cooling mod recommendations

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OlivusPrime
dirty sailor
Posts: 177

Re: cooling mod recommendations

Post#11 » Fri Apr 21, 2023 4:54 pm

OGDCFAN99 wrote:You are correct the Noctua fan does have a higher airflow rating but the Dreamcast either doesn't seem to supply it with enough amps to achieve it even if the voltage ratings would suggest so... or the 3D printed fan shroud isn't as air tight (thus not as effective at getting all the hot air out of the vent as the original fan's shroud).

Either way just hold your hand next to the exhaust vent and feel the difference for yourself. Put ear plugs in if you have to so the noise output doesn't subconsciously skew your opinion. You don't need any fancy tools or advanced knowledge on electronics to see what I mean.

This user on GBATemp, who seems pretty well versed in cooling mods, is quite confident that the Noctua is an improvement for the Dreamcast (apparently one of the few consoles to be improved by it, in fact):
https://gbatemp.net/threads/ultimate-co ... su.588981/

I haven't measured the temperatures through mine myself, but a user on Reddit measured theirs with a laser thermometer and found a 10 degree difference in favour of the Noctua:
https://www.reddit.com/r/dreamcast/comm ... and_after/

I'm sure there's plenty of variance, but for the time being I'm inclined to trust the very few statistical measurements made of the airflow and temperature. I'd be interested to see it measured on a wider scale though.

OGDCFAN99
Arabian Night
Posts: 335

Re: cooling mod recommendations

Post#12 » Fri Apr 21, 2023 5:10 pm

Well I do have a laser thermometer in my tool set and I'll have to compare the temps from say an hour of game play with stock vs Noctua. If you have multiple DC's laying around with new thermal pads and the same PSU setup I would still invite you to at least feel the airflow difference for yourself though. Even though its not scientific.

I'd be interested to measure it on a wider scale too, definitely warrants a new thread IMO.

Pastel
shadow
Posts: 6

Re: cooling mod recommendations

Post#13 » Sat Apr 22, 2023 1:53 am

I did a mod with copper shims. 1.5mm thick, and I could only find 15mm area sized shims so I used four to make a larger 60mm square on one chip, and then just a single 15mm on the other. Thermal paste where the shims touch the chip, and on the other side where the shim touches the shield. It does wind up pressing down on the chips when the shield is assembled, putting pressure on the chips. Now, I don't worry about that too much, as that is kind of what normal heatsinks will do, but I understand any reservation. But it does hold the shims in place, and give good conductivity.

The initial result is that it dissipates heat way more efficiently I find. Based on touching around the shield while it's running, it's certainly WAY cooler than it used to be. I don't have any temp data though.

All that to say is that, while it is overkill, it's not much more expensive than thermal pads (assuming you already have paste on hand, which I did) and it works very well.

Sorry for my long-winded rant.

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