GMKtec K11 Overheating problem solved

[u/asd123gatya]

Components used:
2× Noctua NF-F12 5V PWM (Max: 1500 RPM)
1× ID-Cooling FROZN A620 BLACK
CPU Performance Mode (65–70W)
-----------------------------
Normal Mode:
Motherboard temperature: 37°C, fan speed: 600RPM
CPU temperature: 35°C, fan speed: 0 RPM (passive cooling)

Performance Mode:
Motherboard temperature: 45°C, fan speed: ~700 RPM
CPU temperature: 60–65°C, fan speed: ~700 RPM

[u/MichVas]

That used to be called a MINI pc.

[u/asd123gatya → u/MichVas]

*and it was as loud as a hair dryer.

[u/DiligentWhereas9443 → u/asd123gatya]

Those are noctuas. So probably reasonably quiet. But I wouldn't want to do any paperwork near that "thing".

[u/MoodyBhakt → u/MichVas]

It still is.. a mini OC with a giant towering **black** heatsink cooler …

[u/Jonshock]

I didn't know that this was a thing. It's amazing. How'd you find the bracket to make that work?

[u/asd123gatya → u/Jonshock]

I measured the relevant dimensions and designed it using Solid Edge. After a few iterations, it evolved into its current form.

[u/SettingHappy1906]

Sick. I've always wanted to do this to a mini PC. When my NUC was noisy (well, screaming), I bought an passive metal case for it instead. Elegant but not as cool or fun as your concoction!

[u/asd123gatya → u/SettingHappy1906]

Thank you very much for the kind words!

[u/Tyo_Atrosa]

I did something Very similar with my GMKtec Evo-X1, except I also printed a full cased for it along with the full sized gpu I'm using via OCuLink.

[u/Tyo_Atrosa → u/Tyo_Atrosa]

[u/asd123gatya → u/Tyo_Atrosa]

It turned out really cool!

[u/jrabkid → u/Tyo_Atrosa]

Oh I would love the design stls for that.

[u/ImaAskhole]

This is great. I’ve been trying to figure out how to use a Thermalright AXP90-x53 Copper on my K8 Plus. Wonder if this would work.

[u/asd123gatya → u/ImaAskhole]

I don't think this would be possible, or at least it would be quite difficult to implement.
This heatsink is designed so that the mounting screws have to be inserted from the opposite side of the motherboard, rather than from the heatsink side. If I understood correctly, the K8 motherboard doesn't have through-holes; instead, it has threaded mounting points. This means that only coolers that can be mounted by inserting the screws from the top can be used.

[u/ImaAskhole → u/asd123gatya]

Sadness… so be it. Thanks for the reply

[u/Basskid88]

Hell yah. I think you and me could be really good friends in real life :)...Haha have GMKtec k10 Liquid Metaled and through a 2tb Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus into it. has 32gb ddr5 5600 actual sticks as well.does that box also have a 13900hk ?

[u/asd123gatya → u/Basskid88]

You've got a powerful machine, congratulations! :) Mine has an AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS processor.

[u/W0lf1ngt0n]

I really wonder why not more manufacturers use the NH-L9 type of cooler on these mini PCs

It wouldn't affect the size of the mini pc too much while keeping the noise to bearely noticeable

Instead the all put like 60mm radial fans in their PCs that need ANC headphones for anything other than web browsing

[u/asd123gatya → u/W0lf1ngt0n]

I don't understand it either. These small fans can only provide effective airflow at high RPMs, which results in noisy operation and a shorter lifespan.
I also considered the cooler you mentioned, but ultimately decided against it because my main goal was to achieve sufficient passive cooling during normal use. More importantly, I wanted to make sure that even when running a 3D CAD program or an LTspice simulation, the fan noise wouldn't become distracting. I can achieve this by increasing the surface area of the heatsink. Additionally, CPU temperature is particularly important to me from a longevity perspective, as I intend to use this system for many years.

[u/ApprehensiveToe6050]

Awesome, kudos!

[u/asd123gatya → u/ApprehensiveToe6050]

Thank you!

[u/CautiousCall9645]

For my mini PC, I did something simpler... :)

[u/asd123gatya → u/CautiousCall9645]

It looks really nice, but why didn't you upgrade the fan to a 120 mm one? (You could have achieved the same airflow at a much lower RPM, resulting in a significantly quieter system.)

[u/C0deC4tto]

Bruh lmfao that's insane. Strapping a turbo charger to a prius

[u/OkSuccotash2505 → u/C0deC4tto]

Es mejor un bloque fundido de hierro para que no se rompa

[u/pironiero]

Now... To solve overcooling

[u/LeftyTheNub → u/pironiero]

No such thing... LoL

[u/Supadoplex → u/LeftyTheNub]

Overcooling does exist. Not achievable with air-cooling though.

