Cooling Asus Routers

[kvic]

I'm not fond of overclocking with exotic cooling systems. But I'm so amazed by the little RT-AC56U lately. I overclocked mine to 1200MHz CPU and 666MHz DDR memory.

At stock clocks 800/533, iperf running on the router reaches 280Mbps (data sink is on a PC). With overclock, iperf reaches 420Mbps. That's 50% increase! The link rate between data source and sink is always 867Mbps. Hence, I'm fairly sure the increase in Mbps purely comes from CPU/memory boost that results in faster iperf.

Sadly temperatures increase too. The CPU shoots over 80 degree Celsius at full load. The router is still very stable though. But I prefer the CPU at a more comfortable level.

So I stamped two fans to the back. They are very quiet but perform surprisingly well. The CPU goes down to 61C at full load. That's more than I want. Turns out one fan shall be sufficient. Since I bought two, just put both on.

I wish I could have trimmed the fan wires a bit. I already get a better plan once warranty expired. To plant a fan inside.

Happy overclocking!

 

[Calv]

I'm a noob and I bought http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IJ2J2K0/?tag=snbforums-20

But damn! I want to learn how to build my own. What are the each components called?

 

[VANT]

rt-ac56u have much more throughput than yours 280mbit/s, so You don't need overclock

WAN - LAN Throughput (Mbps) 778.2
LAN - WAN Throughput (Mbps) 800.1

 

[kvic]

Mainly the 5V DC 40x40x10 fan like this one
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H8VUOVE/?tag=snbforums-20

Three wire version will have a signal pin for reading fan speed which we don't connect. So either two or three wire is good.

Plus a spare USB cable. Connect the 5V and ground to red and black wires respectively.

I'm a noob and I bought http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IJ2J2K0/?tag=snbforums-20

But damn! I want to learn how to build my own. What are the each components called?

 

[kvic]

Install iperf from Debian for ARM or entware.arm. Run it on RT-AC56U. You'll see what I meant by 280 vs 420Mbps.

I didn't test WAN <-> LAN throughput. I believe they also increase after overclock but maybe not by a huge margin.

rt-ac56u have much more throughput than yours 280mbit/s, so You don't need overclock

WAN - LAN Throughput (Mbps) 778.2
LAN - WAN Throughput (Mbps) 800.1

 

[VANT]

I don't know what config You have, but old rt-n66u (single core 600MHz) can 420mbit/s without any problem (max pref. n66u is ~700mbit/s)

 

[kvic]

Is it possible in the firmware to cut off a USB port's power by issuing some command? Any gents looked into this?

I'm thinking of a script to turn on the fans only when too hot.

 

[TonyH]

I'm a noob and I bought http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IJ2J2K0/?tag=snbforums-20

But damn! I want to learn how to build my own. What are the each components called?

Hi,
Ever took the HS off the cpu and other major component inside the router? See how much thermal paste is applied and spread evenly. Just a dab that's it most cases. Applying the thermal paste properly alone will make noticeable difference.
I have a bad habit of taking things apart when I buy new things, LOL!

 

[hank81]

Hi,
Ever took the HS off the cpu and other major component inside the router? See how much thermal paste is applied and spread evenly. Just a dab that's it most cases. Applying the thermal paste properly alone will make noticeable difference.
I have a bad habit of taking things apart when I buy new things, LOL!

The only worthy reason to take the router apart is for checking if HS is properly seated. Messing with thermal compund is a waste of time.

 

[TonyH]

The only worthy reason to take the router apart is for checking if HS is properly seated. Messing with thermal compund is a waste of time.

Hi,
Ever took thermal dynamics in your school days? Tried some MIL-spec thermal paste(grease)?

 

[hank81]

Hi,
Ever took thermal dynamics in your school days? Tried some MIL-spec thermal paste(grease)?

Yes, at this moment I use Prolimatech PK-3 with all my cpu/gpu.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[kvic]

I can't say for thermal paste vs thermal tape (or pad) in other situations. For rt-act56u, I highly doubt that thermal paste will yield a significant drop in cpu temperature. I would love to see if someone had done such experiments.

I think the thermal tape used in rt-act56u is doing a good job. Rather the huge heatsink could be doing poorly. My reasoning comes from the fact that, two little 40mm fans about 2500 rpm could reduce the cpu temp by more than 20 degree C. If the thermal tape is ineffective, I doubt two fans could do so much help. Alloys are relatively expensive. And the heatsink in rt-ac56u is huge. If I'm in Asus' shoes to cut cost, I would put on a cheaper heatsink. Bare eyes (of product reviewers) can't tell a good heatsink vs a poor one.

A quick search on thermal paste vs tape only yields me this experiment. An interesting one and surprisingly done by torch enthusiasts.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...-Myth-Busted-Thermal-Paste-Beats-Thermal-Tape