How to Make Your Own Laptop Cooling Base
An overheating laptop is no fun, but spending large amounts for a manufactured cooling pad isn’t always an option. Plus, a homemade laptop cooling base can be a fun project. You can use a variety of resources to produce the base, getting as fancy or keeping things as simple as you want. You should keep just one thing in mind: ventilation. Without it, the laptop is going to get hot anyway. In fact, a raised laptop cooling base without fans may be nearly as effective as one with fans. A very simple design is to use a three-ring binder as the base.
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Things You'll Need
- Three-ring binder
- Duct tape
- Knife or scissors
- USB cord
- Low-power computer case fan(s)
Instructions
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Assemble your components. For the fans, you will need to have one or more computer case fans that are relatively low power, as USB transfers a limited amount of power. You will also need an unused USB cable. For the base you can use plastic, metal, wood or even cardboard, but a simple approach is to use a three-ring binder.
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2
Examine the laptop computer the base will be used with, and identify its installed cooling vents. Under no circumstances should these ever be blocked. In fact, ventilating these areas is the main goal of the cooling base.
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3
Mark the three-ring binder cover with the outline of the fan or fans to be used, then cut holes in the cover for where the fans will go.
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4
Secure the fans in their holes with duct tape. Make sure that the fan cords go off to the same side of the three-ring binder (either its top or its bottom).
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5
Cut the connector off the computer case fans and twist their wires together, black with black and red with red.
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Cut the end of the USB cable to reveal green, white, black and red wires. The black and red are the power cables and the only two that will be used to power the fans.
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Twist the USB cable with the computer case fan or fans and tape each wire completely, so that each color of wire is separated from the other.
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Tape the USB and fan cable down so that it doesn’t come loose or get in the way.
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Prop the cooling base up with a coaster or a piece of Styrofoam or a similar material to improve airflow for the fan(s), both below the cooling base and above it.
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Tips & Warnings
Remember, ventilation is key.
By no means do you need to use a three-ring binder; it is only a suggestion for an easy medium to work with. Alternatively, you could construct a base made out of metal, wood or plastic, using nails, glue or other fastening agents to construct it.
Make sure that the black and red wires never touch, as this can cause your laptop to experience an electrical short.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Goodshoot/Getty Images
