[Fireskull]

This really is clear, concise and very useful -- many thanks indeed for compiling it.
I was wondering though, with regards to cooling -- do you have any suggestions for laptops? Deskto fans and the like are less effective for laptops and for paupers and uni students like myself liquid cooling is rather costly. Do you have any self help suggestions for keep a laptop cool? My laptop is really loud, you can always hear the fan struggling away like an obese but determined asthmatic trying to run a marathon. Cooling ideas would be smashing!

Hi, Moggy

Lately, I have done three things:

(Red-necking, Jerry-rigging behavior takes control)


A laptop must have extra cooling at all times when being used, in my opinion.



1) For ordinary cooling, such as using the laptop for listening to music or watching a DVD movie, I use a store bought laptop cooling pad which I carefully selected so the output of the pad pushes air directly into the input grating of the laptop cooling fan. This accelerates the air flow about twice as much.

I am currently working on a second laptop pad which will have one of the two fans moved. The pad will be carefully cut with an electric drill grinder bit, which is a special bit for electric drills that makes cutting things such as plastic possible with it. The relocation of the fan in the pad will place it directly under the intake port of the laptop cooling fan. Naturally, I will have to unconnect and reconnect the wiring.




2) Lately, when I am online, I use a conventional 12 volt ( USA is 12v ) fan with the wires spliced and connected to a USB wire. The fan is a side intake and outward output type in order to suck air under the laptop. To provide enough clearance space and added cooling, I use my conventional laptop pad with it, a little to one side about 8 cm for allowing enough space for the custom fan.

The fan was given to me for free at a local computer store because I am a regular customer. Certainly, it helps that they like me. :wink: If you are a regular customer and have useful things to offer them as well ( you know me ), then they should give you deals and free things. Locally owned computer shops that do repairs have piles of good, used equipment which they discount or give to regular customers. You would be amazed at the special discounts and free things that I have received over the years.




3) For the Best Image Quality configuration, I use special cooling at home.

The thought was probably in the back of your mind that I have my laptop overclocked-yes, I do. I cannot give details about overclocking here because this would require an entire new topic to cover it safely and I desire that nobody cook a CPU, GPU, RAM card, or Motherboard.

I bought a cheap hair dryer from a yard sale for one USA dollar. This is about the cost of the cheapest loaf of bread or a candy bar in the USA. The guts were taken apart by me and the heating element was disconnected. I next connected an old vacuum cleaner hose and the end tool I fitted to it. The cleaning tool end fits under my laptop with the help of a couple small blocks of wood to elevate the laptop. To eliminate the hair dryer motor noise, I put it out the window. The air is cooler out there anyway. If anybody does this, MAKE SURE THAT THE OTHER END OF THE HOSE WILL NOT SUCK RAIN!!! ( In case it rains. )

This hair dryer blows lots of air into my laptop! I can safely overclock to the maximum that one would dare with only air cooling. It still puts a smile on my face every time I connect it. This is because of the amazing improvement in IL-2 performance and using Maximum settings, or very nearly so.



I have a 2007 laptop computer with all the advantages of mobility and I have found free and cheap ways to increase performance. The performance is about the same as some desktop computers that cost more, by about the amount that you would pay for a used, cheap car! That's how much I have saved money.



Moggy, my son, knowledge combined in an orderly way yields understanding. With the will to do it, putting it into practice is the nature of wisdom...

Oooops! :oops: There I go again: Spilling the secrets of The Force! :lol: