Introduction: Paper Laptop Stand, the Cheapest Laptop Stand Possible.

I happen to love quake3, and rather worried about my MacBook's durability.

I never get the idea to buy those laptop stand with fans, because MacBooks has no hole at all at its bottom. I was thinking that those half-balls maybe would bend my laptop concave over time, so I never bought those.

.. And so this idea come up when I was exterminating some mosquitoes *grin*.

Probably this is a double post, I don't know, but as far as I've searched there is no mention of "[99%] paper laptop stand" anywhere; if there's any, I'm sorry.

The thoughts and the catches:
1. it's extremely cheap. (well, even if you add the fans into budget, it's still cheap, IMHO.)
2. it has less risk of concave-bowing my laptop. (compared with the "half-balls" type)
3. it's rational for a MacBook. (compared with the premade laptop stands with fans)
4. it probably is not portable, but it can be made almost anywhere I would be using my laptop. (well, at least the stand itself is.)
5. it doesn't interfere with normal internal airflow of a MacBook. See #3.
6. it probably has more efficiency with an unibody MacBook. (when used with fans)

I'll explain everything here first; You'll only need papers and cellophane tape if you only need the stand. The extra parts is two fans and an unused mousepad.
1. Get some 20-30 sheets of unused 80gsm paper.
2. Fold all of them to half, fold them again to a quarter, roll them tight, then tape them (*note* this could be tricky). Height is adjusted by adding more papers or taking them away.
3. Put some fans for extra cooling. I used two 2" 12V 0.11A fans powered by an AC adaptor on both sides, directing the airflow to the left (see arrows). You can also make use of USB power, but I'm personally afraid of toasting my MacBook's USB controllers.
4. On the front base of my MacBook, I added a strip of an unused mousepad base. (WARNING: DON'T use anti-slip pads because they apparently "eat" plastics.)

It's done ! Happy fragging !

*endnote*: in my system, this setup (with fans) apparently lowers my CPU temp at max (on fragging sessions) to around 66-75 C with internal fans running at 6800rpm (max) from the usual 70-80, and base temp at around 38-45 from the usual 50+. Or at least it seems so. One more thing: it seems that you'll need the fan, probably because (as I said earlier) the MacBook doesn't have any holes at its bottom. I even thought of adding heatsinks, superglued to the base, but then what's the point of having a laptop ?? lol ::)

-bam @20090531; ed. 20090608

Step 1: Get Yourself Some Unused Papers.

1. Get some 20-30 sheets of unused 80gsm paper. Pick the length that is suitable for your laptop. (I use A4's for my 13" MacBook.)

Step 2: Fold Them and Roll Them.

2. Fold all of them to half, fold them again to a quarter, roll them tight, then tape them (*note* this could be tricky). Height is adjusted by adding more papers or taking them away.

If you only need a laptop stand, then it's finished! But I added extra cooling and anti-slip capability in the next steps..

Step 3: Extra Cooling With Fans.

3. Put some fans for extra cooling. I used two 2" 12V 0.11A fans powered by an AC adaptor on both sides, directing the airflow to the left (see arrows). You can also make use of USB power (using 6V fans), but I'm personally afraid of toasting my MacBook's USB controllers.

Step 4: ... and an Anti-slip Measure.

4. On the front base of my MacBook, I added a strip of an unused mousepad base as an anti-slip measure. (WARNING: DON'T use anti-slip pads because they apparently "eat" plastics.)

It's finished!