The Bottom Line
- Extreme Thermal Reductions: Both the Intel Core i7-8750H CPU and Nvidia GTX 1060 GPU dropped by 60°C under stress testing, resting comfortably below 40°C.
- Structural Compromises: The modification requires a heavily altered chassis, featuring a gaping hole in the bottom shell, a manual toggle switch, a 3D-printed stand, and epoxy-mounted hardware behind the display panel.
- Quantifiable Performance Upside: Following the thermal overhaul, benchmark testing on Forza Horizon 5 showed frame rates climbing from 75 FPS to 83 FPS after overclocking.
Anatomy of a Clevo Chassis Conversion
The donor machine selected for the experiment is a Metabox P950EP, an Australian-market rebrand of a Clevo chassis originally engineered in Taiwan. According to background details outlined by WindowsForum, the P950EP measures under 2 centimeters thick and weighs just under 2 kilograms while packing a six-core H-series Intel CPU and an Nvidia GTX 1060 Max-Q into a constrained thermal envelope. Previous owner threads cited by WindowsForum note that these thin-profile gaming laptops run notoriously hot during gaming sessions, making them a prime candidate for extreme cooling modifications.
TrashBench’s build discarded conventional cooling entirely. As detailed in the initial reports, the process began with a salvaged, cut-up 360mm all-in-one liquid cooling radiator. Because the stock AIO pump lacked the pressure to push coolant through a second waterblock, the modder swapped in a larger, standalone pump. The primary CPU and GPU waterblocks were seated in 3D-printed holders and screwed directly into the mounting holes previously occupied by the stock heatpipe and blower fan assembly.
Hardware Integration and Voltage Conversion Challenges
Integrating liquid cooling components into a portable computing platform required radical physical alterations. WindowsForum notes that the 360mm radiator was mounted behind the screen using 3D-printed brackets, requiring Loctite two-part epoxy because the gap between the display panel and the outer shell was too narrow for traditional screws. Additional heatsinks were applied to the system’s RAM and voltage regulator modules using thermal pads, thermal paste, and further dabs of epoxy, rendering those modifications permanent.
Electrical integration posed an additional engineering hurdle. The Metabox laptop operates on 19 volts, whereas the liquid-cooling pump and radiator fans require 12 volts. To bridge this gap, TrashBench soldered a DC-DC step-down converter directly to the electrical contacts of the original blower fan. Because this power source activates immediately upon powering on the laptop without a load-sensing trigger, a manual toggle switch was mounted to a custom 3D-printed plate on the bottom shell. A large hole was cut into the chassis base to accommodate the protruding pump and waterblock assemblies, while a 3D-printed riser was screwed underneath to elevate the device.
| Component | Stock Configuration | Modified Configuration |
|---|---|---|
| Cooling Mechanism | Internal heatpipes and blower fan | 360mm AIO radiator, standalone pump, dual waterblocks |
| CPU / GPU Load Temps | Standard high thermal dissipation | Below 40°C under full load (~60°C reduction) |
| Chassis Integrity | Factory slim-profile under 2cm | Cut-away bottom shell, epoxy mounts, 3D-printed riser stand |
| Power Delivery | Integrated motherboard power | 19V to 12V DC-DC step-down converter with manual toggle switch |
Performance Dividends and Operational Reality
The practical result of these structural modifications is a machine that stretches the definition of a laptop. With a radiator strapped behind the lid and a pump protruding from the base, the Metabox P950EP functions essentially as a stationary desktop replacement requiring manual fan and pump activation via a physical switch.
Despite the unconventional form factor, thermal data captured during stress testing verified massive headroom. Tom’s Hardware reported that both the CPU and GPU stayed well below 40°C under full load, reflecting a 60°C drop compared to stock thermal parameters. Capitalizing on this surplus thermal capacity, TrashBench executed an overclocking run. In Forza Horizon 5 benchmarks, baseline performance increased from 75 frames per second to 77 FPS, eventually reaching 83 FPS after full optimization.
However, long-term durability remains unproven. While leak tests involving flexible clear tubing and screw-type hose clamps prompted the brief assessment, I think we’re good,
as noted in documentation from Tom’s Hardware, the build lacks extended-duration stress testing or reliability analysis for its epoxied joints and improvised DC-DC power conversion wiring.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
