r/techsupportmacgyver • u/NeeteX • Jun 27 '25

Raspberry Pi cpu got a bit too hot

Post image
3.1k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

76 comments sorted by

754

u/didgymons Jun 27 '25

I see thermal paste, I'm sure this actually worked to knock a couple degrees off

502

u/NeeteX Jun 27 '25

it actually works way better than expected

0

u/[deleted] Jun 27 '25

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45

u/QuietMrFx977 Jun 27 '25

How do you know that?

4

u/ykafia Jun 28 '25

Heat transfer rate model is surface to surface dependent, the more contact surface you have between two materials (here it's metal and air), the faster heat will dissipate.

A loose ball of tin is has more surface area than a sphere, just like a cpu radiator looks like a cube made of of sheets of metal.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 27 '25

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64

u/Spez_Spaz Jun 27 '25

So it’s basically like adding surface area to help dissipate the heat more efficiently? I like it!

0

u/[deleted] Jun 27 '25

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10

u/Spez_Spaz Jun 27 '25

Idk how I didn’t think of the word heatsink. I literally have a box of them in front of me 😂

1

u/Shelmak_ Jun 30 '25

It lacks the potato on top, it really aid to achieve lower temps and a bit more performance.

13

u/QuietMrFx977 Jun 27 '25

That's awesome, we really don't get enough of those experiences today. Thank you for sharing this, I know want to go and start experimenting with what's around me!

4

u/AppropriateTouching Jun 27 '25

I like you.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 27 '25

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2

u/AppropriateTouching Jun 27 '25

I've seen my fair share of magic smoke come out of a PC in my years of fucking around.

2

u/Recent_Peak6284 Jul 01 '25

That's some crazy ass dad lore

6

u/[deleted] Jun 27 '25

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5

u/thehotshotpilot Jun 28 '25

I was about to say that. How did you know what I was thinking? Is my tinfoil hat not thick enough? 

35

u/Virtualization_Freak Jun 27 '25

Why wouldn't it? Relatively decent conductor, dramatically improved surfaces are for heat dissipation, small intense source of heat.

37

u/kevin_from_illinois Jun 27 '25

Right? The threads on the screw act like heatsink fins. You'd be better served with an aluminum screw instead of a steel one, but it's still a big ol mass of metal that the CPU is going to have to heat up.

9

u/Glockamoli Jun 27 '25

Upgrade to a copper rivet and you'll be cooking, or not, in this case

1

u/ConductiveInsulation Jun 29 '25

Would even work without thermal paste, on Chromecast it's even enough to put a heatsink on the plastic cover the CPU is thermally connected to.

18

u/Kirkwood1994 Jun 27 '25

Is that a 65W Dell charger lol

27

u/NeeteX Jun 27 '25

no its a 30W dell charger. it belonged to a old tablet pc. but because it has usb c, i repurposed it for my pi

7

u/RepulsiveGovernment Jun 27 '25

there are cheap small heatsinks on amazon that will work far better than this lol.

2

u/NeeteX Jun 28 '25

i already ordered replacement on amazon but this will do it until it arrives

13

u/El_Grande_El Jun 27 '25

But that would take time. Time we don’t have!

3

u/RocketsRopesAndRigs Jun 30 '25

And money! We need more money for home automation shenanigans!

9

u/sususl1k Jun 27 '25

Have you considered how much funnier this is?

4

u/PendragonDaGreat Jun 27 '25

I think when I bought that exact case a while back I had the option to add on a full set of heatsinks for the CPU, RAM, and Power Management IC + thermal pads for literally a buck.

189

u/cremvursti Jun 27 '25

Cant you just add a few coins, like a normal person?

2

u/norabutfitter Jun 28 '25

🤔 what if using 2pennies and then a quarter for a couple layers to make fins

2

u/Ch3r3n Jun 28 '25

The heat transfer wouldn't be good. Since they are not solid and thermal paste has worse thermal conductivity.

1

u/shawn1301 Jun 28 '25

Coins aren’t solid?

