Laptop Cooling Solution...

[Dead Reckon]

Alright, so my laptop's RAM was reaching 167F while playing GTA:IV, CPU was getting nearly that hot too, GPU was getting to about 132F. So, this was my solution, a gutted VCR, a 92MM fan, a 12VDC wall wart, and some duct tape. Worked great, dropped the RAM's peak temp to about 127F, GPU to about 116F, CPU to about 153F. Here are some pictures of this creation made out of sleep deprivation:











Now I'm sure your wondering, laptops can take temperatures like that, right? Wrong, the laptop's RAM was overheating and causing the video driver to crash, usually a BSOD. I couldn't figure out what was causing it at first, but then I realized that the GPU relies heavily on the RAM, it shares 256MB combined with its 256MB of VRAM to increase performance. It also reduced chopping a great deal, Intel based systems will slow down and chug when they get hot. There like fat people, they run until they over heat then they slow down. Whereas AMD's are like athletes on steroids, they run until there hearts explode and never slow down or falter.

Oh, for those of you that don't know, my laptop is a Dell Inspiron 1720.

Core 2 Duo T7700 2.4GHz CPU
2GB DDR2 667 PC5300 RAM
nVidia GeForce 8600M GT 256MB 128 bit 16x PCI-E GPU
250GB SATA150 WD2500BEVS 250GB Western Digital Hard drive
TSSTCorp 8x DVD RW
17" High def widescreen (atleast I think its high def)
And uh.. I think that covers it aside from the not so great Intel Crestine Chipset.

[mroilfield]

you do know that for around $30 you could have gotten a laptop cooling pad that would have looked a lot better, taken up less space, and has a lot lower chance of electrocuting you you as it looks like you used duct tape instead of electrical tape to connect the wires from the fan to the wall plug

[Dead Reckon]

First off, I'm broke, I got no job, no way of getting anywhere. Second, your more likely to get electrocuted by a phone cord than you are by a 12VDC wall wart. DC current is not lethal at 800 miliamps, heck, a car can't really electrocute you and its 12VDC @ 30-200A. And yeah, I know, duct tape is conductive, but you going to buy me a roll of electrical tape? Its not conductive enough to matter in this application. Besides, I have the laptop hooked to a external monitor, keyboard, and mouse. The laptop its self is being used as a desktop unless i take it places.


As a note, I have been shocked by a phone cord before, its 30V, and when its ringing, it feels like there's an evil massage chair inside your muscles pulsating. So I'm not really afraid of DC current because the only time I've ever been shocked by that is straight off of a car battery when my neighbor reconnected the battery in his car when i was in the middle of installing some POS stereo. Oh the joy that wasn't, I have also been shocked by 120VAC @ 30 and 60A, and also 240VAC at 60A, all of which sucked, but none of which have put fear in me of DC current. DC is relatively harmless, the only electrocutions that happen happen with AC electricity.


Forgot to mention, consider this stage a "beta", I'm going to build something better with spare fans later on. Something adjustable probably.

[Calum]

For the CPU and GPU, did you try cleaning and re-applying the thermal paste?  Also, did you clean out the dust etc in the heatsinks?
Of course as you've gone to these measures I would imagine you must've gone through the simple steps first, which then makes me wonder if there's some extreme temperature involved here (i.e. you live in an oven) or Dell's quality control is awful and the heat dissipation for this laptop is FUBAR.

[Dead Reckon]

Yeah, the laptop doesn't dissipate heat well at all. GPU stays plenty cool, but the CPU has the same size heatsink as the GPU, and there both cooled by the same useless fan, not to mention the chipset has to be cooled by the CPU's heatsink as well, fail on dell's part. Oh well, great laptop if you can keep it from melting. And yeah, I cleaned the heatsink out a month or two ago, this thing is a pain to get to the heatsink. Added fresh AS5 too, helped a lot, before i cleaned it out it was getting to nearly 180F, now it only peaks at 160F, well, before it started getting dusty again, now its back up to nearly 170 without the cooler.

On a side note, the 92mm fan fell and hit something causing a blade to break, i replaced it with a 80mm fan that moves more air, but sounds like a vacuum. Only one I could find. I guess in another month or two the laptop'll need a dusting. I'll probably lap the heatsink too if I can without its mounting screws getting in the way. I've never replaced the thermal crap on the GPU, can't get the heatsink off 'cause I don't have the right size T bit. Oh, another note, I have speed step enabled, it overclocks my CPU up to 2.57GHz, from 2.4GHz, it might get as high as 2.6GHz, I dunno. The CPU has an adjustable multiplier, 6-13X so it can save power or guzzle it down if it needs too.

This is my CPU if your curious:

http://processorfinder.intel.com/details.aspx?sSpec=SLA43

According to Intel its good to 212F, but damned if I want to ever see it break 180 again. Heck, I've had to visit dell's website so many times I've memorized the service tag, CTGP3F1. I've got 517 days of warranty left though, so I'm good. I dunno if I'll renew it, I might retire this thing and get a new laptop, I'll have had it for uh, nearly five years by then. That is, if I've got any sort of income by then.

[DaveLembke]

Had to correct that one statement...

DC current is not lethal at 800 miliamps

As little as 10 milli-amps across the heart can kill most people.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/When_is_electricity_lethal

Under the right conditions it is lethal!   YET: Your chances of dying from a lighting bolt are far greater than an AC Adapter given normal situations.

You didnt have a box fan to rest the laptop on??? Get up with the times!  jk   

[MP1975]

Interesting thread.

Now the stoopid question lol

How did you get the temps in the first place.

I have more electrical tape in more colors then most people will use in a life time. lol You need some?

[Aegis]

I have been shocked by a phone cord before, its 30V, and when its ringing, it feels like there's an evil massage chair inside your muscles pulsating.

Yeah, phone line can go out to -48 volts/DC...I'm pretty sure, though, that the ringing current is alternating current, to get that old time bell clapper to go back and forth!  So, you were experiencing a/c when it rang.

Nice job -- and a good post to show how a lot of people here seem to think the money flows like water for everyone.

Besides, the build is good experience.

[Dead Reckon]

Yeah, the VCR at one point was a VCR PC... Might become one again, I think I have a pic of it if you want to see... The power supply I had rigged up toasted.

Here was revision 1 of the VCR PC I built, XE783, damned if I know what the name means anymore, that was four years ago, man I wish I knew what happened to that thing, it was cool as *censored*, 512MB PC100 SDRAM, 40GB ATA100 HDD, 110W Bestek PSU, 733MHz Celeron, did its job as a compact web surfer in the summer of 2005.

http://s55.photobucket.com/albums/g139/Dead-Reckon/VCR%20PC/

Oh, and for the record, it was built of the guts out of an HP I found. Every piece of it, except for the VCR of course, it was, of course, a VCR... At one point... Oh, before I forget, the metal work was done with a hand held plumbing hacksaw, a drill, and a hammer.

Here was the second revision of my VCR PC, in the VCR I'm now using as a cooler:

http://s55.photobucket.com/albums/g139/Dead-Reckon/VCR%20PC%20R2/

I don't remember the specs, the parts where straight out of this prodject after this one fell and flew to pieces:

http://s55.photobucket.com/albums/g139/Dead-Reckon/Emerson%20Stereo%20PC/

It was some old gutted Emerson stereo I found on the curb and picked up deciding, "Why not?"