Topic: RPI4 Case

[cheffy]

Hi,

I have just upgraded from the standard meteobridge to a RPI4 - I also bought a case for it to go in being the Argon One.  The case looks great, but it has a loud almost high pitched fan noise which seems run 24/7.  I am getting to the point where I am considering other options such as the Flirc, which is fanless and should run practically silent, but I am concerned about overheating.

Does the RPI need a fan case if it is running meteobridge only, or would it be ok to use a silent pasively cooled case?

What are others using?

Thanks,
Neil

[DaleReid]

How about just a  new fan?  I have one that has run so quietly for over a year that I have to hold my finger over the air flow to feel if the fan is running or not.  Runs cool with a tiny fan.  Metal case, with a couple heat sinks on it.  Some cases aren't big enough to allow for heat sinks to fit properly.

As an aside, I'm running WeeWx on the RP4, and the one I'm setting up now is just in the open, lying there on the bench.  I put my finger on the CPU the other day and it was rather warm, approaching a hot feeling.  The monitoring readout said the CPU was at 40 C, so that's pretty warm, but I've not selected a case yet.

Amazon here in the US has a iUniker case with fan and a couple heat sinks for about $11 US.  I like metal, but this one is a plastic design, and since the board and CPU are not bound to the case in any way as a heat sink, I think plastic is OK, especially if plenty of holes for fan and natural convection.

You can pull the two wires the fan is powered by and watch the temperature of the unit with the Debian software which is built in and you can turn it on to watch the measurements in the taskbar,  just to see.

My own opinion is to cool it with moving air, a new case or a new fan.  But my opinion only.  Certainly get heat sinks on it if you don't already.
Let us know what works out.

[docbee]

This one is passive and works fine for me. However it is getting really warm and it is not completely hiding the PCB.
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Geekworm-Raspberry-Heatsink-Aluminium-Passive/dp/B07VD5L1VY

[hmderek]

This one is passive and works fine for me. However it is getting really warm and it is not completely hiding the PCB.
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Geekworm-Raspberry-Heatsink-Aluminium-Passive/dp/B07VD5L1VY

I can confirm this is a great case. Combined it with a wall mount that allows the heat to escape from both sides more easily, but I don't think you will need that. If you have a Pi 4 that's not brand new, consider checking for the firmware update from late 2019 which helps a lot with heat issues.

[davidmc36]

I put a resistor on the power lead of my RPI case fan. Run it about 1/2 rated speed and should go silent.

[galfert]

I run my Meteobridge RPI with a Pi 4 in a Flirc case. It's perfect. My running temperature is 42.8°C. I love that it is totally silent and I don't have to worry about fan bearings wearing out.

[Gyvate]

I'm using two different solutions for my RPi4s
a) the piece Boris (@docbee) sent a link for (passive)
b) a double/dual fan which runs almost noiseless like
https://www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Model-Aluminum-Cooling-Metal/dp/B07VQLBSNC/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2R5ZB421EHYJ4&dchild=1&keywords=raspberry+pi+4+dual+fan+cooler&qid=1629144710&sprefix=raspberry+pi+4+dual+fan%2Caps%2C282&sr=8-3

I have it put in a bigger metal case for better heat conduction

https://www.amazon.com/GeeekPi-Raspberry-Low-Profile-Cooler-Horizontal/dp/B086KTMZLX/ref=sr_1_10?crid=1VIZKRU7FXG78&dchild=1&keywords=raspberry+pi+4+big+case&qid=1629144873&sprefix=raspberry+pi+4+big+case%2Caps%2C247&sr=8-10

[cheffy]

Thanks for all the responses/suggestions.

It's good to see some are you are using and recommending a passive case because I think I am heading in that direction.

Thinking about it more,  the case I have (Argon One v2) is probably not suited for my needs.  You can install scripts onto the Pi OS to control the fan to come on when certain temperature thresholds are met, however it is being used for meteobridge so it's not possible to do this.  Therefore it seems to run 24/7 at full blast.  I have it sitting in my study and I am working from home a lot at the moment and listening to it all day is starting to drive me crazy - sometimes I think it's about to take off.  My wife doesn't seem to mind as much - she calls it white noise.

Some of the suggestions to add a new fan or control the fan with a resistor is probably beyond my capability.  I did take the case apart to see if I could get to the fan with a view to removing it, however there is no obvious way to get to the connection without me breaking something!

The current system temperature from meteobridge is currently reading 34C and the highest it has got so far is 37C.  My assumption is the Pi generally shouldn’t be working too hard just running meteobridge, therefore I will try with a passive cooling case and monitor the temps over a period of time.  As long as they don't climb too high I will probably go with this.  I can then put the other case in the drawer and enjoy the silence!

Neil

[davidmc36]

I bet the passive with big heat sink will be grand. I think that will be my next set.

[galfert]

The Raspberry Pi 4 thermal throttle begins at 80°C and hard throttles at 85°C. You could run the Meteobridge RPI naked with no case and no fan and it would never go over 48°C as it isn't really pushing the CPU past 2% while idling and about 6% during UI graphing usage. In fact I ran my Meteobridge RPI this way for about 2 weeks with no issues as Flirc cases were on back ordered a bit at the time I was getting it going. Of course it is much better with some thermal protection and it looks nicer and it is easier to dust clean with a case. The Meteobridge software is hardly making the Pi 4 sweat. For all these reasons the Flirc case is perfect.

[tmabell]

What value resistor did you use? 

I put a resistor on the power lead of my RPI case fan. Run it about 1/2 rated speed and should go silent.

[davidmc36]

What value resistor did you use? 

I put a resistor on the power lead of my RPI case fan. Run it about 1/2 rated speed and should go silent.

Driving two 5 volt Laptop Proc fans (they are pretty tiny current draw) I have 3 ohm for fast and 14 ohm for slow.

[tmabell]

Will a 1/2 watt work?

[davidmc36]

1/2 would be plenty the way I have  it set up. Just happened what I had was two 1/2 watt 30 ohm in   parallel measure at about 14.6 Then I parallel in a 3 ohm and it comes to about 2.5 for high speed.

[tmabell]

Thank you

[cheffy]

Just an update on this - I got the Flirc case on the weekend and swapped it over.  Running temps are now between 34C and 44C depending on ambient temperature in the room (which ranges from 16C to 26C).  Using the previous case which ran the fan 24/7 the running temps were between 28C and 38C.

The case has a nice finish to it and it is completely silent, so overall I am pretty happy with that.

[DaleReid]

I tried a very UNcontrolled experiment with a new RaspPi4 I was just setting up.
Bare board, in the open, temps ran about 38 to 44 C depending upon what activity I had running, and a finger on the CPU and other chips was warm to really warm to the touch.

I put the four little aluminum heat sinks on and the temp dropped 4 degrees (approx) with the same on-screen activity.

After snapping the case on and plugging the fan in to run a 3.5 v. low speed, the temps dropped another solid 2 degrees, sometimes 3 degrees. 

Good enough for me.  Even if you don't put it in a case or have a fan on it, the heat sinks (cheap for a whole bag) are worth cooling things down cheaply and simply.

[Daali]

I'm running the Geekworm.

temp where it is located on the shelf is 27.C (gw1000 is in the same area)
temps never go above 48c