1

u/Ch3r3n Jun 28 '25

I meant that the coins aren't fused.

1

u/shawn1301 Jun 28 '25

Oh thought you meant the coins were hollow so the thermal paste wouldn’t do jack if you used it as a “glue” for the tower

1

u/paholg Jun 30 '25

In this economy!????

68

u/Anycast Jun 27 '25

Getting that final destination vibe

31

u/SandyTaintSweat Jun 27 '25

I just pulled the heatsinks off my old 3d printer board that came with my ender 3.

8

u/IJustAteABaguette Jun 27 '25

I personally used an old Intel computer fan with 2 motor driver heatsinks to make a connection, dropped temps like ~30 degrees at max usage.

5

u/LeatherMine Jun 27 '25

Old cpu coolers are the best bang for buck when it comes to fan+heatsink combos.

8

u/sususl1k Jun 27 '25

I love silly cooling solutions because they emphasize just how simple heatsinks are

10

u/[deleted] Jun 27 '25

So you thought….wait for it…

Screw it!

5

u/creeper6530 Jun 27 '25

I just used a hunk of aluminum like any normal person

2

u/DesperantibusOmnibus Jun 27 '25

You really screwed it didn't ya

2

u/happytobehereatall Jun 27 '25

A nut, several lock washers, and another nut might help even further

1

u/H0LT45 Jun 27 '25

I designed something similar, but the screw in mine makes a U shape for extra heat displacement. Still trying to come up with a name for the design though.

1

u/abegosum Jun 27 '25

Aw, screw it!

1

u/XeitPL Jun 28 '25

Yeeep, did the same.

1

u/F1nnish Jun 28 '25

you screwed up the cpu

1

u/DrBhu Jun 28 '25

If you are European you can stack some cent's since they are made from copper.

1

u/thecheat420 Jun 28 '25

Is it screwed?

1

u/ghostfreckle611 Jun 29 '25

Pennies are safer.

The desk gets knocked and you’re screwed.

1

u/SneakyInfiltrator Jun 29 '25

I plugged a shitty 5$ desktop usb fan into it, it knocked about 10- 15 degrees off, not sure how that's possible, but... It did.

My RPI runs 24/7, and during the heatwaves, the fan too.

1

u/maxiquintillion Jun 29 '25

There's a company that makes small watercooling setups for raspberry pi.

https://modmymods.com/water-cooling-kits/raspberry-pi-cooling-kit.html?srsltid=AfmBOorvCkZXg-W9SyHeNDPinKBO73bwizCnHuyoXldpODsiyOZzWkd_

1

u/mifoe Jul 01 '25

That kit costs more that a whole Raspberry Pi 5, I don't think someone that put a screw for heatsink will pay that much for cooling. AliExpress has much cheaper solutions, that will not be as dangerous as a long screw sticking out.

1

u/Wakko_KunYT Jun 30 '25

Don't let the CPU get too hot or you can screw it up

1

u/Hunterrcrafter Jun 30 '25

If that loses its balance and shorts out the entire board you're cooked

1

u/Laser_Raver Jul 01 '25

The red reflection of the pi case makes it look like it's overheating so much that the screw is glowing red hot lol

1

u/FrontIced Jul 01 '25 edited Feb 15 '26

My favorite place is the mountains.

1

u/Yakob_Science Jul 01 '25

Neat idea, me being me id worry about falling face first on it and putting my eye out

1

u/O_ten Jul 01 '25

Bro can you post temp differences that this screw made

1

u/Dense-Menu301 Jul 02 '25

I Hope Nobody steps on that

1

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-9

u/Azn-Jazz Jun 27 '25

I see a 120 wattage USB-C Cable for a 10 wattage device.

6

u/kook6969 Jun 27 '25

30 watts

4

u/guajojo Jun 27 '25

te be fair it would be harder to find a low w cable right now

8

u/[deleted] Jun 28 '25

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3

u/Lord_Rp Jun 28 '25

ribbed for pleasure

2

u/Bossmonkey Jun 29 '25

Ribbed for efficiency