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Case mod for MBP 15"?

SpazzyMac

SpazzyMac

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 15, 2011
116
0
Denmark
I've been wondering how I should mod the bottom case of my mbp.
and if I should do it exactly where should I cut?
how big should they be?
since I'm not an airflow engineer, I am a little concerned about if I mod it, that the airflow kinda dies and just makes it worse :eek:

Any helpful information will be much appreciated, and that'll make me decide if I'm going to do it or not ;)

The temperatures are fine now with the latest Lion 10.7.2
hovers around 40 celsius while on the web and working with Word.
but when flash activates or if I switch to discrete graphics (6750m) the heat goes up!
When gaming in bootcamp the heat gets almost unbearable, the CPU goes 90+ celsius and the CPU hits 85C but with the latest AMD 11.10 Preview 3 drivers the GPU hits 88C while gaming Battlefield 3 with OC'ed settings :(
 
SpazzyMac said:
I've been wondering how I should mod the bottom case of my mbp.
and if I should do it exactly where should I cut?
how big should they be?
since I'm not an airflow engineer, I am a little concerned about if I mod it, that the airflow kinda dies and just makes it worse :eek:

Any helpful information will be much appreciated, and that'll make me decide if I'm going to do it or not ;)

The temperatures are fine now with the latest Lion 10.7.2
hovers around 40 celsius while on the web and working with Word.
but when flash activates or if I switch to discrete graphics (6750m) the heat goes up!
When gaming in bootcamp the heat gets almost unbearable, the CPU goes 90+ celsius and the CPU hits 85C but with the latest AMD 11.10 Preview 3 drivers the GPU hits 88C while gaming Battlefield 3 with OC'ed settings :(
Click to expand...

I believe the heat comes out the hinge and some through the kayboard not sure changing the bottom cover or modding it with vents will help
 
te macbook pro was designed not to have holes on the bottom

void ur warrenty if u want
 
Has anyone done any cool mods beside this one? I wonder how it would work if someone made circles big enough to provide intake of Air into the fans? or did apple design their Air Dynamics in such a way that doing so would create no difference?

My thinking was that if one were to create holes under the fans and putting mesh over to protect stuff from going on, would that make a difference in the temps?

or

Drilling tiny tiny holes kind of like how the speaker grills looked on the previous unibody macbook pro's right below the two fans....

any thoughts? or ideas or anyone that has tried it?
 
Is your Mac shutting off from the heat? If not, then why are you worried? Of course the heat goes up when you use Flash, it's using more CPU power. What exactly are you worried about with the temps you're seeing?

Seriously, it's a bad idea. You'll get very little benefit, if any.

Satnam1989 said:
I wonder how it would work if someone made circles big enough to provide intake of Air into the fans? or did apple design their Air Dynamics in such a way that doing so would create no difference?
Click to expand...

This would negate the benefit of the fans. The whole point is that the fans draw air through the heat sinks in the MBP. Air follows the path of least resistance. So if you cut directly below the fans, it would just draw air in from the outside (and from the heat sinks because of the design of the fans, but the draw would be significantly lessened) and then shoot it right back out the hinge vent.
 
spazzymac said:
i've been wondering how i should mod the bottom case of my mbp.
And if i should do it exactly where should i cut?
How big should they be?
Since i'm not an airflow engineer, i am a little concerned about if i mod it, that the airflow kinda dies and just makes it worse :eek:

any helpful information will be much appreciated, and that'll make me decide if i'm going to do it or not ;)

the temperatures are fine now with the latest lion 10.7.2
hovers around 40 celsius while on the web and working with word.
But when flash activates or if i switch to discrete graphics (6750m) the heat goes up!
When gaming in bootcamp the heat gets almost unbearable, the cpu goes 90+ celsius and the cpu hits 85c but with the latest amd 11.10 preview 3 drivers the gpu hits 88c while gaming battlefield 3 with oc'ed settings :(
Click to expand...

what a stupid, idiotic idea.
 
whats with all the negativity guys if you have nothing nice to say about it or your brain doesn't function enough to think of the physics involved in the design on making things better then please refrain from commenting:)

were all sharing ideas and asking for input and it doesn't hurt to ask nor does it hurt for those you commenting to share your input in a positive manner.


for the guy saying what am i worried about, I'm not worried about anything buddy, just thinking thats all, you don't see any physical mods with MacBooks so whats wrong with asking? Someone out there in the wild always tries something we all haven't even thought of so why not ask?


again be nice people if you hav nothing nice to say then keep it to your self because we don't hav any interest in reading ur stupid off topic comments.
 
