U3 Coolermaster laptop cooler mod by RT-XD

[RT-XD]

Hi all!

I hope this the correct place to post this. If not, then let me know and I'll be happy to move it

After owning my alienware laptop for about 1 year and a half now, I decided that the U3 cooling pads were not enough for my laptop, and I wanted a bit more cooling so that the stock coolers can take a break when the machine is at bay.

https://skydrive.live.com/view.aspx?...Nma1cNhSGYmcXA (this is a link to a shared pdf file via skydrive. The reason for this is because the file was too big to post on forums)

I created a the whole "logbook" of what I did for explanations in case anyone else wants to try the same thing and see the difference for themselves. (Link posted above)

Please do have a look and feel free to comment and give advice/criticism! This is my first "official" mod so I'm not really too sure how things go, but I tried my best. I'll be sure to take more pictures next time (when I get round to do another mod XD ). Be sure to give a like as well!


Thanks!
RT

[kalniel]

Hi all!

I hope this the correct place to post this. If not, then let me know and I'll be happy to move it

After owning my alienware laptop for about 1 year and a half now, I decided that the U3 cooling pads were not enough for my laptop, and I wanted a bit more cooling so that the stock coolers can take a break when the machine is at bay.

http://sdrv.ms/1dOSUGf

I created a the whole "logbook" of what I did for explanations in case anyone else wants to try the same thing and see the difference for themselves. (Link posted above)

Please do have a look and feel free to comment and give advice/criticism! This is my first "official" mod so I'm not really too sure how things go, but I tried my best. I'll be sure to take more pictures next time (when I get round to do another mod XD ). Be sure to give a like as well!


Thanks!
RT

No offence, but could you provide a full URL?

[Rob_B]

It links to skydrive - using http://longurl.org/

[kalniel]

Ah. Same as the post here by the same user: http://forum.notebookreview.com/note...mod-rt-xd.html

RT-XD, I'm loathe to download files from people I don't know, perhaps write your log book as a couple of Hexus posts? You can use image hosting sites like imgur and so on to embed images. That way your writing will be read by more people and you'll be contributing more to the Hexus forums.

[RT-XD]

No offence, but could you provide a full URL?

Yeh sure. Here you go: https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resi...nt=file%2c.pdf
Do you mind if I ask why though? Is it faster or...?

As Rob_B said, it links to skydrive. I found that much easier because the PDF is too big to attach to forum. Hope that's ok...

[kalniel]

Yeh sure. Here you go: https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resi...nt=file%2c.pdf
Do you mind if I ask why though? Is it faster or...?

No I just had no idea what you were linking to and the shortened URL obscures (at first glance) what it might be.

[RT-XD]

Ah. Same as the post here by the same user: http://forum.notebookreview.com/note...mod-rt-xd.html

RT-XD, I'm loathe to download files from people I don't know, perhaps write your log book as a couple of Hexus posts? You can use image hosting sites like imgur and so on to embed images. That way your writing will be read by more people and you'll be contributing more to the Hexus forums.

Yeh, ok. I will try to do that when i have time - thanks for the advice
Though I'm pretty sure the link is just to view the file? There is an option to download it, but you don't have to. Correct me if I'm wrong on this...

And yeh, I posted on notebookreview as well XD Wanted to get this out there, see what people thought. I want to get into the whole modding community thing - have to start somewhere right?

[RT-XD]

Ah ok. Understood. I will use the full link from now on (and replace the small link with the big one). thanks again

[Pob255]

I skim read that pdf, So if I've got this right
You replaced the three 80mm fans with two 120mm and hooked them up via a 12v adaptor from the laptop charger.

Simple but it works.

If you want to push it farther then what you need to do is take the laptop apart, to get the bottom of the case off, you can then cut out the vents to open them up and reduce air restriction, you can reduce dust and the risk of getting things stuck up inside it by adding in squares of wire mesh.
It's a risk few people seem to be willing to take, it's really not that hard to do, the most complex part is taking the laptop apart and putting it back together.

[RT-XD]

Thanks for taking the time to go through it
What I've started thinking after I've installed installed it is that if I remove some of the aluminium part for the U3 stand, there will be more air will coming through to the laptop. Because I surprised that adding 2 huge 120mm desktop fans are only making a slight difference.

That's an interesting idea...cutting out the vents. I may try this when my laptop runs out of warranty (still 2 years to go, so I won't try it any time soon). I don't want to take any risks at the moment

[pastymuncher]

£55 seems a hell of a lot of money to spend "modding" something that only cost £22 in the first place. Surely it would have been better to have built something from scratch and get the item you wanted right from the outset?

[RT-XD]

Well, The reason I "modded" it was because the stock U3 coolermaster fans weren't even doing anything. In my mind, after spending money on this thing, it just went to waste because it wasn't even helping at all. So after that one year, instead of buying something new, I decided to "mod" what I already had.

As for building it from scratch...I'm not sure what you mean exactly. I would still have to buy fans, adapter, and maybe some other things such as insulation tape and so on. The price would have ended up around £55 either way - and even then, I'd be missing an actual stand for the laptop.

After looking round though...I think I may have made a mistake of some sort. Or maybe when I was looking up the price for the U3 coolermaster it was on reduction. Because now I see the price is £44 on amazon which is where I checked the price before.

If I spent £22 pounds on something that would have the cooling performance I want, that would be great. The original part, unfortunately, just didn't make the cut.

I hope that made sense...

I'm thinking of doing one thing which should actually make this whole system a lot cooler. I'll work on that when I have time.

[Pob255]

I think the best laptop "cooler" I've seen was something someone built, it was basically a wooden box with no top and an angle to it so it was 3-4cm at the front and about 15cm at the back, it was size&shape to fit the laptop exactly, with foam rubber around the top lip to seal it, then drilled a hole in the back to fit a 120mm fan, which was wired up to a USB plug.
This way the fan builds up air pressure in the box, the only way out is through the air intake vents in the bottom of the laptop thus forcing more air through it.
Didn't do much in the way of cooling, no laptop cooler/stand does, having fans on them can help a little but forcing a bit more air into it and dissipating radiant heat coming from the bottom
This is one area where an aluminium case can help heat levels as it allows more heat radiation through than plastic esp in such tight confines as a laptop.

Is the bottom of the laptop plastic? what's the ventilation like? Your current setup might see a slightly better result if you remove the ram cover.
This is very dependent on the laptop and you do run a small risk by exposing the electronics.