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Hardware Hacking IT

How to Keep Your Computer Cool 216

Posted by Zonk from the summer-is-not-a-friendly-computer-time dept.
ThinSkin writes "ExtremeTech is featuring a how-to article on keeping your computer cool by adopting an efficient airflow strategy for your PC case. The article goes into detail on what types of fans are optimal for your computer and your needs, where you should place them, and how to make your own fan mounts. From the article: 'With an efficient cooling strategy, there's no reason a case should ever grow so warm. Good airflow is critical to keeping your PC operating and extending the life of the components. Keep the air flowing!'"
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How to Keep Your Computer Cool More

How to Keep Your Computer Cool

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  • And for the serious overclockers, we have low powered cryogenics [procooling.com] coming down the pipeline. It turns out that Intel is considering [yutopian.com] the possibility of using Pulse Tube Coolers [nasa.gov] for the next generation of thermal management. (Hey Intel, you think that over 100 watts might be just a *smidge* much for a processor?)

    While there's something to be said for this step being rather extreme, it might lead to the development of cryogenic computers. These futuristic processors could utilize super-conducting transistors and wires [wikipedia.org] to improve performance and eliminate waste heat.

    Kind of a weird thought, but there you have it. :-)

    Personally, I'd like to see Stirling or Pulse Tube Coolers replacing existing phase-change air conditioners. In the name of "energy efficiency", you can't buy a decent apartment AC and are forced to deal with putting one in every room. Stirling engines could provide better cooling for less energy! Now if we could just get the buggers mass produced to bring down the cost...
    • Cryogenic computers? Like so that we can put our computers into deep freeze until they've cured this blue screen I keep running in to?
      • It goes to show how widespread a bad joke has become when the opening line to the Wikipedia article on Cryogenics [wikipedia.org] is:

        Cryogenics is the study of very low temperatures or the production of the same, and is often confused with cryobiology, the study of the effect of low temperatures on organisms, or the study of cryopreservation. Likewise, cryonics is the nascent study of the cryopreservation of the human body. Unlike cryogenics, cryonics is not an established science and is viewed with skepticism by most sc
        • One of my systems has a water block on both the CPU and a heavy duty sandwich-style air cooler on the graphics card. I never worry about those parts overheating. I've got about a 7% overclock on the processor

          Um... yeah. I'm gonna take advice from YOU? I think I'll stick with my air-cooled setup. It's only running at a 97% overclock, but it does the trick.

          Amateurs.

    • Re:Stirling Refrigerators (Score:4, Funny)

      by Penguin Programmer ( 241752 ) on Tuesday July 12, 2005 @06:15PM (#13048021) Homepage
      But, really, all of those fan and water and air-conditioning based cooling options are just really good ways to make your office or computer area really friggin' loud.
      It's not that I want to spend $1500 Canadian on my next computer case [zalman.co.kr], but I'm going to seriously consider it. Just imagine, no fans at all to make my room noisy, and if there's a nuclear attack, I can hide behind it for safety!
      • But, really, all of those fan and water and air-conditioning based cooling options are just really good ways to make your office or computer area really friggin' loud.

        You didn't read the article, did you? Stirling Coolers (and I assume Pulse Tube Coolers) make very little noise due to the need for minimal friction. No air is actually moved by the engine (although there is a Helium working fluid sealed inside the engine) so there's no blowing noise, either. The largest concern is vibration, but such vibrat
      • You don't have to have your cpu running at full speed all the time. My mobo (via) is cool and quiet, which means the cpu speed is low when I don't push it. And the mobo can lower the speed of the fans too, hence the noise.
        And it works under linux, yes.
        That and a passive cooled GPU, all in a good case, and you have horsepower, low noise, energy savings for a lot less than 1500$.
      • But, really, all of those fan and water and air-conditioning based cooling options are just really good ways to make your office or computer area really friggin' loud.

        And that's where you're dead wrong. The annoying high pitched whine from the ancient Radeon9700 was finally strangled by replacing CPU and GPU fans by a watercooling kit. Really big drop in fan noise. In fact the power supply fan came to completely dominate the PC hum, water pump or that 12cm radiator fan are undetectable.

        I quess I should

  • Filtration optional??? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by TripMaster Monkey ( 862126 ) * on Tuesday July 12, 2005 @05:57PM (#13047808)
    From TFA:
    Fan filtration is optional; dust may get in your system anyway
    I'd hardly consider filtration optional...especially on any system deemed important enough to build a custom fan solution for. Dust shortens the life of not only your board components, but those fans as well.

