I've been working on adding my Macbook pro (core 2 duo T7500) to my folding@home team, but seems the thing just can't handle all the heat running the CPU at 100% all day puts out. My CPU temps were getting up above 80C, which was not acceptable...
So, with some stuff I found around the house, I was able to put together a simple and quiet active cooling system that lowered my CPU temps to the low 60s (a 20C drop).
Here's a crappy mspaint diagram of what I did, which i think is fitting for how crappy and simple this thing is:
crappy MSPAINT gif
I found a piece of aluminum drip edge used for roofing lying around the house, which is just basically a thin piece of aluminum bent at a right angle, with a little ledge sticking out (goes along the edge of a roof). I bent it a little to open up the angle, and stuck a little strip of wood under it to add support. this elevated the back of the laptop by about 2 inches. the elevation alone dropped my temps from 85C to 75C (with internal fans still spinning at 100%).
Then, I found a 120mm fan from an old PC build, and some random 12V DC adapter. Just stripped the wires, and connected the fan to the adapter and plugged it in. The fan is placed right behind the laptop, with the airflow blowing towards and under the computer. i tested it with reversed airflow, blowing away from the laptop, but it was not as effective.
this dropped my CPU temps to a comfortable 63C, or, about 75C if I let the laptop's internal fans spin down to their lowest speed (for almost total silence).
The fan exhaust on the macbook pro comes out at the back along the hinge, and I can actually feel the air from the fan coming up through there, and even up through the keyboard to a lesser extent. it feels kinda nice on the hands as i type this 🙂
anyway, this was extremely effective (much better than a couple of commercial coolers I've tried), and cost me nothing. if you have to go out and buy any of this stuff, it'd cost $10 at the most.
So, with some stuff I found around the house, I was able to put together a simple and quiet active cooling system that lowered my CPU temps to the low 60s (a 20C drop).
Here's a crappy mspaint diagram of what I did, which i think is fitting for how crappy and simple this thing is:
crappy MSPAINT gif
I found a piece of aluminum drip edge used for roofing lying around the house, which is just basically a thin piece of aluminum bent at a right angle, with a little ledge sticking out (goes along the edge of a roof). I bent it a little to open up the angle, and stuck a little strip of wood under it to add support. this elevated the back of the laptop by about 2 inches. the elevation alone dropped my temps from 85C to 75C (with internal fans still spinning at 100%).
Then, I found a 120mm fan from an old PC build, and some random 12V DC adapter. Just stripped the wires, and connected the fan to the adapter and plugged it in. The fan is placed right behind the laptop, with the airflow blowing towards and under the computer. i tested it with reversed airflow, blowing away from the laptop, but it was not as effective.
this dropped my CPU temps to a comfortable 63C, or, about 75C if I let the laptop's internal fans spin down to their lowest speed (for almost total silence).
The fan exhaust on the macbook pro comes out at the back along the hinge, and I can actually feel the air from the fan coming up through there, and even up through the keyboard to a lesser extent. it feels kinda nice on the hands as i type this 🙂
anyway, this was extremely effective (much better than a couple of commercial coolers I've tried), and cost me nothing. if you have to go out and buy any of this stuff, it'd cost $10 at the most.
