Heatsink modding

[hey69]

I use cpuload.

Its heavyload not cpuload sorry

[geppetto61]

Hi and sorry to go a little OT
but i have ordered also mini heatsinks with fan working with 12VDC

http://www.****.com/itm/Aluminum-Hea...E:L:OU:IT:3160

I have two questions about the fans
1) if i invert the polarity this will damage the fan or it will make just the fan rotating in reverse ?
2) will decreasing the 12 VDC result in a slower rotating speed of the fan ?
This fans i bought consume almost nothing ... but of course i have to check their noise and try them pushing or pulling air from the heatsink.
Thanks a lot.

[no_spam_for_me]

1) ???
2) worst case it will not spin on (but because of the PSU you should be able to find >5V at the pcb)....

[geppetto61]

1) ???

Hi and thanks for the reply.
i am confused ... i was thinking to try it as intended (i guess with the propeller pushing air against the cpu) and in the reverse way
but i understand it would be much better to use it as intended ... to avoid any issue

2) worst case it will not spin on (but because of the PSU you should be able to find >5V at the pcb)....

Perfect ! i get it. Thanks for the advice.

Yesterday i have received bi-adhesive thermal pads 0.5 mm thick.
Now i do not know the better way to use them.

Originally there was a small squared piece of thermal pad placed directly on top of the cpu and above that the aluminum lid.
I removed it and i noticed that it was already "cooked" for the heat because it crumbled.
Is it important to keep the aluminum lid ?
I could stick the pad on all the board and place directly above it the heatsinks without using the lid anymore.
But i see that you have kept it. Maybe for a reason.
If i cover the all board with the self-adhesive thermal pad will this be a irreversible mod ?

Still waiting for the bigger heatsink and the one with the propeller
I have also bought a thermometer ... i want to check the delta T between cpu cores and heatsinks just to see the efficiency of the heat transmission.
I think the old project will take a little time. But it will be an opportunity to learn something and develop some skills.

Thanks a lot again for all the kind and very valuable advice.
Kind regards, geppo

[smokie171]

Hi and thanks for the reply.
i am confused ... i was thinking to try it as intended (i guess with the propeller pushing air against the cpu) and in the reverse way
but i understand it would be much better to use it as intended ... to avoid any issue


Perfect ! i get it. Thanks for the advice.

Yesterday i have received bi-adhesive thermal pads 0.5 mm thick.
Now i do not know the better way to use them.

Originally there was a small squared piece of thermal pad placed directly on top of the cpu and above that the aluminum lid.
I removed it and i noticed that it was already "cooked" for the heat because it crumbled.
Is it important to keep the aluminum lid ?
I could stick the pad on all the board and place directly above it the heatsinks without using the lid anymore.
But i see that you have kept it. Maybe for a reason.
If i cover the all board with the self-adhesive thermal pad will this be a irreversible mod ?

Still waiting for the bigger heatsink and the one with the propeller
I have also bought a thermometer ... i want to check the delta T between cpu cores and heatsinks just to see the efficiency of the heat transmission.
I think the old project will take a little time. But it will be an opportunity to learn something and develop some skills.

Thanks a lot again for all the kind and very valuable advice.
Kind regards, geppo

Have you tried a simple thermal pad under the board? There is a good chance that this is all that is needed. Try stacking the pads you already have and see what happens. It is not necessary to change pads on cpu. I applied thermal grease to make better contact with the aluminum plate along with the memory chips the cpu and gpu. I think you may be over complicating things a bit. I guess it depends on your reasons for modding. If you are looking to play around I can understand, but if you want quick results you should definately incorporate a thermal pad in your mod before opting to install auxiliary fans. The thermal pad on the bottom will lower the temps a lot more than the heatsinks do. I tested this already along with different height heatsinks . 15mm cool about 5 Celsius cooler than 13 mm bc 15 mm use the aluminum case to transfer the heat to. I cut the pad into 3 strips to cut back on blocking the air vents on the bottom. I would estimate that I probably lost maybe 25% of the vents on the bottom,which is ok bc the temperature is fine now.This can be a very simple mod or else as complicated as you want to make it. Good luck to you.