  • Maybe... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Virak ( 897071 ) on Tuesday July 12, 2005 @05:58PM (#13047814) Homepage
    If you didn't overclock your computer to hell (in more ways than one) you wouldn't need so much cooling.
    • I have seen plenty of overheating with stock performance speed. The industry norm says.... give consumers the cheapest fan possible while maintaining a higher profit margin. My ultimate suggestion is to run open-cased in a cool room.

      • Re:Maybe... (Score:2, Insightful)

        by bdcrazy ( 817679 )
        Open cases can in fact cause higher temperatures due to uneven or even stagnant air flow. Closing the case and having good air flow through the case would be much better, unless you intend on connecting a box fan to the open side of your case...
        • I can count the number of PCs I've seen with good cases with good airflow on one hand. It's almost always a win with a generic PC case to just open the thing up--at least from a cooling perspective.

          Stock Case fans are remarkably weak too, even if the case is well designed it's not unusual for the airflow to just be insufficent, especially if it's an OEM case and the user has added just about any hardware. HDDs are the worst too, because they are among the most thermally sensitive pieces of equipment in
    • Nah, only overclocking + case modding can make a computer cool (in a puberty kind of way anyway).

    • Re:Maybe... (Score:5, Informative)

      by Fizzog ( 600837 ) on Tuesday July 12, 2005 @06:07PM (#13047930)
      I just built a new PC with an Athlon64 3700+, an XFX 6800gt, and a 74gig Raptor. These things would tend to add up to a few degrees.

      But I put it into a cheap ($50) Cooler Master Centurion case with an 80mm front fan and a 120mm rear fan.

      CPU runs at 29c idle, 36c max
      Case runs at 33c idle, 39c max
      GPU runs at 60c idle, 65c max (those buggers run hot!)

      The point is that you don't need anything particularly fancy to keep a decent spec system cool. Just do a little homework. The Cooler Master case was excellent value.

      • Re:Maybe... (Score:5, Funny)

        by PakProtector ( 115173 ) <cevkiv@@@gmail...com> on Tuesday July 12, 2005 @06:32PM (#13048149) Journal

        Amen to GPUs being damn hot. I once made the mistake of doubting the stick-on thermometer I applied to my highly overclocked ATI 9600XT, and I got a nasty, nasty burn for my trouble.

        On the other hand, having the ATI logo branded into your right index finger is a social accomplishment at certain parties.

        • I bought myself one of the zalman fans with the big-ass heat sink. I used the fan speed regulator that came with it to control the 120mm fan on the back of my computer, and the only other fans I have are in my Antec power supply and my Chaintech/nVidia 6800 GT. I have a 2.4ghz pentium 4. After A few hours of Medal of Honor Pacific Assault played at all the highest settings, my CPU will be around 45 degrees C. Idle, it stays around 35 degrees C.
          I find this especially impressive because I don't have air cond
    • This is the case I made my new system around. Yeah, it's a big ugly chunk of metal...but it's SO cool. Especially with it's big CrossFlow fan that blows across the entire motherboard. Plus the 90mm fans front and back. The 80mm on top. This baby ain't gettin hot. And since it's under the table, the noise isn't bad at all.

      The CrossFlow is really nice and quiet anyway.
      • Sorry, 120mm fans front and back..not 90mm.
      • Hey, I've got the same case and I don't think it's ugly! But big, yeah, it's whompin big.

        Seriously, I've read some reviews and most think the crossflow fan doesn't really help cool that much in ATX configs, but does in BTX. In ATX it might just be adding noise. I didn't buy that option for mine, so I'd be interested to know if you shut off that fan, do your cpu/motherboard temps go up?

        I did buy two more of the 4/3 blocks with the 120mm fans for up front. Three 120mm fans up front really move some ai

        • Well, I'm using a DFI Lanparty nF4 SLI-DR which is layed out a little differently than a normal ATX configured board. For one thing the RAM slots are horizontal rather than vertical...so the air from the Crossflow blows in between them. And yes, from shutting off the fan (I have to unplug the fan as I don't have the little control switch for it hooked up) does make the board heat up a few more degrees. Is it a huge difference? Not really, but every little bit helps.

