Water Cooling a Laptop for $30
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Intel sent over a laptop with a Raptor Lake HX CPU in it. So we thought why not try water cooling it on a budget. But how long did it take before everything fell into chaos? Discuss on the forum: linustechtips.com Buy a Notebook Water-Cooling Heat Dissipation Kit from AliExpress: lmg.gg Buy a Notebook Water Cooling Set from AliExpress: lmg.gg Purchases made through some store links may provide some compensation to Linus Media Group. ► GET MERCH: lttstore.com ► GET EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ON FLOATPLANE: lmg.gg ► SPONSORS, AFFILIATES, AND PARTNERS: lmg.gg ► EQUIPMENT WE USE TO FILM LTT: lmg.gg ► OUR WAN PODCAST GEAR: lmg.gg FOLLOW US --------------------------------------------------- Twitter: twitter.com Facebook: @LinusTech Instagram: @linustech TikTok: @linustech Twitch: twitch.tv MUSIC CREDIT --------------------------------------------------- Intro: Laszlo - Supernova Video Link: youtube.com iTunes Download Link: itunes.apple.com Artist Link: soundcloud.com Outro: Approaching Nirvana - Sugar High Video Link: youtube.com Listen on Spotify: spoti.fi Artist Link: youtube.com Intro animation by MBarek Abdelwassaa @mbarek_abdel Monitor And Keyboard by vadimmihalkevich / CC BY 4.0 geni.us Mechanical RGB Keyboard by BigBrotherECE / CC BY 4.0 geni.us Mouse Gamer free Model By Oscar Creativo / CC BY 4.0 geni.us CHAPTERS --------------------------------------------------- 0:00 Intro 1:05 A Simple Plan 2:34 The ASUS ROG Strix Scar 5:49 Alex Applesauce Tips 7:08 A Liquid Metal Hurdle 9:08 "This is Not How you Solder to a Heat Pipe" 12:25 Crap! 14:27 New Strategy 16:30 Using our Environmental Chamber 18:40 This is Not Going to Work 22:45 Does it Work? 23:55 The Results 26:50 Moment of Truth 31:54 Alex Does Some Overclocking 34:40 Outro
Water Cooling a Laptop for $30 chronicles a high‑risk, high‑reward attempt to water cool a top‑tier gaming laptop on a shoestring budget. The video opens with a bold plan to install a $30 AliExpress water cooling kit on an ASUS ROG Strix Scar laptop housing a Raptor Lake HX CPU and an RTX 4090 mobile GPU, aiming for better thermals and potential overclocking headroom. Early segments emphasize both the promise and the chaos of improvisation, including an improvised heat pipe modification, a lack of instructions, and the inevitable warranty concerns. The hosts unpack the kit, examine its dubious components, and debate whether the concept can actually function at home, setting the stage for a chaotic but instructive experiment. As the build progresses, they encounter mounting mechanical and thermal challenges, including attempting to solder to heat pipes and dealing with liquid metal on the CPU. The plan evolves into a multi‑stage strategy featuring rework stations, a CNC vibe, and a makeshift environmental chamber to stress test the cooling loop. The team introduces a salvaged approach with copper tubes, Y‑splits, and a short loop to drive cooling through CPU and GPU in parallel, despite warnings about reliability and safety. Throughout, the dialogue blends humor with experimentation as the team tests different strategies, learns from setbacks, and documents measurable outcomes like CPU/GPU temperatures and Cinebench scores. The finale shifts from a disaster to a performance check, showing momentary success in cooling, improved frame rates, and a tempered celebration of what was learned, even as the broader feasibility of budget water cooling for laptops remains nuanced and conditional.
Topics · technology · computer_hardware · diy_project · overclocking
Questions answered
- What was the initial budget for the laptop cooling kit and what did the team hope to achieve?
- The budget was $30, and the team hoped the kit would enable water cooling of the laptop to boost performance and allow normal operation when filled with water.
- Which laptop and components were used in the test?
- An ASUS ROG Strix Scar laptop with an RTX 4090 mobile GPU and a Core i9-13980HX CPU was used for testing.
- What major method did they attempt to attach the cooling to the heat pipes?
- They attempted to solder copper tubes to the laptop heat pipes to create a water‑cooling loop.
- What role did the environmental chamber play in the test?
- The environmental chamber was used to stress test the cooling by heating the setup to high temperatures and observing how the cooling performed under extreme conditions.
- What was a key challenge encountered with the cooling plan?
- A key challenge was securely attaching the copper tubes to the heat pipes and ensuring a leak‑tight, thermally effective loop while avoiding damage to delicate components.
- Did the water cooling solution finally show measurable performance gains?
- Yes, in later tests the water cooling demonstrated lower temperatures and improved performance metrics like Cinebench scores and sustained CPU speeds.
- What safety or warranty concerns were raised during the project?
- Concerns included voiding the warranty and potential risk from soldering to heat pipes and using liquid metals near sensitive electronics.
- What was the overall takeaway from the project?
- The team learned a lot about practical limits of budget cooling, the importance of reliable connections, and how improvisation can yield both dramatic results and serious setbacks.