

Well, I put the holes as I had nothing to lose. Its much better now. No need for aluminium or laptop coolers to have a considerate palm rest. PCMW does not void my warranty for doing it. Before you venture out and try it yourself, I'd suggest you check and make sure your reseller is as understanding as mine.

 

Deathwinger, can you give us the pic of your mod?

 

Yeah, can you give a more details

For my case, I would go with the aluminium trick first. Should be doing it this week-end.

 

Awesome! i need to mod the panel on my NP5793!! sure would help cool the HDD!

btw anyone tried it on NP5793?

 

i didnt think that the M570RU had a HDD heating issue.

 

not an issue, but it could still be cooler...

 

The HDD issue has not been addressed in the M860TUs yet? I thought it was just an initial problem that got squared away soon after its release.

 

we're talking about the 5793 now...and as I said, it's not an issue, but it runs 35-45deg normally, but withouth the bottom plate (or with modded bottom plate) on a cooler you can take 5-10deg off that

 

So it sounds like (from reading this thread) that the best solution is drilling holes in the back panel. Does anyone have any advice as to how many and the size of the holes? The second choice seems to be turning off services in vista.

Was there others that tried the driver change? If that helped it surewould seem like a clean way of resolving the heat concern.

 

HDTune says that my WD 320GB 7200RPM HDD is firmware upgradeable. How am I supposed to do that? I can't find any firmware updates for HDDs around the net these days. Is it possible?