          And yeah, having 3 120mm fans really do m
          • Ahh, that different configuration with the horizontal RAM probably makes a big difference. Those normally block access to a large chunk of the motherboards surface for a fan blowing right along the edge.

            Yes, with the 3 120mm's up front I saw no need for the crossflow. My board and CPU run plenty cool. There is essentially a full wall of air moving through the case.

            Hehe...some even say it's big enough to ride if you wanted.

            Did you put the wheels on yours? You can! ;)

    • Not for me (I don't overclock my systems). My room (upstair and A/C doesn't do well in my room) can go over 85 degrees(F) during heat waves.

      I have seen my AMD Athlon64 3200+ CPU go up to 154 degrees(F) under stress mode (cpuburn, gaming, etc.). Motherboard temperature is about 112 degrees. Yes, this is with a lot of fans blowing with many fans including a Thermaltake A1838 (Silent Boost K8).
    • But it makes my internet run faster!
  • But I'm too lazy to RTFA =\ Woo, my AMD idles at 60C and peaks at 73C!
    • That's probably not a problem. The CPU can stand that. Not way more than that, but my computer routinely used to peak at up to 79, 80C (I have since cleaned the path somewhat). Of course the temperature reporting is notoriously inaccurate. Anyway, whatever the article might say, you don't need an insane airflow in a modern computer. Since airflow is typically proportional to noise, it's not a bad idea to have only just enough airflow to get your temperature (well, maybe 5C or so less for good measure). Eh,

  • How to Keep Your Computer Cool (Score:5, Funny)

    by slapout ( 93640 ) on Tuesday July 12, 2005 @06:01PM (#13047851)
    Don't run Windows.

    Oh, you meant the other kind of cool. Nevermind.
  • Really, shouldn't fans be obvious on /.?

  • Not news (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 12, 2005 @06:02PM (#13047865)
    Is any of this news to anyone? Everything in this article is obvious and anybody who has opened a computer case before knows the crap contained in this 6-page article.

    Why is it six pages? Why, of course, so that the GIGANTIC ads are displayed that many times. Take a look at the URL pointed to by the link that is the author's name... no surprise
  • It seems to me that adding new holes to an existing case may not be the ideal solution for those looking for good cooling. Things like fans mounted directly in front of drives, and aligned with key mounting points are features of well designed cases and hacking holes into a case may lack a planned approach. The lack of filtration and dust control methods in the article is also worrying, as the dust can easily clog fans and block drive air holes, leading to increased internal component heat.

  • really? wow! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 12, 2005 @06:03PM (#13047880)
    In other news: sky still blue.

    I should blow cool air into my computer and draw hot air out of it? Are you sure? There must be some other way!

    There's 5 minutes I'll never see again.
  • keeping your computer cool by adopting an efficient airflow strategy

    They seem to have not gotten the weasel terms [slashdot.org] memo.

  • Environmetal Factors (Score:1, Insightful)

    by jdp816 ( 895616 )
    It should also be noted that the environemnt of the room should be the largest factor in determining your cooling needs. If you have a guaranteed 65 degF 24/7 you can get by with much lower airflow rates than a varying room with peaks 79 degF and possible lows to 70 degF (typical yearly household range, I'd venture a guess without the Google trudging)

  • How to Keep Your Computer Cool? (Score:4, Funny)

    by MasterB(G)ates ( 718264 ) on Tuesday July 12, 2005 @06:06PM (#13047911)
    Pair of sun glasses, a dark case, a divx rip of Pulp Fiction, Ubuntu and a seemingly infinite supply of of p0rn.

    Now that is cool...
  • Keep the air flowing! I use oil [blogspot.com] you insesitive clod!
  • Before you add a fan, you have to buy one... Fans come in sizes measured in millimeters... indicates the length and width of the fan (nearly all case fans are square)--not the diagonal measurement like that of a monitor's viewable area.... You can spot a fan mount in your PC's chassis by the presence of a grill (or many holes next to each other) surrounded by four symmetrical screw holes, one in each corner.

    Jesus, am i getting smarter or are these articles getting stupider? I think if you need that kind

    • Before you add a fan, you have to buy one... Fans come in sizes measured in millimeters..

      They also are measured in Watts for power consumption.

      More Watts is better, provided you don't cover the intake with paper, thick dust, or plastic shrinkwrap from all those DVDs you ripped.

      Keep your fans clean - and powerful.

