58 LXF257 December 2019 http://www.linuxformat.comTUTORIALS Cooling your Pi
a custom holder which requires a little fiddling during
assembly – but the included instructions are quite easy
to follow. This big and brash cooler connects to the
GPIO of the Pi, using the 5V and GND pins to power the
RGB fan. With an idle temperature of 31°C and a
temperature of 45°C when under load, this is an
excellent cooling unit that will keep your Pi 4 cool all day
if necessary.
Access to the GPIO is possible, but no HAT boards
can be used. Access to the CSI and DSI ports is tricky,
but possible. The limitations of this cooler are that it’s
large, and so any case is rendered useless. If you are
building a home server then this is the cooler to use, but
you will need to be creative in how the Pi is stored.So which is coolest?
We took a reading at the start of the test (idle. At four
minutes into the test, the Pi is confirming prime
numbers and running at 100 per cent speed, which
means it’s working as hard as it can. See the graph
below for the collected results.
As you can see, Pimoroni’s Fan Shim – the lowest-
priced option – is the most effective, offering dramatic
cooling from a tiny fan but with no heatsink. A heatsink
offers an extra level of thermal transfer and in terms of
pure cooling, the 52Pi Ice Tower is a beast with a
copper heat pipe and heatsink cooled with a powerful
fan. When under full load (two minutes into the test) the
CPU was reporting only 42°C, so compared to a stock
Pi running at 57°C, we have a 15°C drop in temperature
But if we change the thermal pad on the CPU for
thermal paste, we see a massive difference, with the
CPU running at 29°C – almost a 50 per cent drop in
temperature! The main problem with the 52 Pi Ice
Tower is that it is massive. If we’re using it in a home
server capacity that might not be an issue, but we can’t
use this cooler for typical Pi projects. If we need to use
the Pi for a ‘normal’ project then the Pimoroni Fan Shim
is an excellent and very cheap solution. It is small, and
when used in constantly active mode, it can match the
52Pi Ice Tower for cooling power.
So for what projects would the 52Pi Ice Tower be of
use? Quite simply, overclocking your Pi from 1.5GHz to
2GHz – that’s a 25 per cent increase in power for free.
Overclocking is when the CPU is pushed past theThe Pi 4 is screwed to the bottom of the case, and
held in place by the USB ports, which are rather close
and could be bridged, creating a short circuit. Cooling is
provided by a series of thermal pads and a 20mm
heatsink and fan, powered by the GPIO. With an idle
temperature of 37°C and under load a temperature of
56°C, this is a poor cooling option. It may keep the Pi
cooler than stock when in all-day use, but the overall
quality of the product lets it down.
Access to the GPIO is possible, except for the 5V and
GND pins, which rules out the use of HATs. Camera
(CSI) and Display (DSI) connections are not possible
unless the case lid is removed. Adding the PoE board is
impossible as the heatsink and fan will stop the board
connecting to the GPIO. Access to the microSD port is
rather awkward and requires tweezers to remove a
card. In all, best to avoid this option.52Pi Ice Tower
This is a beast of a cooling unit. Looking like an old
Pentium 4 cooler, the Ice Tower sits atop the Pi4 viaActive cooling
can be as simple
or elaborate as
you require. If
you have spare
5V PC fans,
you can make
your own active
cooling unit.
But take care
not to pull too
much current
from the 5V pin
as it is directly
connected to
the 5V power
supply.The Ice Tower is a great cooling unit. It
may look rather grotesque in proportion
to the Pi 4, but it offers exceptional
long-term cooling.Stock Pi
Jun_Electronic
Fan Shim (constant speed)
Fan Shim (software control)
52Pi Ice Tower (thermal pad)
52Pi Ice Tower (thermal paste)
52Pi Ice Tower (thermal paste- 2GHz overclock)
GeeekPi Aluminium
Pimoroni Aluminium
Cooler (passive)
Time (Minutes)Temperature (C)Raspberry Pi 4 passive
and active cooling results.58 LXF257 December 2019 http://www.linuxformat.com
TUTORIALS Cooling your Pi
a custom holder which requires a little fiddling during
assembly – but the included instructions are quite easy
to follow. This big and brash cooler connects to the
GPIO of the Pi, using the 5V and GND pins to power the
RGB fan. With an idle temperature of 31°C and a
temperature of 45°C when under load, this is an
excellent cooling unit that will keep your Pi 4 cool all day
if necessary.
