Nintendo 64 Temperature Information

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Mario
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Nintendo 64 Temperature Information

Post by Mario » Sun Dec 06, 2009 1:46 pm

Mario wrote:Thanks to Daftmike, Marshallh, and Zeturi.
daftmike wrote:With an 18°C (64°F) ambient temp, running the 3.3V line at 3.05V, after 45 mins of 8 bot perfect dark multiplayer without heatsinks, in free air, my rcp was at 64°C (147°F), the memory at 60°C (140°F), and the cpu at 49°C (120°F).

I didn't test until the system shut down but the temps had stabilised after 45 mins, in a typical n64p volume case, you are looking at at least 20°C (68°F) above ambient and I would recommend keeping the package temps below 85°C (185°F).
daftmike wrote:When I did my testing there were no crashes for four hours with a slight under-volt (3.05V) and no heatsinks, the temperatures levelled out after 45 mins.

Theoretically to keep the chips under 80°c (176°F), inside a case, I estimate your heatsinks would need only about 12°C (54°F)/W thermal resistance. This is relatively modest, most pc ramsinks should be more than suitable with a little airflow.
marshallh wrote:My dev 64 has been run for hours at a time with no heatsink, just the aluminum blocks on each chip. They get pretty hot but the N64 never shut down or started to crash.
zeturi wrote:I took a record of the heat coming off the n64 for a couple of hours:

3:38 PM started test,
CPU: 30
RCP: 32
RAM: 32

4:04 PM
CPU: 45.5
RCP: 51
RAM: 48.5

4:31 PM
CPU: 51
RCP: 53
RAM: 50

5:00 PM
CPU: 52
RCP: 53.5
RAM: 50

5:13 P.M. Ended test,
CPU: 50
RCP: 53.5
RAM: 52

Looks like my temps won't climb beyond these last recorded ones. (Though possible +20 more degrees while in the case.)Image
zeturi wrote:I do have another n64, I hooked it up to my TV and let it run without heat sinks. I got bored after 20 minutes, because the temps never got high, really. Here's what I got:

CPU: 43
RCP: 45
RAM: 50

Granted, it only ran for 20 minutes, but the numbers didn't climb any higher than these. Usually they were about 4 degrees lower. The heat is almost the same as when I had heat sinks! Though the heat might climb a bit more over time, with heat sinks like what I used, I doubt temperatures would increase much. (But will increase once inside a case.) The revision of the board I just tested is 3, and the revision that I've already messed with is a Revision 8. With a small fan installed, there would be little to no heat.
Graph of Zeturi's Test:
Image
Sources:
http://forums.modretro.com/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=1395" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://forums.benheck.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=35242" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Image

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timmeh87
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Re: Nintendo 64 Temperature Information

Post by timmeh87 » Mon Dec 07, 2009 12:54 am

Nice summary.

Are all these tests done with a bare board sitting on a table? Id like to see one done in like a tupperware container or something, to give us a little more of an idea what happens in a case.
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