      While we all place our boxen on the floor, it's amazing how much less dust you get if you put them at least four inches above rug/floor level - I use an old table that has slats about four inch
    • It's not just you. That was a one-page note drawn out over five advertisment-heavy pages.

  • The Air must Flow (Score:4, Funny)

    by WillAffleckUW ( 858324 ) on Tuesday July 12, 2005 @06:11PM (#13047973) Homepage Journal
    Air is essential for the Guild navigators to pilot their bitTorrents from one node to another.

    If the Air does not Flow, bitTorrents will be impacted.

    The Air must Flow!

    -

    oh, and besides, those dust bunnies can get quite unruly at times, rabid almost, vorpal in their natures, if you will.
  • "This photograph shows a 120mm fan mount in the front of a case." http://common.ziffdavisinternet.com/util_get_image /10/0,1425,i=109182,00.jpg [ziffdavisinternet.com] I can understand typos but come on. Doesn't look like the front of any case I've ever seen.
  • Yes, I have a friend or two..
    I told him I was a little concerned with my p4 running around 60C and hee tells me that when they test out the chips, they test them at like 100C.
    Im not suggesting to run your CPU at 100C, but I don't think 60-70 is a problem.
    There is, however, a segment of modders who will spend tons of money because they heard that brand x of thermal grease will lower the CPU temp .000000001 degree.

  • Decent temperatures (Score:3, Interesting)

    by isorox ( 205688 ) on Tuesday July 12, 2005 @06:14PM (#13048005) Homepage Journal
    How hot is too hot? I've built a new P4-2.4GHz box arround a Shuttle Zen (quieter than a laptop), the processor runs arorund 65 degrees C, the case arround 50. How hot is dangerous?

    • Re:Decent temperatures (Score:4, Informative)

      by ctr2sprt ( 574731 ) on Tuesday July 12, 2005 @06:41PM (#13048227)
      That is near the danger level. Typical for a desktop system is 25-35C at idle, going up to 50-55C during peak use. Most thermal cutoffs (extreme downclocking, automatic shutdown) activate at or near 75C. I would be worried, with your system, that hot days and heavy use would cause lockups or the aforementioned throttling. Even if that doesn't happen, consistent operation at those temperatures is going to markedly reduce the life expectancy of your hardware.
    • It's not "dangerous" per se, except that hot components have a shorter lifetime. Most motherboards will shut off automatically at temperatures deemed "unsafe" (imminent heat-failure of components). I don't remember the statistics....but I'm sure you can find them.
  • What's always troubled me about my system's cooling is that the temperature LCD's show a temperature quite different from motherboard monitor... My LCD's show around 55 degrees celsius under a full load, where as motherboard monitor sometimes shows as high as 70 degrees celsius. I don't know which one I should trust. The system is a Monarch Hornet Pro, so I expect it to run a bit toasty because of the form factor, but 50 sounds kind of low for AMD Athlon XP 2500+ (Barton) with such little cooling and spa
    • if you had to pick one to go off of, which would you base your cooling decisions on?

      the one that you want to see, or the one that will motivate you to perhaps take better care of your computer (eg, better fans, lowering load, increasing airflow, etc)?

      me, id believe the 70c number, especially with SFF boxen.
    • They are almost certainly reading different temperature probes. The motherboard probably has a probe that sits directly under the CPU, which is why it reads so hot. The LCD one probably has a temperature probe attached to a wire that is probably crammed somewhere in the CPU heatsink fins (just a guess), so it reads a bit lower.

      If I was you I would be concerned about the CPU running at 70 degrees, though if 70 degrees is the highest you've ever seen then you might be OK.

  • Making fans cat-proof (Score:3, Interesting)

    by expro ( 597113 ) on Tuesday July 12, 2005 @06:38PM (#13048209)

    For me, one of the most important aspects of the design is making it so that the two cats in our house cannot block the fans, who for some reason love to lay up against the fans if they are accessible (such as where there are two fans on the side) or otherwise interfere or they can push other things off the rack to make them accessible.

    They have been the cause of much hardware failure if there is any way they can stretch or squeeze into an opening that has a fan, often after I believed that the configuration now was catproof after reacting to a previous incident.

  • 1U cooling (Score:3, Interesting)

    by flatface ( 611167 ) on Tuesday July 12, 2005 @06:40PM (#13048220)
    When it comes to rackmountable servers, I know that you need to get specialized cooling... When I got my 1U case, I put the system in (AXP 2400+), got a 1U fan and some silver heatsink compound for it, and tried it out, yet it overheats like mad.

