CPU heating issue

Hi,

I have a serious issue with heat on my Vim, I received it 2 days ago but it is virtually unusable.

It gets so hot it starts to stutter after only a few minutes of work – I updated it to the latest nougat rom (170421) and added a heat sink on the CPU but it still gets to about 84 degrees Celsius after a few minutes of work.

Has anyone experienced this issue?

Hi, Nirbu:

Can you describe more information on this? basically, following details will be helpful for us:

  • How you got the temp value? the surface of CPU?
  • The working temperature when you doing the test.
  • What APP did you run when you doing the test?
  • A photo with more details would be helpful.
  • Did you try with other ROM? Still with the same issue?
  • Others

Thanks!

Hi Gouwa,

I didnt get a chance to try other roms, i will try some during the weekend.
Regarding the apps, just surfing the web using chrome gets me to around 80 degrees (mesured using cpuz).
Trying to play movies in kodi gets me to aroung 85 degrees (mesured in kodi) - movies dont play for more than a few minutes, after that the player starts to stutter.
Some images:

I am limited to only one photo in a post so if you need more let me know were to upload them.

Thanks,
Nir

hi, Nirbu:
Android Nougat is still not quite stable now, so can you kindly try with Android M ROM and feedback to us?

Thanks!

Ok, so i tested almost all roms (Vim_Nougat_Root_170421, Vim_Marshmallow_Root_170121, Vim_Ubuntu-mate-16.04_V170220 and Vim_Ubuntu-16.04_V170124).
And it is the same in all of them, they work ok for a few minutes and then they start to freeze (i guess due to over heating).
In the linux roms i didnt find a way to measure the temp as lm-sensors does not support this hardware but the device feels as hot as in the android roms so i guess its the same.

Since no one else is complaining about this issue should i assume i got a faulty board?

I am sorry if you received a defective board, you do have warranty, contacth the seller of the board, you probably bought it from geekbuying or gearbest.

If the device gets hot like that and it freezes, i can’t think of any other reason than hardware failure.

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Hello, You should be able to confirm a heating problem by pointing a fan at the case’s GPIO opening. If problem still persists, hardware could be suspect. But trying a suitable substitute power supply will also help narrow the possible problem as an underperforming power supply could cause the shutdowns.
BTW Kodi temp information cannot be relied on these types of devices. On most of my devices, it reads very high relative to actual(measured) CPU temp.

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hi, nirbu:
Can you kindly confirm again with:

  • Take a photo of your VIM and post it
  • Which model DC adapter did you use?

I will keep following this until the problem got resolved.

Thanks!

hi,

RDFTKV, thanks for the help - to answer your questions i tried 2 different power adapters both are 2.5A with no difference and i did not relay on kodi for the temp, i used CPU-Z for the temp reading (is that reliable?)

and you were correct, after placing a desk fan above the vim all issues were resolved.
the unit does not get hot and no longer freeze! it is now stable at about 65 degrees.

Gouwa, thanks for following up on this issue - i attached some pics and the power adaptor i use is
Original Teclast Series Power Adapter 5V 2.5A

it is a bit disappointing that the unit cannot work properly without a fan placed on top of it especially since i added a heat sink on the CPU. it was supposed to be small and unnoticed and now it is bulky and cluttered.

at least the community and support here are great :slight_smile:


Hi, Nirbu:
I think you still haven’t got problem resolved yet.

Basically, the VIM can work well even without a heat sink or a cooling fan.

May I know that are you a developer a normal user? I still want to narrow your problem.

I am a developer by profession but i use this unit as a normal user, it is used as a media box - mostly for surfing the web and kodi :sweat_smile:

I was planning to see how it works and based on that decide if i should buy another to “play with”, i think i will wait on that…

What do you think can be the issue?

Great!

Can you follow the instructions one by one and provide more information for us:

The printing log = thousands of words, and I think we can locate your issue better with it.

Thanks!

It would rather not fix your issue with overheating but try avoid using Teclast 2.5A adapter. It seems unstable. My VIM resets after few minutes of moderate load on Android 6. Works great with other adapters though.

I have no problem doing it but i will need to order a ttl to usb adaptor as i dont currently have one.
I will order one today but it can take a month or so untill i get it…

I will send the logs when i have them.

Thanks again!

Hi loku02,

I tried using a different power adapter but the results were the same, now that the fan is on it everything seems to be working properly even with the teclast adapter(i bought it since it had the best reviews)

I will try changing the power adapter again and see if it makes a difference but i am skeptical.

Thanks!

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Hello, I am not sure how accurate any of these Android apps actually are when it comes to CPU temps. Have you tried this app? See if it reads the same. Depending on the ambiant temps(room temp), yours still seems a bit high to me. Out of curiosity, what method/material was used to affix the heatsink to CPU?
Hang in there, I think it will get resolved. :slight_smile:

Hello, I would like add my experience from mobile CPUs Like Intel/AMD, their internal diode inside of the chip aren’t calibrated at all, and “accuracy” can be either +/- 20°C. I’m expecting that Amlogic using same method. So first thinks I would like checkout if heat spreader is properly mounted/glued and check by thermometer a real temperature of heat sink and compared to the temperature readout from SW. So what is real temperature/readout by SW?

Hi,

RDFTKV, I didn’t try this app but I’ll do it when I get back home.
I used SEKISUI #5760, it’s a Double-sided Thermal Adhesive Tape - never had issues with it before (used it with my old Cubietruck Cubieboard3).

TomasFilip, I will try to measure the temp with a thermometer and update on the outcome.

In any case I have many heat sinks/thermal paste at home so maybe I will try to rig something up using a raspberry pi fan…

I was curious, as I have seen some tapes that said OK for GPU, RAM, etc, but said specifically not OK for CPU. I am unfamiliar with the tape you listed. If you have used it for CPUs before, should be OK, I would think.
You may already know that Khadas has a fan kit for the Vim, in case you want to keep small and tidy. :slight_smile:
You may also want to consider this when choosing a heatsink.
Hope you get it resolved.
Note: I do not have these accessories.

I know about the fan kit but if I order it will take about a month to get here and I prefer not to wait so long (and to be honest 10 bucks for a fan and acrylic cover seems a bit high), maybe ill get one in the future.

Regarding the heat sink – I have several with the dimensions you mentioned here.

I will try to make some modifications, it may not be pretty but hopefully it will be effective :wink:
Ill upload some pics and temp measurements when I’m done.

Thanks again!