Satnam1989 said:
whats with all the negativity guys if you have nothing nice to say about it or your brain doesn't function enough to think of the physics involved in the design on making things better then please refrain from commenting:)

were all sharing ideas and asking for input and it doesn't hurt to ask nor does it hurt for those you commenting to share your input in a positive manner.


for the guy saying what am i worried about, I'm not worried about anything buddy, just thinking thats all, you don't see any physical mods with MacBooks so whats wrong with asking? Someone out there in the wild always tries something we all haven't even thought of so why not ask?


again be nice people if you hav nothing nice to say then keep it to your self because we don't hav any interest in reading ur stupid off topic comments.
Click to expand...


I completely agree with you, not only the fact people are negative, it seems that most people who come about being so negative, are regarding the heat issues people are claiming to have.

I really enjoy seeing people that take pride in their products that they mod, obviously knowing the consequences that potentially follows. For myself, I would prefer to make my mac run cool as possible, as it would maximize the longevity of my MBP.
 
"Think different" is not very popular here.

a few weeks ago some guy reported that he was using his laptop with the bottom cover removed, and got the temperatures down by ~10C across the board.

I'm not sure whether the fans in the MBP pull in air through the heatsink or if they act as exhaust. In any case, removing parts of the case won't hurt the CPU cooling, but might affect the cooling of other components that rely on the air circulation inside the body.
 
randomrazr said:
te macbook pro was designed not to have holes on the bottom

void ur warrenty if u want
Click to expand...

I don't think poking holes in the bottom case of your MBP would void your warranty since you can easily buy a new case.

thundersteele said:
"Think different" is not very popular here.

a few weeks ago some guy reported that he was using his laptop with the bottom cover removed, and got the temperatures down by ~10C across the board.

I'm not sure whether the fans in the MBP pull in air through the heatsink or if they act as exhaust. In any case, removing parts of the case won't hurt the CPU cooling, but might affect the cooling of other components that rely on the air circulation inside the body.
Click to expand...

I think modding a bottom case should help airflow, but I fear that it would leave the inside of my MBP open to other stuff, such as dust and dirt, which many have an even more negative impact than heat...
 
Heebeejeebies said:
I don't think poking holes in the bottom case of your MBP would void your warranty since you can easily buy a new case.



I think modding a bottom case should help airflow, but I fear that it would leave the inside of my MBP open to other stuff, such as dust and dirt, which many have an even more negative impact than heat...
Click to expand...


Yes modding bottom case isn't a big warranty concern. its easily replaceable from ebay.....and as for the dust getting in, I thought about that one as well....putting mesh in like the one that comes inside some laptops and it collects dust from going in.


At the end of the day people these are just thoughts, some people hav tried something new/crazy others are afraid because they jus fear the worst possible situation or just don't want to do anything but thats your freedom and that being said you shouldn't hav to criticize someone for trying/doing something different/against your thinking.

So please if you have tried something different then keeping the MBP stock the do share it with us, If you have some knowledge of the macbook pro's design as to how air is circulated with a proper explanation that makes sense please again do share it with us:) NO I'm not concerned about my temps, they barely hit high enough and my fans barely spin faster then 2K RPM but I like to know what others are thinking:)
 
Oh no, not this again.

---

I would advise against doing this, Miles is correct. And please do answer iThinkergoiMac;

Is your Mac shutting off from the heat? If not, then why are you worried?
Click to expand...

He's right, if it's not shutting off you're spinning your wheels on a pointless endeavor.
 
Risasi said:
I would advise against doing this, Miles is correct. And please do answer iThinkergoiMac;
Click to expand...
This is fine. I would also advice against doing it... big chance that it messes up something, without bringing any benefits.

He's right, if it's not shutting off you're spinning your wheels on a pointless endeavor.
Click to expand...

This is the part I don't like. We all agree that if it doesn't shut down, there is no problem, and if it does shut down, it's a problem that apple should fix.
However, if someone wants to experiment, and maybe make the machine run at 85C instead of 95C under load, just let him/her. Since when is it bad to be curious, creative and willing to understand and learn something?
 
thundersteele said:
This is fine. I would also advice against doing it... big chance that it messes up something, without bringing any benefits.



This is the part I don't like. We all agree that if it doesn't shut down, there is no problem, and if it does shut down, it's a problem that apple should fix.
However, if someone wants to experiment, and maybe make the machine run at 85C instead of 95C under load, just let him/her. Since when is it bad to be curious, creative and willing to understand and learn something?
Click to expand...


I'm all for experimenting, if that's your bag, baby...the thing is there is a plethora of data available already showing that there is no valid goal to accomplish by doing so. The OP stated that his GPU hits a whopping 88C while playing BF3 when OC'ed. That is so far within specs of the heat ceiling it's not even funny. I've taken mine to 100-102c frequently without even a shutdown. These kinds of threads are less science and more voodoo.
 
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