[geppetto61]

Have you tried a simple thermal pad under the board? There is a good chance that this is all that is needed. Try stacking the pads you already have and see what happens. It is not necessary to change pads on cpu. I applied thermal grease to make better contact with the aluminum plate along with the memory chips the cpu and gpu. I think you may be over complicating things a bit.

Hi and thanks a lot for the very helpful advice.
I have undressed the board and i only tried two too small copper heatsinks placed directly on the cpu with the board functioning without the case
no effect at all. I would like to point out that in the original the case is cold meaning that is not helping but actually is preventing ventilation.
When i removed the metallic lid above the cpu the pad crumbled. It was cooked !
My first question is if to keep or not the metallic lid. I think so.

I guess it depends on your reasons for modding.

just to extend its life ... a cpu working at 80 C has a very short life and this was the main reason to study and learn what to do

If you are looking to play around I can understand, but if you want quick results you should definately incorporate a thermal pad in your mod before opting to install auxiliary fans. The thermal pad on the bottom will lower the temps a lot more than the heatsinks do. I tested this already along with different height heatsinks. 15mm cool about 5 Celsius cooler than 13 mm bc 15 mm use the aluminum case to transfer the heat to. I cut the pad into 3 strips to cut back on blocking the air vents on the bottom. I would estimate that I probably lost maybe 25% of the vents on the bottom,which is ok bc the temperature is fine now.This can be a very simple mod or else as complicated as you want to make it. Good luck to you.

to be perfectly honest i am intrigued by this project. I bought a laser thermometer that measures T without contact.
In this way i would like to measure the T on the heatsink with the pipo naked ... and in other different points to identify the hot spots.
Yes. i am playing around a little. And to be perfectly honest i also see the limits of these little pcs. I have very clearly understood that processing power implies heat generation. A pc where the heat issue has not been adequately addressed is very limited by design.
Thanks again for the advice and kind regards, geppo

[Vestiaz]

I have now the 1 mm. pad betewen alu plate and chips, over heatsink of 12mm and over a piece of 5mm pad to ensure touching case. At bottom the large piece of 5 mm pad for contact the pcb and bottom case.

The 5 mm. pad is cheap, 2 Kw thermal conductivity but does the job very well.

Stressing 1 hour and max temp was 59º, idle 38-40, moderate use 40-50.

So the trick is transmit the heat to the case, is the most efective thing I tried.

I wonder if were good using 2 100x100x5mm pad, one for bottom and another divided in 4 pieces for the upper side (20 mm tall of pad), one over other removing the alu plate for direct contact with chips. In other forum there is a guy who is going to try, will see if works well...

[smokie171]

I don't believe removing the alum heat spreader is a good idea. I think that it is there for a reason, if nothing else it protects the cpu,memory and gpu. Unless someone tests without it on and has phenomenal results I can'tell see taking the chance on damaging the cpu by removing it. Just a thought.

[Vestiaz]

I don't believe removing the alum heat spreader is a good idea. I think that it is there for a reason, if nothing else it protects the cpu,memory and gpu. Unless someone tests without it on and has phenomenal results I can'tell see taking the chance on damaging the cpu by removing it. Just a thought.

Others mods in this theard remove the alu plate, by example http://freaktab.com/forum/tv-player-...720#post494720

I supose that pad protects cpu by absorbing heat and transfering to the case, it is not naked.

Anyway I will tell guy be careful with it.

[smokie171]

Others mods in this theard remove the alu plate, by example http://freaktab.com/forum/tv-player-...720#post494720

I supose that pad protects cpu by absorbing heat and transfering to the case, it is not naked.

Anyway I will tell guy be careful with it.