Access to the GPIO is possible, but no HAT boards
can be used. Access to the CSI and DSI ports is tricky,
but possible. The limitations of this cooler are that it’s
large, and so any case is rendered useless. If you are
building a home server then this is the cooler to use, but
you will need to be creative in how the Pi is stored.So which is coolest?
We took a reading at the start of the test (idle. At four
minutes into the test, the Pi is confirming prime
numbers and running at 100 per cent speed, which
means it’s working as hard as it can. See the graph
below for the collected results.
As you can see, Pimoroni’s Fan Shim – the lowest-
priced option – is the most effective, offering dramatic
cooling from a tiny fan but with no heatsink. A heatsink
offers an extra level of thermal transfer and in terms of
pure cooling, the 52Pi Ice Tower is a beast with a
copper heat pipe and heatsink cooled with a powerful
fan. When under full load (two minutes into the test) the
CPU was reporting only 42°C, so compared to a stock
Pi running at 57°C, we have a 15°C drop in temperature
But if we change the thermal pad on the CPU for
thermal paste, we see a massive difference, with the
CPU running at 29°C – almost a 50 per cent drop in
temperature! The main problem with the 52 Pi Ice
Tower is that it is massive. If we’re using it in a home
server capacity that might not be an issue, but we can’t
use this cooler for typical Pi projects. If we need to use
the Pi for a ‘normal’ project then the Pimoroni Fan Shim
is an excellent and very cheap solution. It is small, and
when used in constantly active mode, it can match the
52Pi Ice Tower for cooling power.
So for what projects would the 52Pi Ice Tower be of
use? Quite simply, overclocking your Pi from 1.5GHz to
2GHz – that’s a 25 per cent increase in power for free.
Overclocking is when the CPU is pushed past theThe Pi 4 is screwed to the bottom of the case, and
held in place by the USB ports, which are rather close
and could be bridged, creating a short circuit. Cooling is
provided by a series of thermal pads and a 20mm
heatsink and fan, powered by the GPIO. With an idle
temperature of 37°C and under load a temperature of
56°C, this is a poor cooling option. It may keep the Pi
cooler than stock when in all-day use, but the overall
quality of the product lets it down.
Access to the GPIO is possible, except for the 5V and
GND pins, which rules out the use of HATs. Camera
(CSI) and Display (DSI) connections are not possible
unless the case lid is removed. Adding the PoE board is
impossible as the heatsink and fan will stop the board
connecting to the GPIO. Access to the microSD port is
rather awkward and requires tweezers to remove a
card. In all, best to avoid this option.52Pi Ice Tower
This is a beast of a cooling unit. Looking like an old
Pentium 4 cooler, the Ice Tower sits atop the Pi4 viaActivecooling
canbeassimple
orelaborateas
yourequire.If
youhavespare
5VPCfans,
youcanmake
yourownactive
coolingunit.
Buttakecare
nottopulltoo
muchcurrent
fromthe5Vpin
asit isdirectly
connectedto
the5Vpower
supply.The Ice Tower is a great cooling unit. It
may look rather grotesque in proportion
to the Pi 4, but it offers exceptional
long-term cooling.StockPi
Jun_Electronic
FanShim(constantspeed)
FanShim(softwarecontrol)
52PiIceTower(thermalpad)
52PiIceTower(thermalpaste)
52PiIceTower(thermalpaste- 2GHzoverclock)
GeeekPiAluminium
Pimoroni Aluminium
Cooler (passive)
Time (Minutes)Temperature (C)Raspberry Pi 4 passive
and active cooling results.