    It works completely fine with the top of the case off, but I'm probably missing some info someone more experienced would know. Of course, it may be either a design issue with the case or maybe the AXP just runs too hot for something like a 1U. Does anyone here have some tips for cooling systems like this? If necessary, I can provide details when I get home.
    • If you look at a 1u IBM Server [ibm.com] (click on visual tour, then inside view), they've got a lot of fans -- 7 in fact, with 2 blowing over each cpu. You might not have enough fans and maybe the link above will give you some ideas on fan positioning if you have any options in your case. I'm not sure of the rpm the fans they use run at, but they're monsters and they sound like jet engines when you turn the servers on.

      Right now, I've got 6 rack mount ibm servers with p4s in them and haven't had any cooling proble
  • I've got 3 computers all crammed in a small office. Sometimes when I'm working on clients PCs I'll have as many as 6. Room gets very hot. I don't have a window that I can open to put in a room air conditioner. What can I do to cool down the room?
    • Get some box fans, and apply the same logic as the guy in the article. You need an intake fan, and an exhaust fan. Since it sounds like you only have a door, things get a little tricky. But you can stack the fans, putting the intake fan on the bottom to blow in cool air, and the exhaust fan on top to blow out the hot air (remember hot air rises). I'm sure your coworkers will love you.
  • Basically a boring read about putting fans in filled with little content per page and high ad count.

    In other words, yet another article spammer...

    Tom
  • I just built a Pentium D system yesterday.

    It's running really hot and I need to find a way to cool it.
  • One of the big issues with computers is dust, etc. You can use a filter but then it will get plugged regularly and block-off airflow.

    Perhaps something akin to a dust-collector and a fan to such the dust *away* from the other components (a-la-vaccuum).

  • One word: Galaxy Fan. err... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by TheCamper ( 827137 ) <SporkMasterSpork@@@gmail...com> on Tuesday July 12, 2005 @07:10PM (#13048523) Homepage
    The last computer I built (and the one I am typing on) has a problem with heat, even though the inside of my case has good airflow. The problem is that this is a frankenstein box, and I was too cheap to buy good fans. So what I did was take both side panels off, and put a 20" Galaxy fan (about $11 at walmart) on the side, pumping air into the case. The air then flows out where the right side panel used to be.

    I get temps between 100 and 120 fahrenheit, depending on whether I'm playing a 3D accelerated game or not.

    Recently, due to a very dusty nightmare (I spend hours cleaning the dust out) I now have an air-conditioner filter duct taped to the front of the galaxy fan. I change it every few months.
  • My comp runs fine, but what about my ROOM?! I have central air cond, but my bedroom is the only room in the house that is boiling hot in the summer. As a power user who doesn't like turning off his comp, that sucks :P

    • My comp runs fine, but what about my ROOM?! I have central air cond, but my bedroom is the only room in the house that is boiling hot in the summer. As a power user who doesn't like turning off his comp, that sucks :P

      Two things:

      1. Open your window - if you need a screen on it, then get one.

      2. Mount your PC so it's in the shade, with the exhaust going towards the window and the air intake coming from the shade.

      3. Buy a box fan for your window, or put one so it pushes the hot air out.

      4. Stop painting yo
    • Same problem here. One thing I did recently was to replace my two CRT's with LCD's, that helped a little. Opening the window doesn't help as it is 90-100 F outside, so it will actually get hotter if I open it.
      Something I am experimenting with is putting air filter material on all of the air ducts except the one in the 'office' room. I figure if that room is the path of least resistance, it will get more of the cool air.

      Most definitely my next round of computer upgrades will be concentrating on getting equ
    • I solved that problem for less than $30 a month with a virtual host somewhere on the east coast (don't even know where it really is). That's my only machine that's always on & holds all my files/email/stuffs. I access it ssh tunnel from work or wherever. The key is to seperate what can be kept on a machine that gets turned off from what must always be available.
  • When you have a nice cool running ARM chip?
  • I was playing UT2K4 this morning, when my alarm on my intel board started beeping.

    Before I could exit the game the alarm chirp had gone from beeping slowly to screaming at me, and I was presented with a zone2 temp of almost 180F, and 3 fan speed alarms. (30f above alarm status.. in 3 minutes)

    Upon opening the case, there was no mystery as to why.

