got new MK808B plus device, have some issues, need your advise

[Felix74]

Hello,

I got new MK808B plus device (first one for me ) and I have a few issues.
1. it came with version 111K4 but the online update doesn't work. writes that there is a problem OTA?
2. second issue is the WIFI which is working but very slow, 3Mbps at the most while 40Mbps is available and it
sits about 2 meters from the router.
3. how can I know the true temperature of the CPU, GPU? I have installed Xpose with CPU temp measuring, it shows
me some not normal numbers, in idle state it shows about 70C and when working "hard" about 90C in my opinion it doesn't
show the right temp...

Thanks

Felix

[phinc]

1. This is the latest firmware release, so there is no need to update. In my experience, OTA is broken on most cheap china TV sticks. But if a new firmware is released, you can always update via SD card.
2. Are you using a wireless dongle for a mouse or a keyboard? Because these are known to strongly decrease wifi performance if connected directly to the mk808b+. If you want to use one, use it with a 1m USB extensioin cable.
3. I once used CPU Z to check the temperature. But the heatsink in the mk808b+ is ridiculous, so temperatures of 90°C are absolutely possible i think. But at these temperatures the chip begins to throttle the CPU clock which of course decreases performance. If you don't mind a little tinkering, you can try to add a better heatsink to the SoC.

[Felix74]

Thanks a lot for your answers.
i have read that OTA can be taken from older firmware, wireless update apk. hope i will be able to do that.
regarding the mouse, it's an interesting news, i didn't know about that.
the heat sink is really ridiculous, i want to add 2 small fan, but first i want to know the real temp. it's now idle and shows me 69C but the device is cold...
i will test CPU Z

Thanks again.

[prahjister]

Is that C or F? I bet it is Fahrenheit.

[Felix74]

I wish it was Fahrenheit, it's C

[prahjister]

When the case is open does it burn you when you touch the chip? Mine barely gets warm, but that is the outside case. 70F is room temperature. I have had mine for a long time now and i never have thermal issues. It gets a little warm when i do cpu/gpu intensive stuff.

[phinc]

The outside case does not get warm, but the chip gets really hot. Fellow Freaktaber HwGeek also reported idle temps of 75°C. I never checked the temperature before i added a heatsink, but i noticed thermal throttling (a reduced max CPU clock of 1,2 ghz) already at very basic usage. Since i modded my heatsink, the max CPU frequency always stays at 1,5 ghz and the temperature gets up to 65°C on high CPU load.

But i think two fans are a bit of an overkill . Adding a proper heatsink would be a much easier solution and will most probalby also eliminate your thermal issues.

[Felix74]

2 25mm fans are overkill?
it has 2 heatsinks, right? (i haven't open the case).
what kind of heatsink did you use? did you break the case ? do you have any photos of the modding?

[phinc]

Well, in my personal opinion it is. I always try to avoid active cooling because you need extra energy and its never 100% silent. And these SoCs passive cooling works really well. But if you want to try it with fans, i am very interested in the results!
Yes there is one heat sink on each side, but the only one that needs modding is the one that covers the SoC and RAM (the one on the side where "H.265" is written on the outside).
I had an old pentium 2 heatsink lying aroud. I sawed it to pieces and used 1/4 of it as my new heatsink. I glued it directly to the SoC with Arctic Silver thermal adhesive. For the RAM chip i used the old stock heatsink which i cut in half with ordinary scissors. I used two heatsinks instad of one because i think it is a bad idea to use the same heatsink for SoC and RAM. I think if you use just one, the SoC heats up the RAM via the heatsink.
I also had to cut a hole in the case because the new heatsink was larger. I used a stanley knife for that, but it was not very easy to do, so you may find a better method for that. I also had to move the antenna (which sticks to the case) because of the hole i had to cut. I am not using wifi so i can't tell you if it affected WIFI performance. But if you want i can make a speed test for you.
I will attach some photos for you, so you can get a better idea.

EDIT: Wow, the quality of attached photos really sucks. Here are the originals:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/biizm19mc2...32.28.jpg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dg3bkavuax...39.52.jpg?dl=0

EDIT 2: If you don't have a heatsink, you can buy really cheap heatsinks for the raspberry pi. I think these fit the SoC quite well and most of them even come with thermal adhesive.

[Felix74]

Thanks phinc for the pictures and explanation.
you are right about the noise of the fans, but in this way, i will not need to cut the case, and i can always remove them...
I plan to put 1 fan from each side on the vent holes, since they will be only 25mm, it won't cover all the holes,
this way frash cooler air will be sucked in through the free holes and the heat will be taken out with the fan from the covered holes.
i hope that the noise will be very low since it's a very small fan, 5V.
i will update on the results, if they won't be as expected, the heatsink is going to be what i will use

[Felix74]

Hi,
well, since i don't have the right fans for now, i have made a quick test with 1 fan 40mm that i had.
the results are not bad.
ran antutu benchmark, the gighest temp was 72C , but most of the test were around 63C, the cooling was very fast.

[Felix74]

Hi,
well, since i don't have the right fans for now, i have made a quick test with 1 fan 40mm that i had.
the results are not bad.
ran antutu benchmark, the gighest temp was 72C , but most of the test were around 63C, the cooling was very fast.