DEC750 NVMe thermal pad?

[Patrick M. Hausen]

I would be interested in knowing if a small usb powered fan (a silent type) placed on top of your device would improve the temps significantly.

I have come to really like these:

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B08QYY87XW

Cheap and whisper quiet. And the rubber feet keep them from wandering due to vibration. I have one on top of my DEC750 and one at the side of my Mikrotik CRS326-24G-2S+IN switch and they work wonders.

[connervt]

I have nearly the same one on my Topton N5105.  Mine is a 120MM version.  Larger fan for less noise and more air flow.  Temps usually stay 36-44C.  I don't do any packet inspection or such.  1Gb WAN and a 2.5Gb LAN that sometimes does move large amounts of data.

Note that when I received the Topton, temps were terrible.  I needed to take it apart, lap the contact pad between the CPU die and the heatsink, and reassemble it with a copper shim and fresh thermal paste.  It would likely keep temps reasonably in spec without the USB fan on top, but I had already bought it, so I keep it sitting on top of the Topton (blowing down onto the heatsink).

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G05A2MU

[BrandyWine]

Having the fan is good, and when it fails the FW device is still ok because it's a passive-sinked case.

I was think small fan(s) like those you get on a Pi hat, or something like a 25mm. I made 3d hat for my cable modem and it has two 25mm fans (it's duct work in design, but caps the top edge of the modem). I cant hear them running, but they pull a lot of heat out.

For the devices that have no fan and site flat like a wifi AP, I usually place small 1cm riser feet on those to allow better convection cooling.

I never experimented using a Peltier pads. Always wondered if they could be used as pad between say nvme and the sink.

Many ways to keep things cool.