My simple DIY way to keep your laptop cool

I have a Hp G60 laptop, and if anyone has any experience with this particular model you will know that it gets extremely hot, even when idle. Just running 2 or 3 tabs on Chrome, with nothing else running int he background my core temperature and GPU temperature would be around 100°C-105°C.
There is definitely no way I could use this laptop at those temperatures without causing any damage, so I went out and bought a laptop cooler.
I bought this laptop cooler, however it barely cooled my laptop 5°C, so i ditched it and decided to figure out a way to do it more effectively.

This is what I came up with...
Items I used:

Wire cutters/strippers
Electrical Tape
Super Glue
Sharpie
1/4" Dry Wall picture mounts
Two 80mm cooling fans (from two burned out power supplies I had laying around.)
Wiring and power supply to a laptop cooler that simply didn't work.
I also used some poker chips not shown in the picture. The use for these is explained later on.


Firstly, it's important to note which wires are positive and negative and label them if necessary. In my case, the wiring I used was not labeled so I had to determine which was (+) and (-). To do this I plugged in the power supply and touched one of the wires to the black (-) and one of the wires to the red (+) wires on the fan. If the fan turns on, you successfully determined which one is (+) and which one is (-). If it doesn't, swap them and it should turn on. If it doesn't, there is an issue with the wiring, fan, or power supply. After you find the (+) and (-)'s LABEL THEM so you don't have to keep repeating this test.*WARNING* This test can be dangerous if you're not careful. Do not touch the (+) and (-) wires together as this will cause a short. Also, don't touch the bare wires with your fingers. Lastly, be sure to unplug the power supply after doing this test to prevent any accidental shocking or shorts.


Next I wired the fans to the wiring for the power supply. All you do is hook the (+)'s from the fans to the (+)'s of the wiring, and do the same with the (-)'s, making sure any bare wire is covered with electrical tape, otherwise it can short out, cause electric shock, or even start a fire. After they are hooked up and all bare wire is covered, plug in the power supply to verify they are both working properly. If both fans don't turn on and stay constant, there is a problem with either your wiring or fans. Go back and verify everything is done correctly.



Next I put the Dry wall picture hangers in the holes the screws went into that held the fan into place (make sure you put them in the right end, you want the fans to be facing up; sticker-side up). The screws that held the fans in place would work as well, just screw them in enough for them to stay. All you're doing here is creating little 'feet' to hold the fan up off the surface to allow air flow.



Next I super glued the fans together, side by side; this will keep them in place better and keep them from getting moved around as much.


While the glue was drying I glued together two stacks of poker chips that were one poker chip taller than the fans. These will be used to prop up the laptop so the fans can sit underneath them.


I also glued together two stacks of two poker chips for the front of the laptop to balance it a tad.



I let the fans and poker chips dry for roughly 20 minutes. If you try and use them before then, you risk having it all just come apart.


Here is the finished product:


After having the fans on for approximately 30 minutes they cooled my laptop a solid 20°C, so I would say this is quite effective! My laptop now idles at a good 65°C - 70°C, and when Im running PS, and multiple tabs, it still barely gets to 90°C

 

Nice. Looks like it's pretty effective, and +1 for creativity.

 

Another tip would be that you would completely take apart your whole back of your laptop so your left with the inside parts visible. from this way you can get a laptop cooler that blows cool air up so it would increase air flow

 

Good tip! Hopefully I won't have to use it as i have a stand but who knows it might come in handy later on.

 

That would be more efficient on the cooling part, but then it also exposes your hardware to external dangers; Such as more dust, spilled liquids, and if it happens to get knocked over, much higher risk of damaging internal hardware. I'd much rather keep it together than expose it to those things.

 

For under £5 you could buy one.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Notebook-la...SJ6O/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1330449769&sr=8-4

I'd hardly call it 'expensive'.

Nice guide none the less, it's always good to see a bit of DIY going on.

 

I bought that a couple days ago. Works like a charm, although it's made of cheap plastic. (breakable)

 

Yeah. I bought the same one also about a year and a half ago. Ended up treading on it, but it worked a treat. You get what you pay for.

 

haha that pizza one is actually hilarious! and practical

 

Those are some awesome ideas, I wish i would have seen this thread before I bought my pad.

 

Perfect. I've been looking for a way to cool my old laptop efficiently for a while without having to spend any money. Makes sense to use fans that are designed purely to cool shit too. Will be making this once I find some spare time

 

Honestly if you don't keep your laptop cool it is not going to last very long, desktops are a different story as they have more airflow. My laptops already have very good cooling, but I loved this idea.

 

Nice idea, i must try this. Currently, my laptop is propped up on 2 game cases to increase airflow to the fan lol, but this idea is probably more efficient than mine, especially when im running at 110 degrees celcius when i play skyrim lol!

 

rofl nice idea

 

L00000000l

 

niceeee

 

can use these to keep xbox cool as well

 

ahaha fuck*** hilarious

 

^ Might do this one.