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    APU1C heat

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    • B
      bennyc
      last edited by

      Finally got around in toying a bit with my new APU1C… and it heats up. (already read that here on the forum, but now I experienced it ::)) The more appropriate term would be warms (because I can still touch it), but enough that it goes beyond my comfort zone. And that was with little to no load. Most people know that heat is not good for electronic components... unless they are mill-spec, you want to avoid heat.

      That being said, I have some ideas for trying to tame the heating up while keeping the quiet & passive specifications.

      1. I'm going to fip it upside down, and move the rubber feet accordingly. That way the board suffers less as the heat spreader is on top.
      2. Depending on what the above brings, I'm considering to add a heat sink on top of the case, so the case can dissipate better.

      For all the smart people here on the forum, I'm open for suggestions on this topic ;)

      4x XG-7100 (2xHA), 1x SG-4860, 1x SG-2100
      1x PC Engines APU2C4, 1x PC Engines APU1C4

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      • A
        Applied
        last edited by

        I use longer feet on mine, to allow for more convection.
        These spacers are about 1.8cm long (roughly 0.70in for the non-metrics).
        I plan to screw on rubber feet at some point, however slippage isn't really an issue right now.

        [Admin EDIT: Removed links to images. Hosting site has NSFW ads]

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        • R
          router_wang
          last edited by

          I mentioned the heat situation to Netgate. Hopefully they are looking into designing a better case. Mine is very toasty. I might have to look into a CPU downclock util addon for 2.2 after it ships….

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          • jimpJ
            jimp Rebel Alliance Developer Netgate
            last edited by

            Slap a bunch of these guys on there in a fashionable pattern. I'd be curious how much it helps.

            Personally, I have cold feet, and I could use a good foot warmer, so… kill two birds with one stone.
            /kidding
            //Not kidding about the Jetway NF48, now that put out heat

            Remember: Upvote with the 👍 button for any user/post you find to be helpful, informative, or deserving of recognition!

            Need help fast? Netgate Global Support!

            Do not Chat/PM for help!

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            • J
              jasonlitka
              last edited by

              @Applied:

              I use longer feet on mine, to allow for more convection.
              These spacers are about 1.8cm long (roughly 0.70in for the non-metrics).
              I plan to screw on rubber feet at some point, however slippage isn't really an issue right now.

              Get a different image host.  That one has some really NSFW adverts.  I'd suggest imgur.com.

              I can break anything.

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              • C
                cmb
                last edited by

                @Jason:

                Get a different image host.  That one has some really NSFW adverts.  I'd suggest imgur.com.

                Yes, please don't link to shady places along those lines. Just attach the images to your post here, no need for any image hosting at all.

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                • B
                  bennyc
                  last edited by

                  In feedback: Since I flipped it yesterday, I have the impression it runs cooler. (case is less hot)
                  Looking around now for self adhesive heat sinks (ebay), going add that as well.

                  Next challenge: get the temperature showing in the system information. (better way to see results)
                  I've seen some screenshots on the forum it's working under 2.2, does anyone know if it can work in 2.1.2 ?

                  4x XG-7100 (2xHA), 1x SG-4860, 1x SG-2100
                  1x PC Engines APU2C4, 1x PC Engines APU1C4

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                  • stephenw10S
                    stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                    last edited by

                    What colour case do you have? Paint it (or a section of it) matt black for better radiation.  :)

                    Steve

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                    • B
                      bennyc
                      last edited by

                      It's a black one, picked that color just for that reason.  ;)
                      Ordered those cheap heatsinks as suggested by Jimp in meantime, but might take some time before they get here (china stuff comes by boat ;D)

                      So that gives me some time to properly document results. I was hoping to get the temperate from the cores into the gui, but I'm not making any progress here (doubting the current driver is capable).

                      So next best thing is an external temperature probe I guess? Or boot from usb with 2.2 image. hmm….

                      4x XG-7100 (2xHA), 1x SG-4860, 1x SG-2100
                      1x PC Engines APU2C4, 1x PC Engines APU1C4

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                      • A
                        Applied
                        last edited by

                        Sorry for posting the image links - didn't mean to link to anything shady.
                        Nor was I really aware of it - I often just mentally "block out" any adverts, so didn't really notice.

                        :-[

                        "funny" thing is that I did have to select "safe for work" (as opposed to "adult") for the actual images that I uploaded.

                        [quote author=Jason Litka link=topic=76218.msg415909#msg415909 date=1398971851]
                        I'd suggest imgur.com.
                        I'd much prefer one without having to register - but will look into them.

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                        • J
                          jasonlitka
                          last edited by

                          @Applied:

                          @Jason:

                          I'd suggest imgur.com.

                          I'd much prefer one without having to register - but will look into them.

                          imgur.com doesn't require registration.  You could also directly attach the images here on the forums using the "Attachments and other options" link while replying.

                          I can break anything.

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                          • B
                            bennyc
                            last edited by

                            next step: perforating the case to allow (or attempt to allow) air-flow.
                            I drilled some of holes in the case: 28 on the outlines of the top of the case (previously bottom, a little tricky as the board was still mounted), 32 on the bottom of the case (16 in the center, 16 under cpu).

                            It doesn't seem to give much difference on the area surrounding the cpu, that's still round +-39,5°C surface temperature of the case. The jury is still out for the rest of the board. (out of inspiration anyway)

                            Need to find me some higher adhesive feets now…

                            Oh, and I have a new name for this router. "The ugly one..."  ;D

                            --edit: spelling--

                            top.JPG
                            top.JPG_thumb
                            bottom.JPG
                            bottom.JPG_thumb

                            4x XG-7100 (2xHA), 1x SG-4860, 1x SG-2100
                            1x PC Engines APU2C4, 1x PC Engines APU1C4

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                            • jimpJ
                              jimp Rebel Alliance Developer Netgate
                              last edited by

                              @bennyc:

                              Need to find me some higher adhesive feets now…

                              Why? Use an adhesive heat sink, put a little rubber foot on the part that will touch the table/shelf/surface. Two in one. :-)

                              Remember: Upvote with the 👍 button for any user/post you find to be helpful, informative, or deserving of recognition!

