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What is the best cooling pad for the rMBP?

I've got an idea for a home-made efficient macbook cooler:

Since the back/bottom of the Macbook gets the hottest, I am going to buy one or two longitudinal aluminium heatsinks off Ebay, such as this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/150x40x20mm...998?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c6739ac8e

Since the bottom of the macbook is aluminium as well, it conducts heat well, so all the heat from the inner components transfers to the case. I will simply rest the back of the macbook on the flat part of the heatsink (propping it up like a stand would, they seem to be exactly the right height).
The heat from the case will hence get conducted into the heatsink, and dissipate into the room.
Then an optional thing to do is to put 1 or 2 fans on either side of the longitudinal heatsink(s), sucking/blowing air through it, making it dissipate heat faster.

I think this type of cooler would work best with the macbook pro because:
- It does not have vents in the bottom
- It is made of aluminium, so the case can conduct inner heat outwards
- The back of the laptop gets the hottest, because the CPU/GPU and internal heatsink are located there, so this is the perfect spot to draw heat away.
- The look of the heatsinks matches the macbook, because they are all aluminium :)


I will attempt this little hobby project, and post the results in terms of temperatures here!
 
This sounds like an interesting idea. I guess the only thing which might be an issue is the thermal coupling, or lack thereof, between the body and the heat sinks?
 
I would like to see, an effective cooling base, specific for mbp.
Am I asking too much?
Most of the existing pads on the marker target to ugly pc laptops.

I wish there were cooling pads for rmbp, that really cool the computer, but it would be designed the apple's way.
Aluminum in silver color, identical dimensions, well-built, etc

In the past I saw some 'kickstarter' projects but I don't know if they moved forward.
 
There is nothing like I describe it?
Design and cooling effectiveness in one item.
 
vojoo said:
What are you guys using to cool your rMBPs? I just got mine yesterday, and I want to make sure I get the best cooling pad I can for this computer. I did search and found quite a bit of generic information about cooling pads in general, but I didn't know if they would work with the new design of the computer.
Click to expand...

None is the way to go. Do not worry about the cooling capabilities of your mac (as long as you don't put a skin or case around it).

A good friend of mine is a wildlife filmer and she does video editing in the Kalahari (Africa) desert inside a tent. Often the temperature inside is over 40 degrees C (100 degrees F) and she never had a problem with her macbook overheating.
Yes it will feel hot, but it can handle it!

So just use your machine and be happy!
 
maartendc said:
I've got an idea for a home-made efficient macbook cooler:

Since the back/bottom of the Macbook gets the hottest, I am going to buy one or two longitudinal aluminium heatsinks off Ebay (...) Since the bottom of the macbook is aluminium as well, it conducts heat well, so all the heat from the inner components transfers to the case. I will simply rest the back of the macbook on the flat part of the heatsink (propping it up like a stand would, they seem to be exactly the right height).
The heat from the case will hence get conducted into the heatsink, and dissipate into the room.

I think this type of cooler would work best with the macbook pro because:
- It does not have vents in the bottom
- It is made of aluminium, so the case can conduct inner heat outwards
- The back of the laptop gets the hottest, because the CPU/GPU and internal heatsink are located there, so this is the perfect spot to draw heat away.

I will attempt this little hobby project, and post the results in terms of temperatures here!
Click to expand...

I have tried this concept, using a 20cm long, 10cm wide aluminium heatsink to prop up and draw heat from the macbook, and using a 120mm USB powered blower fan to get the heatsink to dissipate heat away. (see pictures)

THE TESTS:
I ran a couple of benchmarks designed to overheat the system (such as Furmark, which stresses the GPU, for 10 mins each time). Here are the results:

- Using the Macbook pro "normally", the GPU peaks at 88 degrees C, before stabilizing at 77C.
- Using the Macbook pro with the cooling concept, the GPU peaks at only 84C, before stabilizing at 77C.
- The fan speed of the Macbook pro 'normal' reaches 5800 rpm
- The fan speed of the Macbook pro with the cooling solution reaches only 5300 rpm.

This means two things:
- The cooling concept works, but:
- because the Macbook pro throttles the GPU when it gets hot, and the system fans are throttled as well, the temperature in both cases is 77C on average. The result is that with the cooling concept, the macbook's fan is running lower, and the system is throttled (slowed down) less, but the temperature stays the same.


To circumvent this fan throttling aspect, I have downloaded a tool (called Input Remapper) that maximizes the Macbook's fan speed at 6000 rpm, and did the measurements again for both cases:

- This time, the system with the cooling concept only reaches a maximum of 71-72C with the system fan maxed.
- The temperature of the 'normal' Macbook Pro still reaches a temperature of 76C with the system fan maxed.

CONCLUSION:
With a constant system fan speed, the concept cools the system by 4-5 degrees C as compared to a 'normal' macbook.
Besides the lower temperature, the system might perform better than usual with the extra cooling concept, because there is also less throttling, based on more heat being dissipated from the system.

Granted, it looks silly, but it performs better on the Macbook than any cooling pad I have seen.
Added benefit: it props up the macbook, which is more ergonomic.

UPDATE:
I tried playing some actual games with this setup (L.A. Noire), and the difference in temperature with both the cooling system and the system fan on max, is pretty amazing:

- The GPU temperature used to go up to 78°C.
- With the cooling on, in now only goes up to 65°C, which is a 13°C drop.
I get similar results for the CPU. Granted, the previous tests showed that only 5°C of this is due to the cooling system, so the other 8°C would be due to the system fan running on max. Still very good results, and I will be using this setup for gaming and other intensive tasks.
 

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Last edited:
EthosX said:
Please people all what u posted here is junk and not cooling pads !!

THIS IS PROPER COOLING PAD DOWN BELOW :D

Made from top quality fans : Noctua Arctic C. and Nexus

Best fans are middle arctic ones .. quietest and best air blow

Image
Click to expand...

How do you wire and power this thing?

Looks cool! :D
 
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