Hi all, this is my DIY laptop cooler. Made using ring file and some masking tape.

3 quater view:


Left profile:


Right profile:


Cooler in action (left):


Cooler in action (right):


How it works:
The fan sucks in cool air from outside. The two cutouts on the cooler pad direct cool air from the fan to the base of the laptop where the cutouts are ideally located just below the CPU and GPU. Cool air takes the heat away from the base as it expel from the laptop. The cooler pad can be custom make to suit the design of your laptop.

The best thing is the cutouts can be custom make to suit the design of your laptop so that they are located directly below the CPU/GPU/HDD.

Unlike conventional laptop cooler, the fan does not suck in dust from your desk as it faces upwards. Even if it does, the placement of the fan means any particles being sucked into the cooler pad would settle on the inside of the cooler instead of the base of your laptop.

Lets check out the performance:
Test is conducted using a Compaq Presario B3800 Centrino P-M 1.6Ghz.
Idle without cooler:


Idle with cooler fan off:


Idle with cooler fan on:


Load without cooler:


Load with cooler fan off:


Load with cooler fan on:


Result:
The cooler brings the idle temperature down as much as 12C!
Prime95 was used to test load temperatures. As you can see, the laptop is 20C cooler when the cooler is used!!

Cost:
Ring file RM2
80mm fan RM3
Masking tape RM1
Total: RM 6 only!!

This post has been edited by nerd nation: Jan 5 2007, 11:15 AM

I run the fan off an external HDD power adapter. Yes its 12V. I've tried modding the fan to run off usb at 5v. The result is very disappointing. The fan spins so slow and barely moves adequate air to cool the laptop down.

Regarding the fan orientation, I've tried using the fan to suck air out of the cooler. Compared to blowing the performance is much poorer, which is why i chose to have the fan in blowing position.