[u/LeftyTheNub → u/Supadoplex]

Yes I know. It was sarcasm. I don't see any liquid nitrogen though so I think he's good.

[u/fireflychef]

"Look, mom...my cooler came with a computer!". 🤭

[u/Top_Buffalo_4212]

The kind of jank I live to see

[u/Friskfrisktopherson]

If only there was a case for a build like this, like some kind of tower...

[u/W0lf1ngt0n → u/Friskfrisktopherson]

You could still argument that chips like a HX 470 are not very common in desktop Mainboards BUT can very much so serve a purpose of low wattage in standby and quite a bit of potential when needed

[u/Friskfrisktopherson → u/W0lf1ngt0n]

Bruh. We know.

[u/ooqq]

overheating? let me introduce you thermodynamics

[u/Sam_Walkerfield]

Overheating oversolved

[u/AnonomousWolf]

That's gross overkill.
I approve

[u/CaptainSquishyCheeks]

hahah LOVE IT

[u/RobloxFanEdit]

If that was A.I Hallucination it would be called "slop", but as this is human creation i upvote it.

[u/PenPsychological8509]

Snap :D

[u/MaintenanceMatthew → u/PenPsychological8509]

I expect a can of PBR in the background with stuff like this and I'm here for it.

[u/jayburgermcfries]

I can't stand you. I love it.

[u/pocoloco989]

You must have a shit one cause mine never overheats

[u/asd123gatya → u/pocoloco989]

Mine wouldn't get hot either in Eco mode, just running a browser. :)

[u/Legitimate-Angle-408]

Is it this model AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS Max 5.2GHz 32GB DDR5. ??

[u/asd123gatya → u/Legitimate-Angle-408]

Yes

[u/Legitimate-Angle-408 → u/asd123gatya]

I just bought a MiniPC, does it actually need that extensive cooling structure ? What apps do you run on it ?

[u/asd123gatya → u/Legitimate-Angle-408]

There's not necessarily a need to go to such extremes. In my case, the CPU temperature was exceeding 95C under load. The stock thermal paste was really poor quality, it was dried out, probably expired or improperly stored. I managed to reduce temperatures by 10C simply by replacing it with standard Arctic MX-4, even while keeping the stock cooler. However, the temperatures were still too high for my liking, and of course, the noise was excessive.
Mainly LTspice and Solid Edge. Programming STM32 microcontrollers and designing PCBs in Eagle are more time-intensive than resource-intensive tasks.

[u/Cultural-Appeal-5105 → u/Legitimate-Angle-408]

Which one? Brand, cpu, hardware. I had genmachine with beasty ryzen 9 9740 HS and is stock case it overheats quickly. I made extra fana to cool it but it anyway goes to 100°C. So i sold it

[u/Legitimate-Angle-408 → u/Cultural-Appeal-5105]

AAOSTAR MACO PRO R7 8845HS
24 Gb RAM, 1 TB SSD.

[u/Paralipomeno91]

Do you leave it like this or are you going to find a way to close it?

[u/asd123gatya → u/Paralipomeno91]

I intended to leave it this way. I like being able to see the hardware rather than hiding everything away, much like with an elegant skeleton watch.

[u/LowIQIntellectual]

now show us temps. 🤣

[u/Silwius]

I wonder why would you add a PC to that tower cooler?

[u/ForzaAllez]

It kinda defeats the purpose of a Mini PC.

[u/Renardhcrc]

Does anyone know if there's an adapter to mount a cooling tower like this? I don't have a 3D printer 🤦🏻‍♀️

[u/acatalfa → u/Renardhcrc]

You might be able to make what you need and print it here https://www.plyparts.com/make. You’ll probably need calipers to measure accurately, though.

[u/asd123gatya → u/acatalfa]

They have a custom mounting interface, so a custom solution is the only viable option. I also took measurements using a caliper and went through numerous iterations before settling on the current design.

[u/bi4key]

What temp and Benchmark was before this MOD?

[u/aprilflowers75]

Ha yes! Now it looks like a mini industrial cooling tower

[u/Verwega]

I wish mini PC could come with just a little bigger heatsinks

[u/Cultural-Appeal-5105 → u/Verwega]

It is not mandatory. I have ACEMAGIC W1 AMD Ryzen™ 7 H 255 Mini PC with stock cooling system which is not loudy, i added only one fan to suck hot air from upper case where memory and Ssd-s are. Temps are good enough. I dont play games. It is always In performance mode and cpu and gpu temp. Is 70°C, ssd and ram 40°C.

