Overheating Mecool M8s Pro L and Pro + (and others ?) - Options ???

[jebivetar]

Or any flat thing that fits into the fin grooves !

Yeah, wedging something helps. As did freezing overnight, I think.

Any tips for removing antenna from top cover?

[clarkss12]

Yeah, wedging something helps. As did freezing overnight, I think.

Any tips for removing antenna from top cover?

A pocket knife, it is a sticky piece of plastic that is just stuck on. Pry it off and it retains the sticky stuff, so it will stick back on to the cover when you are done.

[P.X]

A pocket knife, it is a sticky piece of plastic that is just stuck on. Pry it off and it retains the sticky stuff, so it will stick back on to the cover when you are done.

+1
That is what I did - you can see it in the start 2 finish vid ...
Sticky foam pad in my second box.

[jebivetar]

A pocket knife, it is a sticky piece of plastic that is just stuck on. Pry it off and it retains the sticky stuff, so it will stick back on to the cover when you are done.

That was easy, thanks.


Here's what I've created.

https://vgy.me/zVIJFQ.jpg

Wasn't my first choice of heatsink - I originally wanted one to cover at least two of the chips with the gap between the smaller one being bridged by thermal pad - but the placement of some of the SMD inductors and ceramic capacitors on the board ruled out those candidates.

May not require any more active cooling this way though - seems to barely get to the low 40s playing 1080p x264 over ethernet. It's below 30c"idle" right now, whereas with the original heatsink it was closer to 50c.

Seems like a bigger heatsink is enough for this board. The one they include is a joke.

In case anyone is curious, the large heatsink is a Zalman, I think it was originally intended for Northbridge chips - not sure where it came from, was just in my pile.

Using black nylon standoffs for support and Sekisui thermal tape to secure the heatsinks for the time being. Both can be found on your favorite auction site for a few bucks, same with the smaller heatsinks.

Edit: Updated temperatures as the Sekisui performs better after it has had some time to bond.

[P.X]

Yes, all it needs is a bigger heatsink.

Might need a hole in the lid too ?

Nice work

[jebivetar]

Might need a hole in the lid too ?

Nah, that box is hideous.

Probably just going to stay like this

[P.X]

Nah, that box is hideous.

Probably just going to stay like this

Yes, looks good.

[jebivetar]

What does everyone use to see the temperature?

I grabbed Aida64 from Play but am wondering if there's an app that can overlay the temperature on top of the display as I'm tweaking things.

[P.X]

What does everyone use to see the temperature?

I grabbed Aida64 from Play but am wondering if there's an app that can overlay the temperature on top of the display as I'm tweaking things.

CPU Temperature

[Novato]

It is not the most beautiful sight I have ever seen, but it is not something I can call the vision of hell, on the contrary it is more to the sight of the iceberg! hahahh. Forgive me the puns and jokes, it was great but very strange, it's impossible to put a lid there, is not it? But if you put it on the box will look like a cockatoo. lol

Okay, now let's face it, I really liked the end result, the low temperature. Not sure what you used exactly there but realized that it used two more sinks, was it in the memories chips? Does this yield any positive results in performance or speed of transfer? I wonder.

Still looking at his box it came to my head that the factories could create a hybrid plastic box on the bottom and aluminum on the top. With a smaller heatsink glued to the processor and a socket for the lid of the box that could be totally aluminum or hybrid.

Edit: Sorry for the translation errors, I had to leave some times.

[jebivetar]

, it's impossible to put a lid there, is not it? But if you put it on the box will look like a cockatoo. lol

Not sure what you used exactly there but realized that it used two more sinks, was it in the memories chips? Does this yield any positive results in performance or speed of transfer? I wonder.

Still looking at his box it came to my head that the factories could create a hybrid plastic box on the bottom and aluminum on the top. With a smaller heatsink glued to the processor and a socket for the lid of the box that could be totally aluminum or hybrid.

Edit: Sorry for the translation errors, I had to leave some times.

No idea about the box, was never planning on keeping the original box - it's just too ugly I have a lot of stuff around the place just open like that and I've come to like the PCB aesthetic.

I put heatsinks on the RAM memory and the EMMC storage chips. I have found that RAM chips tend to get pretty hot since everything goes to RAM; the EMMC I'm not worried about since not much of what I do will be written but I have a lot of heatsinks so it can't hurt.

And old Popcorn model had a large heatsink on the MIPS CPU that was thermally connected to the metal case with pads.

[gianni281]

You guys really have worked out some nice solutions to the heat problem this otherwise great little device suffers from. I'm looking to mod mine too as recently I've been experiencing lots of random reboots in the middle of streaming and can't work out of its heat related or not. I ran StressCPU and the box randomly rebooted hitting 59c which isn't what I call running hot. Ran StressCPU again once the device came back up and hit 75c without a crash. Really annoying. Have you guys experienced issues or behaviour like this? You think it's an overheating issue or something more serious? Perhaps I should replace the power supply to see if that's the cause of the problem. Would love to hear your thoughts.

[clarkss12]

You guys really have worked out some nice solutions to the heat problem this otherwise great little device suffers from. I'm looking to mod mine too as recently I've been experiencing lots of random reboots in the middle of streaming and can't work out of its heat related or not. I ran StressCPU and the box randomly rebooted hitting 59c which isn't what I call running hot. Ran StressCPU again once the device came back up and hit 75c without a crash. Really annoying. Have you guys experienced issues or behaviour like this? You think it's an overheating issue or something more serious? Perhaps I should replace the power supply to see if that's the cause of the problem. Would love to hear your thoughts.

How old is your device and is it running the stock firmware? What firmware version does it have and have you updated it?? I have an "L" that has a fan mod, and NO freezes or reboots. Also, have another "L" but don't use it often, but don't remember it rebooting or freezing, except on a rare occasion.

[gianni281]

How old is your device and is it running the stock firmware? What firmware version does it have and have you updated it?? I have an "L" that has a fan mod, and NO freezes or reboots. Also, have another "L" but don't use it often, but don't remember it rebooting or freezing, except on a rare occasion.

Hi clarkss12. I brought the box the beginning of December so it's coming up to 5 months old. It's running the latest ATV build from Magendanz. http://freaktab.com/forum/tv-player-...android-tv-7-1. The unit is pretty unstable at the moment. It means streaming for an extended period of time without a reboot is near impossible.

[clarkss12]

Hi clarkss12. I brought the box the beginning of December so it's coming up to 5 months old. It's running the latest ATV build from Magendanz. http://freaktab.com/forum/tv-player-...android-tv-7-1. The unit is pretty unstable at the moment. It means streaming for an extended period of time without a reboot is near impossible.

The easiest way to test if it is hardware of firmware problem, do a factory reset and start over......... You may experience an occasional freeze, but never a reboot....