    Our water heater gained "pining for the fjords" status last week, and being that it is right behind me, the carpet in here needed replacing after the new water he
  • IBM today unveiled a chilled water cooling system [datacenterknowledge.com] to manage heat loads for high-density cabinets using its eServer cluster products. It's been dubbed "Cool Blue." The debate about water cooling in the data center is a heated one (for a conversation about cooling) and has been discussed here before [slashdot.org]. Amid all the other strategies mentioned here, it's interesting to see Big Blue touting water cooling.
  • Hell, I don't know about you, but I tape put a pair of sunglasses on mine, it keeps it cool 24 hours a DAY...
  • Case and CPU run at just fine temps (especially now that I have an Antec P180 case, complete with seperate compartment for the power supply to maximize airflow and reduce radiant heat), but my video card, a Nvidia 6800GT, still gets way too hot. Around 70C idle, over 90C with heavy loads. I've even installed an optional 80mm fan on the side exhaust vent (with the air blowing onto the card, as the case manual recommends). I've also tried a PCI fan card, nothing seems to cool that sucker down. Anyone have
  • How to tell if you're cool:

    After the PC has been running for a few hours, open the case and touch your IDE hard drives. They should be cool to the touch. If they're warm (not hot, just warm) then your mad case modding skills are uncool. Also your drive will have an abbreviated lifespan, but why let that detail bother you?

    It takes very little to keep a modern IDE hard drive cool. Just blow air at it. They only run warm if the air around them is stagnant. Stagnant air acts as an insulator, causing what litt

  • Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (Score:4, Funny)

    by Cervantes ( 612861 ) on Tuesday July 12, 2005 @11:48PM (#13050361) Journal
    Whiskey Tango Foxtrot ....

    Seriously, WTF dude? It takes 2 pages to describe where you should mount your fan? We need another how-to on how to cut a fuckin hole in your case? "Have some fans in the front and some more in the back"... well, THERE'S a fuckin gem! Christ, I never would have thought of that!! I thought I should go out and buy 20 fuckin 200mm fans and duct-tape them all in a GIANT FUCKIN STACK right over my CPU, creating a giant VORTEX OF DOOM sticking out the side of my case, and THEN I would vent that GIANT VORTEX OF DOOM back INTO the front of my case, to make sure I made appropriate use of my airflow, and THEN to make sure I didn't have any leaks I'd duct-tape EVERY FUCKIN HOLE in my case shut, including those wussy holes on the back, they're not for anything, right? And THEN, when I have my GIANT VORTEX OF DOOM running at FULL BLAST, with my tower jitterbugging off the edge of my desk due to the MASSIVE VIBRATIONS, and my cats are running for their lives lest they be SUCKED IN to the one dime-sized hole I left open on the front of my case (for my wires to run for my most awesome LCD panel dude!), and THEN, I would have the GREATEST COOLING RIG EVAR!!!! Mwahahaha!!!

    But now, thanks to this in-depth, insightful article, I now know that, if I want to cool my case, I have to put FUCKING FANS ON MY CASE... and if I want a fan where there isn't a hole, I can either CHANGE MY FUCKING MIND, or CUT A FUCKING HOLE.

    HOLY SHIT DUDE, I NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT.

    Thanks you Slashdot. I feel my intelligence being leeched out by the alien overlord editors as we speak. Your grand plan for DUMBING DOWN THE FUCKING WORLD is working great. Good job. I am a l33t h4ck3r now. Feer me, for I know the power of the FAN!!!

    Please let me know when I can cast my vote for Kodos. Anything that queer slimy bastard can do to stop this story from being duped next week will make me very very happy.
  • in the side panel , cover it with a mesh and have a very low RPM 6-8" inblowing fan installed.Cool insides and low noise?

  • by putting a lot of stickers on it. It sure is one of the cooler laptops in the meetings I attend. 8-)
  • Here's one: make sure it blows outwards or perhaps even better remove it. A front fan sucking (already warm room temperature) air in can easily contribute to CPU/MB/HD heating.

    There's enough holes and slits everywhere to get fresh air into the case. Don't think you're improving airflow (perhaps yes) and therefore heat reduction (certainly not) with a front fan blowing into the case. It also gets much more dust into your case BTW. It would work in a relatively sterile room that is cooled itself (a server ro

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