@caver01 said in Best case to keep raspberry pie 3 cool?:
I suppose I could just setup a nice little beer fridge next to the TV and build my project inside the ice section of that.
It sounds like a man cave in the making! ;)
I've never used anything bigger than 30MM which has always been sufficient. I think more important than bigger is managing air flow (if the Pi is completely enclosed) moving air over the components and exhausting it.
Basically seal the case, manage the air intake to keep negative pressure and it will move toward the fan. Like a PC pulling air from the front/side and venting back/top. I've never been a big proponent for positive pressure even though it will keep dust out better.
You could add a 2nd fan for intake but that just seems overkill unless you're a cooling enthusiast.
My case is completely open on all sides with the fan above the CPU pulling air straight up. I don't think much is going on there except it's pulling hot air straight up which pulls cool air from the sides but it runs very cool.
85c after 10 minutes and still climbing, it had also clocked itself down to 800mhz.
That sounds right as warnings (temp gauge upper right corner) start at 80C and auto-downclocking at 85C. I think optimal is 70C or below to cover all components as some of the miscellaneous chips are rated at lower max temps but I suppose that's harder to nail down the temp of some chip sitting off to the side of the CPU or memory.
