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Late 2011 Macbook Pro going fresh

The Unseen

The Unseen

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 24, 2012
96
28
Naples, Italy
I have literally no words. This evening, I have finally decided to drill the bottom of my Late 2011 Macbook Pro 15.
I've made 40 little holes (circa 2mm diameter) where the left fan sits. Immediately I've started a movie conversion from .mkv to .mp4 with Handbrake, operation that usually makes the Mac very hot, with 95° celsius and 6200 rpm for all the duration of the task.
After this operation, with the same task the temperature has never reached 95°celsius (91 max, but for seconds), and the fans only one moment reached the maximum speed of 6200 rpm, staying between 2000-4300 rpm and 75°-85° celsius for all the time.
1 year ago I reapplied the thermal paste putting the Arctic MX-4 but with only a little advantage with temperatures.
This mod instead is very game-changing, because not only the Macbook works really fresh all the time, but the fans go slowly, giving for sure more battery life when I am on the go.
Warning: this is an unfinished work, so the aesthetics is not really at its best. I have to flat it, and to paint like the rest of the MacBook Pro, but it just works!
Here are the pictures :
4aryzugy.jpg

y9ytuqu6.jpg

u5a5uhyt.jpg
 
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Sounds like an interesting modification.

But I'd like to see some pictures too! Post some.
 
Seems kind of drastic to me, but if you're happy with the end result then that's ok.

It also reminds me of this :D
speedholes.png



On a serious note, did you do the paint job or some company?
 
Ahahah you're right

Anyway, the work is not complete, I will show it also with the paint finish on the bottom.
Yes, I did the paint job all by myself. I took apart the Mac (I am also an IT technician so I knew what to do) , flat the surface and paint, then I've reassembled. The bottom is unfinished because I had to drill it. I've seen this kind of job on colorware.com, but honestly I've preferred to do all by myself. Do you like it?
 
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The paint job appears a lot better than your drilling skills.
Did you not have any sharp bits? Why are all the holes different sizes?


Barney
 
maflynn said:
Seems kind of drastic to me, but if you're happy with the end result then that's ok.

It also reminds me of this :D
Image


On a serious note, did you do the paint job or some company?
Click to expand...

Ha! I had the thought to post this picture but I could not find it anywhere!
 
Barney63 said:
The paint job appears a lot better than your drilling skills.
Did you not have any sharp bits? Why are all the holes different sizes?


Barney
Click to expand...

I'm not sure a drill was used, some look they were made by a nail being hammered through. And not even all the same size nail!
 
Barney63 said:
The paint job appears a lot better than your drilling skills.
Did you not have any sharp bits? Why are all the holes different sizes?


Barney
Click to expand...

The holes are different because I made them by hand, but when I'll come back at home I'll fix them.

The most important thing IMHO is that this mod is really effective, it keeps the Mac cool. It can be made better on the cosmetic side, but I didn't think to obtain this results.

It means that the MacBook Pro has the capacity to keep itself cool, if the air flow is more than the original.
 
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You need to cool your LB more evenly on all parts.
I would suggest to make holes like this.

10672194_10204707728962885_486841055109746998_n.jpg


With your design you cool more just GPU and CPU and not whole LB, causing to stretch GPU/CPU uneven in relation to LB and possible cracking solder balls under GPU/CPU.

LB acts as a heat sink by its self. Some chips are soldered in the middle of chip, just to make contact with LB to cool down the chip.
 
You are all insane to do that. Resale value is limited to begin with considering the graphics issue but man, with those ugly and nasty, sloppy holes, the machine is now worthless.

I think what you've all done, is crazy unless you have no intention of ever selling the machine. In that case, then, I suppose it's a viable solution, although you will not be eligible in the class action case. :apple:
 
weez999 said:
You are all insane to do that. Resale value is limited to begin with considering the graphics issue but man, with those ugly and nasty, sloppy holes, the machine is now worthless.

I think what you've all done, is crazy unless you have no intention of ever selling the machine. In that case, then, I suppose it's a viable solution, although you will not be eligible in the class action case. :apple:
Click to expand...

Someone who isn't worried about resale value is insane? I think anyone who is worried about resale value on something that depreciates as quickly as a computer does is foolish.

Anyway, a replacement bottom case can be had for $100 from iFixit. I'm sure a cheaper source could be found if you looked.
 
weez999 said:
You are all insane to do that. Resale value is limited to begin with considering the graphics issue but man, with those ugly and nasty, sloppy holes, the machine is now worthless.

I think what you've all done, is crazy unless you have no intention of ever selling the machine. In that case, then, I suppose it's a viable solution, although you will not be eligible in the class action case. :apple:
Click to expand...

Anyone can take the bottom part of the MacBook Pro on eBay at the cost of 20-30 dollars, leaving the Mac UNTOUCHED for the resale. In the meantime, who makes the mod can use the Mac with less risk of Radeongate, that is the event that really make the Mac worthless. Who is insane?
 
This is the new version
After a year of use, I can confirm that this is a good way to prolong the life of the Macbook pro
IMG20150321170716.jpg
 
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