I've looked around on the Internet to find some intrusive fixes using a fan on the outside to cool off the device (see here). I decided that I didn't want to cut a hole into my device also, I don't have soldering tools, so that's out of the question at the moment. Instead I decided to use copper shims that I commonly use to fix overheating issues in notebook computers. Instead of Artic Silver thermal compound, I used instead an adhesive thermal pad to stick the copper shim to the chips that needed additional cooling.
The thermal pad is mildly adhesive and doesn't pop off with shaking or vibration. It takes some effort to remove. I have my device sitting sideways next to the cable modem and so far so good. No shorting from a displaced copper shim. Another option would have been to use Artic Silver adhesive/epoxy but that's more of a permanent solution and I didn't know if this would be effective.
Originally, I used a thicker 1.2mm copper shim, but noticed that the shims stay cooler with the thinner 0.5mm copper shims. It dissipates the heat much faster. I have this set of copper shims from eBay.
Finally, was this effective?
ReplyDeleteYes, my experience with this solution has proved to be very effective and unintrusive. Absolutely no router crashes due to overheating since I've put the thermal pads and copper shims in place.
DeleteGood luck with your cooling mod!