Why you should consider it: Lower your OEM laptop’s temperatures with a low cost, quiet (albeit ugly) solution.
My laptop, issued to me by my employer, is a Gateway 600YG2. Equipped with a P4M 2400MHz CPU and adequate (barely) mid-grade DRAM, it gets the job done for the applications I demand of it.
Ergonomics is another matter. The definition of ‘ergonomics’ is the efficiency of interaction between a human and a machine. Well, my hands alight on the keyboard without problem, the touchpad is well positioned, and the monitor is easily viewable without causing me to crane my neck. If interaction is the key word here, that is the negative factor with the Gateway. Any system load of significance, more than an estimated 25% CPU usage level, causes the CPU heatsink’s fan to scream. Folding@Home would cause the fan to wail without letup. Even a screensaver composed of my favorite digital photographs made the little fan spin with fury.
Either I had to quit “Folding” on the laptop for Team Short-Media, Team 93, and quit using a 2-D graphics intensive screensaver, or a cooling solution had to be found. I opted for the latter. Before you techies besiege me with posts asking if I pulled the heatsink and applied quality thermal paste, the answer is yes. I removed the factory TIM (thermal interface material) pad, buffed the heatsink’s contact area, and applied Artic Silver 5. After this procedure, the fan-induced noise did abate somewhat, but not much. There wasn’t much that could be done to heatsink as far as modifications go. The sink, a very cheap, crude affair, is stamped copper and aluminum (perhaps tin or cheap steel?). Gateway decided not to go to the expense of using a heatpipe assembly. (I guess this laptop was designed for a corporate administrator-accountant, one who would analyze the price, the paper specifications, and vender service plan, but one who would not actually test the machine before mass purchasing.)
OK, enough of my musings, let’s take a look at what I cooked up. You may laugh if you wish, but the auxilliary cooler really works, and works well.
Picture 1, 120 volt A.C., 22W fan from Radio Shack. This has been lying in my parts bin for ages. It’s roughly 120mm X 120mm X 38mm. The fan casing is cast aluminum. Very sturdy.
Secured to the intake side of the fan is metallic, six-inch diameter dryer vent hose. It is very flexible and fire resistant. I used aluminum tape to fasten the hose to the fan.
As you can see, affixed to the bottom of the fan is thick, open cell foam. This serves to dampen vibration and noise.
At the open end of the hose I installed a plastic cap. Again, not wishing to spend any money on my auxilliary cooling device, I used the lid from a discarded food container. I simply cut it to size and secured it to the hose with aluminum tape. The protuberance at the bottom of the plastic end cap is fashioned from thin, galvanized steel stock. You’ll see in the following posts what it was used for.
Here is a shot of the complete assembly from the open end of the fan to the steel air intake duct at the end of the hose. Compare this shot to the one from the post above. As you can see, dryer hose is very flexible, and has found its way into numerous other cooling experiments of mine.
Now that your eyes are wet from laughing, I’ll agree with you. The completed assembly does look like a caterpillar from a grade B science fiction movie. Keep the unsavory comments to yourself, please. 🙂 This is a family-friendly site.
You can see where this is leading. Obviously, the auxilliary cooling unit is designed to ‘pull’ warm air out of the laptop’s center. The design is intended to increase the volume of air passing through the CPU heatsink. If the volume of air is sufficient, then perhaps the heatsink’s fan will not engage as often, helping me keep my sanity.
So how does this connect to the laptop? In this picture of the back of the laptop, you will notice that the heatsink exhaust port is an open rectangle. The stock configuration of the port was supported with many horizontal plastic ribs. The already very small outlet for discharging hot air was rendered even less effective due to the upright obstructions, which also contributed to noise. A razor knife liberated the plastic uprights. (The system admin folks didn’t seem to mind (or notice) last time they inspected the laptop for inventory!)
As I know you the reader just can’t wait to see the magnificent, aesthetic marvel that is Leo’s laptop auxilliary cooling unit in action, here’s the pic of the unit coupled with the previously overheated Gateway 600YG2.
Conclusion
So, it works I said, didn’t I? Yes, it does work. It works very, very well. I can now mutli-task – several open browser windows, Folding@Home, Microsoft Office applications, and database software running simultaneously – without the heatsink’s fan spinning up and scaring away wildlife within a two-mile radius of my office.
Pros:
1) Inexpensive – I had all the supplies and parts in my workshop
2) Easy to build
3) Low power consumption
4) Low noise (thanks to large, low-RPM fan)
Cons:
1) The sucker is simply ugly
2) Although the hose is flexible, this device is not compact
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