Official Pi case causes heat issues with P3

matchaman

I wanted to protect my Pi by using a case that will protect it from accidental touches or anything else.

Last month I bought the official white-red case and it's really well made in terms of quality. However, I kept seeing that red thermometer icon and I initially thought it was caused by some update or the shaders I used.

I used two heatsinks and the problem persisted, while I doubted the efficiency of the 3M tape that was used (though it wasn't spongy).

Apparently, the problem disappeared completely once I removed the side part of the case. Unfortunately, it leaves the pin-out exposed to accidental touches...

I'll use a milling machine to drill some uniform holes to the side part but it's really a shame that the official case leaves the device without any ventilation whatsoever.

Do other users experience similar problems with the official case? Once I removed the side I haven't witnessed a single instance with the thermometer icon, so I'm pretty confident that it was caused by the case's design.

Note: just to make it clear... stock clock, no overclocking

herb_fargus

@matchaman I think the case is designed to be modular for all the diff uses people use the pi for, you can have the sides on or take them off. I leave the lid off of mine for extra ventilation.

There are also plenty of 3rd party cases that have better ventilation / heat sinks / unnecessary massive fans

matchaman

Exactly, but leaving the board exposed renders casing virtually pointless. Air vents would make a much better design without sacrificing functionality or aesthetics.

I'll keep the case because it's really well made in terms of plastic quality. But it's an irony that the "official" one has such a design flaw...

herb_fargus

@matchaman well it really just depends on your use case. Can't design it for everyone ;)

matchaman

The best possible cases are old faulty consoles :D

edm203

I use an "unofficial" case that has a fan, and my temp readings are below 45F. (it stays very cool, even when I plug in 4 controllers). It's kinda fragile.

http://a.co/5GgVBKB

obsidianspider

I have a Pi 3 in a Sega Genesis USB hub that has zero ventilation and it never has any heat issues. I'm also working on putting a Pi 3 in a Gameboy Advance and I did some preliminary testing by letting N64 run for an hour with the battery I intend to power it with sitting directly on the SOC, as it will be when in the case, and I had no heat issues.

edmaul69

@herb_fargus said in Official Pi case causes heat issues with P3:

unnecessary massive fans

This made me chuckle. I have never used a fan on a pi. And ive crammed them into some tiny cases.

matchaman

@obsidianspider said in Official Pi case causes heat issues with P3:

I have a Pi 3 in a Sega Genesis USB hub that has zero ventilation and it never has any heat issues. I'm also working on putting a Pi 3 in a Gameboy Advance and I did some preliminary testing by letting N64 run for an hour with the battery I intend to power it with sitting directly on the SOC, as it will be when in the case, and I had no heat issues.

Seen your work, great stuff :) I'm quite curious... do you happen to use any shaders? It appears that without shaders my Pi 3 runs about -10c cooler.

obsidianspider

@matchaman Thanks. I'm having fun with these Pis. I don't run any shaders.

pjft

@matchaman I use overlays. Reasonable CRT effect, not as teaching on the CPU.