I do not see a reason to leave it out. I'm aware people often take it off during there mods, but I'm not aware of any advantage in leaving it out . I'm interested in the results to see if it really makes a difference. Good luck

[Kyrie]

I do not see a reason to leave it out. I'm aware people often take it off during there mods, but I'm not aware of any advantage in leaving it out . I'm interested in the results to see if it really makes a difference. Good luck

Removing alu plate is very good idea. It is nothing, just simple heatsink (from Intel reference doc). Here are my results of LinX (1,3GB, Intel Linpack CPU burn) + MSI Kombustor (GPU burn) at same time (most powerful stress test) before throttling:

Stock: 1 min 30 sec
Thermal pad at the bottom: 2 min 50 sec
Thermal pad at the bottom and heatsink over alu plate (no connection with case at the top): 6 min 30 sec
Thermal pad at the bottom and heatsink without alu plate (no connection with case at the top): 9 min 30 sec
Thermal pad at the bottom and heatsink without alu plate (thermal pad connection with case at the top): 16 min

[smokie171]

Removing alu plate is very good idea. It is nothing, just simple heatsink (from Intel reference doc). Here are my results of LinX (1,3GB, Intel Linpack CPU burn) + MSI Kombustor (GPU burn) at same time (most powerful stress test) before throttling:

Stock: 1 min 30 sec
Thermal pad at the bottom: 2 min 50 sec
Thermal pad at the bottom and heatsink over alu plate (no connection with case at the top): 6 min 30 sec
Thermal pad at the bottom and heatsink without alu plate (no connection with case at the top): 9 min 30 sec
Thermal pad at the bottom and heatsink without alu plate (thermal pad connection with case at the top): 16 min

???

edit
I went back in the thread to look at results and do not see there is a lot of difference in our results, about the same as my results . I am not saying that it may not lower temps a few degrees more but there is no significant difference in our temps. I guess that I prefer to be a little more cautious. The industry moves forward because of people like you taking chances. I have been following your thread on pipo x7 multi booting with great interest and respect your efforts and will follow in your steps when you figure out how to load fw. Sorry to go off topic. Good luck and please keep posting.

[geppetto61]

... So the trick is transmit the heat to the case, is the most efective thing I tried....

Hi and thanks a lot for the valuable advice.
For the bottom is easy. But if you want also thermal contact with the top part of the case the silly plastic frame which actually prevents it.
it should be cut in the central part. And i am thinking about it. I have seen other people to cut it and take the central part out. I am not sure about how to do this by the way.
Very stupid construction.
Thanks again.

[Vestiaz]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n496347[/ATTACH]






Hi and thanks a lot for the valuable advice.
For the bottom is easy. But if you want also thermal contact with the top part of the case the silly plastic frame which actually prevents it.
it should be cut in the central part. And i am thinking about it. I have seen other people to cut it and take the central part out. I am not sure about how to do this by the way.
Very stupid construction.
Thanks again.

First all, I am very far from being expert, I only did things that I see here or in others forums to get good thermal mod to my Pipo.

Some pages before in this thread, there is a mod where plastic frame was cutted: http://freaktab.com/forum/tv-player-...720#post494720

Here the interesting pic: http://freaktab.com/filedata/fetch?i...2690&type=full

I dont know if it is worth, I didnt do (because I didnt know how or what tools to use, maybe author could explain) and temps in mi Pipo are now good. When stresing the Pipo, the (upper and bottom) case becomes hot

With 12mm heatsink and 5mm pad fits well. Before I tried with 15mm heatsink and 1mm pad but didnt worked so well.

After seeing that behavior I think could be good to use only 4 pieces of 5 mm pad instead heatsinks for upper side of PCB. Anyway, I will tell if that mod is good or not because there is a guy that is going to do that mod.

Sorry for my english.

[Kyrie]

... maybe author could explain

Here is my tools: blade screwdriver and knife. Cut two lines and than use screwdriver to break out central part of plastic holder.