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Ultimate forced-air laptop cooler


WhiskeySix

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I use a Dell Inspiron E1705 with a Nvidia GeForce Go 7800 video card. This is a great card, but it generates a LOT of heat in a laptop. For this reason (to reduce heat production) Dell ships the card underclocked with a core clock of 250MHz (down from almost 400MHz in the desktop version of the card). With stock Dell cooling, the card would idle in the ~60°C range and max out at almost 80°C under load. Once I realized this, I decided some auxiliary cooling was in order.

After trying generic laptop coolers that just blow air on the base of the laptop, I decided to roll my own - inspired by a cold-air/ram-air intake on a car. From about $40 in parts, I made a laptop cooler that pumps up to 110 CFM directly over the CPU and GPU heatsink's on my Dell E1705. Before, my Geforce Go 7800 was clocked at 250 MHz and peaked at nearly 80 °C under load. Now, I'm able to hit 370 MHz without breaking 68°C! (In BF2, this boosted my framerate from ~50fps to ~75fps)

Click for more pictures and directions:

th_02.jpg

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I use a Dell Inspiron E1705 with a Nvidia GeForce Go 7800 video card. This is a great card, but it generates a LOT of heat in a laptop. For this reason (to reduce heat production) Dell ships the card underclocked with a core clock of 250MHz (down from almost 400MHz in the desktop version of the card). With stock Dell cooling, the card would idle in the ~60°C range and max out at almost 80°C under load. Once I realized this, I decided some auxiliary cooling was in order.

After trying generic laptop coolers that just blow air on the base of the laptop, I decided to roll my own - inspired by a cold-air/ram-air intake on a car. From about $40 in parts, I made a laptop cooler that pumps up to 110 CFM directly over the CPU and GPU heatsink's on my Dell E1705. Before, my Geforce Go 7800 was clocked at 250 MHz and peaked at nearly 80 °C under load. Now, I'm able to hit 370 MHz without breaking 68°C! (In BF2, this boosted my framerate from ~50fps to ~75fps)

Click for more pictures and directions:

th_02.jpg

whoa...nice!

I'll start buying the parts and when I have time, put it together :-P

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Surely you could fit a snail on there? :)

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Surely you could fit a snail on there? :)

huh? snail? :)

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lol sorry, random weirdness... snail=turbo... hot air from the outlet could wind up a small turbo = more air going in :)

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lol sorry, random weirdness... snail=turbo... hot air from the outlet could wind up a small turbo = more air going in :)

oooooooooooooh THAT kinda snail LOL

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After more experimentation, I'm definitely no longer temperature-limited. I can run at any speed and get the same peak temps. Now I'm just speed-path limited by the GPU die itself. I can run at 379MHz, but 380MHz fails the nVidia control-panel built-in test. nVidia must have bin'd some lower performing GPU's for use by Dell since they knew they'd be underclocking... looks like 'standard' 7800's are supposed to run at 400MHz. Ah well :)

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  • 4 weeks later...

maybe a PTE67 GTQ? I think it will spool nicely with all that heat

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Make me one for my Amilo please :)

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  • 1 month later...
After more experimentation, I'm definitely no longer temperature-limited. I can run at any speed and get the same peak temps. Now I'm just speed-path limited by the GPU die itself. I can run at 379MHz, but 380MHz fails the nVidia control-panel built-in test. nVidia must have bin'd some lower performing GPU's for use by Dell since they knew they'd be underclocking... looks like 'standard' 7800's are supposed to run at 400MHz. Ah well :)

Yeah I reduced my temperatures as well (to 71 C gpu) but wasnt able to get much more out of my card than when it was running in the 80's. If only I could add more voltage eh? Anyway, you may want to use the Dell 7800 GTX bios on that card to get some higher frequencies, maybe only on the memory however.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Yeah I reduced my temperatures as well (to 71 C gpu) but wasnt able to get much more out of my card than when it was running in the 80's. If only I could add more voltage eh? Anyway, you may want to use the Dell 7800 GTX bios on that card to get some higher frequencies, maybe only on the memory however.

Ya this work very good I tested my self but it's not very practical..

This is how I make it more practical with the same effect :)

36st1.th.jpg

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