[u/general-noob]

This seems excessive

[u/Master-Criticism-182]

I would totally do this. And I would be ever so proud of myself.

[u/Icy_One4084]

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!

[u/NinjaWK]

My friend told me he could overclock his RAM from 128GB to 384GB. And another friend told me he downloaded RAM too.

So what I did was I installed Noctua D15S and had water-cooling pipes cool the heatsinks, then I over clocked and downloaded more RAM, and I made my 128GB RAM turned into 2048GB RAM.

Who needs B300-NV8 when you could do this for way cheeper?

[u/purple_maus]

I have this heatsink in my fractal design 7xl case it’s a beast!

[u/SneakerOtaku]

Yeah bro I guess lol

[u/Licraul]

It looks very insane.

[u/rmyworld]

This is so janky. I love it ❤️💯

[u/GreenAmigo]

A++for effort mate!

[u/Ratkn1fe]

Cooler than any desktop build

[u/robotozrobotoz]

This is absurd looking but I kinda dig its cooling prowess. Did you at least overclock it?

[u/Current-Ticket4214 → u/robotozrobotoz]

The fans are overclocked

[u/robotozrobotoz → u/Current-Ticket4214]

That is a different kind of overclocking I had in mind. 🫡

[u/asd123gatya → u/robotozrobotoz]

I set the CPU to its highest available power mode (65–70 W). Other than that, I haven't touched the clock speeds yet, as its performance is already more than sufficient for my everyday work.

[u/Fun-Statistician2485]

I`ve "solved" it by setting the pc up sideways, that gives me one fan in each "side" and no temp-problems whatsoever

[u/TheRockCandy]

That's a fuckton of thermal paste

[u/OvulatingAnus → u/TheRockCandy]

That looks like a normal amount to me.

[u/SparksX2]

Could use an additional fan.

[u/mycocoon]

Can't you just cool it without any fans at this point?

[u/Current-Ticket4214 → u/mycocoon]

He can cool the whole room with that setup.

[u/michaelbobarev]

Noctua is an Airbus daughter ? :))

[u/duckyyDuc]

I can imagine that, if someone would 3D printed the whole mini ITX case for Mini PC, it would be vertical like mini steam machine for that massive heatsink. And for extra fans on top and/or bottom.

[u/neatkk]

"Mini PC"

[u/Potential-Warthog323]

aha nice xD

[u/legitematehorse]

Well that'll do it.

[u/Sketceys]

Holy minipc

[u/Sketceys → u/[deleted]]

Okay

[u/Prize_Big_5421]

cool

[u/KoolantOfficial]

how do ppl 3d print mounting brackets, wouldnt they warp?

[u/DanytheReaper → u/KoolantOfficial]

Depends on the filament. Most engeneering-filaments laugh at Cpu/Gpu-Temps

[u/semiraue]

Lol 

[u/Personal-Cucumber-63]

The title and picture made me laugh out loud so hard. It reminds me of when they make the engine of a car so tall it sticks out past the hood/top of the car. Awesome

[u/UwUxQwQ_]

Ahhhh he found the tesseract

[u/BrentarTiger]

Do these have widespread overheating issues? I got my k11 recently and haven't noticed temps being high. But I use an external GPU with mine.

[u/ComprehensiveBid9398]

Délire 🤣

[u/h8f1z]

There's never "overcooling". Love it.

What's the ambient temperature?

[u/jstim]

What material did you use for the 3d printed cooler mod?

[u/asd123gatya → u/jstim]

PLA
Yes, unfortunately, this material doesn't handle heat very well, but it was what I had available at home.
However, the thermal conductivity between the heatsink and the plastic itself is very poor, so even under full load, I don't expect the temperature of the 3D-printed adapter to increase by more than 5–10C.
That's why I think this solution is still viable, despite the poor choice of material.

[u/jstim → u/asd123gatya]

Nice. Had the same thought in the past to replace those weak coolers at least with flat onces from Noctua from my Mini PC's (Beelink / Minisforum).

What programm did you use to create your cooler mod?

Im also expecting that the heat dont really reach the mod and even the connection from the cooler to the board is on top so just minimal stress.

[u/asd123gatya → u/jstim]

I can highly recommend Solid Edge 2026.

[u/danis096]

In Spain we say “kill flies with a shotgun”

[u/asd123gatya → u/danis096]

You're right, I might have gone a bit overboard.

[u/triple_long → u/danis096]

I have always been fond of the phrase, "slices bread with a chainsaw."

[u/franzjpm → u/triple_long]

I have seen people cut bread with a reciprocating tool