Extreme Laptop Cooling

Category: Computers & Internet - Hardware - Laptops, Servers, Peripherals, Etc. Tags: conduction , copper , invention , creation , tubes , watts , voltage , amps , volts , wires

Monday March 31st, 2008

My Latest Project... Components:

Copper Piping 2x (Diameter: 3/8'' | Length 16'')
Low Pressure Clear Vinyl Tubing (Diameter: 1/2'' | Outside Diameter 3/8'')
Logisys Computer Fans 6x
Cable Ties (Nylon Heavy Duty 7 1/2'' ) 24x
Aluminum heatsinks 3x
AC Power Adapter (Input: 100-240v & 0.6 Amps | Ouput: 18.0v 1.1 Amps)
Teflon (waterproof thread seal)
Wood Strip (L: 16'' | W: 2'' | H: 1/2'')
Steel Corner Braces 2x
Electric Switch / Extra Wiring

Recommended Fan Specs:
Voltage: 10.8 - 13.2 VDC
Current: 160 Milliamps (0.16 Amps)

Actual Fan Specs (Beefed up):
Voltage: 18.0 VAC
Current: 1100 Milliamps (1.1Amps)

Why did I do it? Some people go to the store and buy those petty little laptop pads with 2 lame fans running at 5v with a USB - they don't do much. I've tried em, and they all just don't keep my laptop cool. I decided to build something that really works. Something that would take advantage of high powered fans, heatsinks / thermal conductors, and liquid cooling. Most people see things like this running inside Desktop PC's, but it seems to work very well on the outside of a laptop if done properly. I have not yet gotten to the liquid cooling part of the project, just waiting on a water pump, and some good thermal liquid coolant (decided not to use plain water). But even without it, my laptop is not only cool, I can honestly say it's cold. What was the hardest part in the making? By far the most annoying issue I experienced was kinking in the vinyl tubing. A sharp bend on the right side would occur and result in poor water-flow. As a solution I used several cable ties to hold the shape of the tube. There was no other way around this, and it seemed to work out well. The kink was pretty persistent until I had enough cable ties to work all the way around the bend Cons: The only cons of this project are: 1. I cannot turn of the high powered LED lights. They shine very bright at night, and I prefer to leave my fans on, as I ususally don't shut down my lappy. 2. 6 fans running at 18v is not quiet, so it's a little noisy. Average noise decibel per fan running at 10v would be around 20db, running it at 18v would cause the noise decibel to be 36 db, now multiply that by 6 for each fan and we got a noise decibel of 216db. Pictures! (Will post more when the liquid cooling is in place.)

Enjoy

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Comments

Hehe. That's wild.
You could always create a flat metal casing that the laptop sits on as a cool unit.
Hmmm. Heh. Or cut a hole in the desk top about the size of your laptop, rig all the fans together in the hole, bingo.