CM Storm SF-19 for M18x R2

[NikoDG]

Hey guys, I bought an Alienware M18x R2 with dual GTX 680m's and a 3840QM. As you can imagine it's fairly warm and I don't feel comfortable overclocking it unless I can reduce the temperature substantially. I've decided on getting the Cooler Master Storm SF-19, does anyone here have any experience with it? I've heard that the fans get very loud at higher speeds, so I was thinking I might replace them with two Cougar CF-V14HB's I have lying around, they're rated at 70 CFM and 20 dB. What I'm wondering is if you think that would provide drastic cooling benefits (enough for me to overclock), and do you think the Cougar fans will out-perform the stock fans by much?

[Liclac]

Hey NikoDG..

 

Personally, I would go for Coolermaster U3

 

http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=6671

 

It has 3 removable fans which can be adjusted on hottest spots on your notebook, and up to 19". The SF19 is not that good based on the reviews I read compared to U3.. U3 is easy to clean, and you can mod the fan size up to 14inch.. I believe I read it somewhere about 14cm fan mod on U3. just google it..

 

I used thermaltake Massive 23LX for G73, but it didn't cool my laptop that much. Now I am using Notepal X3, I am very impressed with X3 performance..

 

Overclock it under air conditioner (or in winter) with cooling pad will cool down the temperature. The notebook cooling pad is not that great for overclocking, it only 2-5 degrees Celcius cooler (w/o OC).

Edited December 5, 2012 by Liclac

[Stonerboy779]

The CM SF-19 would provide great cooling and changing the stock fans to something better along with removing some of the mesh panels would greatly reduce noise and increase airflow.

 

It won't however drop your CPU and GPU temps drastically and I wouldn't consider overclocking but it would be good to prevent the fans ramping up to loud on your laptop along with overall life of the laptop if components stay a little cooler.

 

I would not consider the U3 I had it for a while but it was a little too noisy and didn't provide as mch cooling as I would have liked. Also the clips were too flimsy and the fans all broke off within a month or two. I would however say that the Notepal Ergostand is a good contender. I have used it for the last 7 months now and have loved it. The clips at the front and the adjustable stand make it great for both sitting on your lap and using it on a table with the screen properly elevated. Noise levels and cooling are both rather acceptable.

 

As a permenant desk feature though I myself would go for a modded CM SF-19 and plan to when I get around to getting my new laptop.

[NikoDG]

Yeah, the SF-19 got good reviews, and is supposedly on the same level as the U3 cooling wise. I imagine it will be easier to swap fans though, and should be quieter as it supports 2x140mm fans rather than 3x80mm fans. I have read some customer reviews that said it broke quickly though so fingers crossed, and the only one I was able to find in Canada was USB 2.0, not that it makes a huge difference.

[d6bmg]

Another vote for SF-19. It seems to be good choice for your case than U3 because I think 2x 140mm fans have better cooling capacity than 3x 80mm fans.