                              Need help fast? Netgate Global Support!

                              Do not Chat/PM for help!

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                              • B
                                bennyc
                                last edited by

                                Hi Jimp,

                                yes, I did order adhesive heat-sinks… but I flipped the enclosure upside down so the cpu, southbridge & heat-spreader are now facing up. So will the heat-sinks once they are mounted, and putting feet on top of them won't help much I'm afraid ;D

                                I temporary raised the enclosure with blocks (duplo, don't tell my kids ;)) and I'm overall satisfied with the result.

                                FWIW: Temperature of the case remains stable between 35°C (outside) and 40°C (center of heat-spreader).

                                4x XG-7100 (2xHA), 1x SG-4860, 1x SG-2100
                                1x PC Engines APU2C4, 1x PC Engines APU1C4

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                                • stephenw10S
                                  stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                  last edited by

                                  How does that compare with the original temperatures?

                                  I'd guess that….
                                  @bennyc:

                                  I can still touch it, but enough that it goes beyond my comfort zone.

                                  …. is around 50ᴼC.

                                  Steve

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                                  • B
                                    bennyc
                                    last edited by

                                    No comparable data on that yet. I didn't take temperature readings on the case before these mods. (my bad ::))
                                    I do remember this: when in bios, and I was doing memory test on the APU the core(s) temp was +-59,x°C (live counter in the bios). There is no other temperature sensor on the board to my knowledge, so difficult to say how hot the mainboard actually gets.
                                    Also don't know if it would have reached 50°C, that seems rather high to me. Best comparison would be when someone else with a black case (~similar conductivity) does an ir temperature reading of both sides of the enclosures temperature during normal conditions. (environmental temperature here is 20°C)

                                    2nd problem is that my alix refused duty while testing the APU & is thus on the bench for repair. So the APU is in production use now. And, I have found no (easy) way yet to get the temperature from the cores in the gui (besides running 2.2).

                                    I think that measuring the core's temperature should be a good indication for results, and lowering it is my goal. I'm expecting no miracles here, but every degree counts  8)

                                    As soon as I get this alix back up & running, the saga continues…

                                    4x XG-7100 (2xHA), 1x SG-4860, 1x SG-2100
                                    1x PC Engines APU2C4, 1x PC Engines APU1C4

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                                    • jimpJ
                                      jimp Rebel Alliance Developer Netgate
                                      last edited by

                                      @bennyc:

                                      I temporary raised the enclosure with blocks (duplo, don't tell my kids ;)) and I'm overall satisfied with the result.

                                      That's what I meant – use more tall heat sinks as "feet" in place of the Lego bricks. :-)

                                      Remember: Upvote with the 👍 button for any user/post you find to be helpful, informative, or deserving of recognition!

                                      Need help fast? Netgate Global Support!

                                      Do not Chat/PM for help!

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                                      • D
                                        drclaw
                                        last edited by

                                        Yeah my APU1C runs pretty hot also… lying down on my desk it hovers around 58c, standing up on it's side it's closer to 53 - 54c... haven't tried upside down yet but I will do later.

                                        This is with a black case, the msata 16GB SSD installed, as well as a MC8775V 3G module that I haven't gotten around to playing with (since ppp isn't working via the WebGui in 2.2 yet).

                                        I've also enabled powerd, so the CPU does drop down to 125Mhz when not doing very much.

                                        [2.2-ALPHA][admin@pfSense]/var/etc(33): sysctl dev.cpu.0
                                        dev.cpu.0.%desc: ACPI CPU
                                        dev.cpu.0.%driver: cpu
                                        dev.cpu.0.%location: handle=_PR_.C000
                                        dev.cpu.0.%pnpinfo: _HID=none _UID=0
                                        dev.cpu.0.%parent: acpi0
                                        dev.cpu.0.freq: 1000
                                        dev.cpu.0.freq_levels: 1000/-1 875/-1 750/-1 625/-1 500/-1 375/-1 250/-1 125/-1
                                        dev.cpu.0.cx_supported: C1/1/0 C2/2/100
                                        dev.cpu.0.cx_lowest: C1
                                        dev.cpu.0.cx_usage: 100.00% 0.00% last 439us
                                        dev.cpu.0.temperature: 53.3C

                                        [2.2-ALPHA][admin@pfSense]/var/etc(34): uname -a
                                        FreeBSD pfSense 10.0-STABLE FreeBSD 10.0-STABLE #16 e852cd6(HEAD)-dirty: Thu May  1 22:16:16 CDT 2014    root@builder-10.0-b3-amd64:/usr/obj.amd64/usr/pfSensesrc/src/sys/pfSense_SMP.10  amd64

                                        I'm wondering if I could replace the head pads with something more conductive, or perhaps cut a hole in the bottom of the case and attach a better heatsink… or maybe the value is being read wrong and it's much lower than that... who knows.

                                        $0.02

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                                        • stephenw10S
                                          stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                          last edited by

                                          The case itself is aluminium so there would be little point it cutting a hole in it as long the CPU/APU is in good contact with it. Attaching a large heatsink to the outside of the case nearest the APU and mounting it vertically (such that the heatsink fins are vertical) is likely to make the largest difference IMHO.

                                          Steve

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                                          • ?
                                            Guest
                                            last edited by

                                            moving air across the case is likely to help more

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