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    Anyrevo fanless appliance hitting >60 C, is this normal?

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
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    • B
      bokolobs @fireodo
      last edited by

      @fireodo Hi! The fins feel warm to the touch. Isn't that an indication that the heat transfer is ok?

      fireodoF 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • fireodoF
        fireodo @bokolobs
        last edited by fireodo

        @bokolobs said in Anyrevo fanless appliance hitting >60 C, is this normal?:

        The fins feel warm to the touch. Isn't that an indication that the heat transfer is ok?

        Not quiet - :-) Of course there is a thermal dissipation even with bad Heatsink/Processor contact but I would give that a try when/if possible.
        PS. Can you post a foto of that machine? (or a link)

        Kettop Mi4300YL CPU: i5-4300Y @ 1.60GHz RAM: 8GB Ethernet Ports: 4
        SSD: SanDisk pSSD-S2 16GB (ZFS) WiFi: WLE200NX
        pfsense 2.8.0 CE
        Packages: Apcupsd, Cron, Iftop, Iperf, LCDproc, Nmap, pfBlockerNG, RRD_Summary, Shellcmd, Snort, Speedtest, System_Patches.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • stephenw10S
          stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
          last edited by

          Mmm, the factory thermal paste/pad is often pretty poor on those cheap mini-PC devices. You will probably see some improvement repasting it with something of decent quality but you probably don't need to.

          Steve

          N 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
          • N
            nimrod @stephenw10
            last edited by

            Not all appliances use thermal paste between CPU and heat sink. Some use thermal pads instead. I also saw combination of both. Some Qotom appliances have a thermal paste, small aluminium heat sink on top, and on top of that heat sink, thermal pad that touches metal case. Its true that cheaper appliances use very low quality thermal paste, but that is not worth repasting unless you are replacing it with high quality thermal grease like Thermal Grizzly. Even then, success may vary, because heat transfer mostly depends on how polished and flat is the surface that touches CPU die. On cheaper devices like Anyevo and Topton that surface is very rough. There are even cheaper Chinese brands like XCY and BebePC that dont even bother scraping the paint. And because of that, you dont have direct contact between CPU die and heat sink. This is why those devices die prematurely even if you repaste it with high quality grease.

            Always go for genuine Netgate device, or, if thats not an option, go for Yanling/MiniSys/Protectli/Qotom devices. They are properly made, they have waranty and technical support.

            B 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
            • B
              bokolobs @nimrod
              last edited by

              @nimrod I actually have an extra tube of Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut lying around. I might re-paste it if I feel adventurous.

              And thanks for the info regarding mini pc brands. This is my first unit like this. I'm used to assembling my own PCs, but I got lazy and just purchased this. It is also very difficult to get 4-port Intel NICs right now where I live. I still have a Beelink GK55 mini pc which I used as an Untangle box for almost a year, but it only had 2 Realtek ethernet ports and is no longer suitable for our network needs. I'll probably use this Anyrevo one until it breaks or gives me trouble. Or maybe I'll just build a low powered, mini-atx one with better specs if I can get my hands on Intel NICs. If you guys have recommendations, that would be awesome.

              fireodoF N 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • fireodoF
                fireodo @bokolobs
                last edited by

                @bokolobs said in Anyrevo fanless appliance hitting >60 C, is this normal?:

                I actually have an extra tube of Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut lying around. I might re-paste it if I feel adventurous.

                That would be a good compromise ... and as nimrod stated - beside Netgate (first choice): Yanling/MiniSys/Protectli/Qotom and I add Kettop - those are well build (what dont mean that you can get a faulty one here too)

                Kettop Mi4300YL CPU: i5-4300Y @ 1.60GHz RAM: 8GB Ethernet Ports: 4
                SSD: SanDisk pSSD-S2 16GB (ZFS) WiFi: WLE200NX
                pfsense 2.8.0 CE
                Packages: Apcupsd, Cron, Iftop, Iperf, LCDproc, Nmap, pfBlockerNG, RRD_Summary, Shellcmd, Snort, Speedtest, System_Patches.

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • N
                  nimrod @bokolobs
                  last edited by nimrod

                  @bokolobs said in Anyrevo fanless appliance hitting >60 C, is this normal?:

                  @nimrod I actually have an extra tube of Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut lying around. I might re-paste it if I feel adventurous.

                  I would not do it. Although cheap, there is absolutely nothing wrong with your unit. All the issues you had so far were software issues. Just install pfBlockerNG, apply the patch and you are good to go.

                  And thanks for the info regarding mini pc brands. This is my first unit like this. I'm used to assembling my own PCs, but I got lazy and just purchased this. It is also very difficult to get 4-port Intel NICs right now where I live. I still have a Beelink GK55 mini pc which I used as an Untangle box for almost a year, but it only had 2 Realtek ethernet ports and is no longer suitable for our network needs. I'll probably use this Anyrevo one until it breaks or gives me trouble. Or maybe I'll just build a low powered, mini-atx one with better specs if I can get my hands on Intel NICs. If you guys have recommendations, that would be awesome.

                  Anyevo is a cheap appliance, but make no mistake. The board inside still has a Intel CPU and Intel NICs. Anyevo and other cheap Chinese brands, get lower prices by using lower quality metals for their case. Packaging is cheap. They have bad machining (rough metal), poor paint and printing on the case. They also ship their units with cheap AC adapters, cheap no name RAM and SSDs. There are no bios updates, software support, or any support for that matter. Warranty is also questionable.

                  If you, for example, get higher quality power supply and better SSD, that unit will serve you for many many years with zero issues.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
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