Heat issues with the 66U

[mrcom]

Sorry but thats not truth, i've always use my routers without top case and im just gonna explain you why.

All my routers, 2x WL-500GP, 2x WL-500GPv2, 1x WL-500W after 1-2 years of working duty popped capacitors inside because high temperatures, if they were designed to stand it this wouldn't never happen. The 2 models with top case opened (1x WL-500GP, 1x WL-500GPv2) were about 15-20 degrees less compared with the same ones closed and they are still working nowadays. Temperature is always a concerning factor on electronics even the if the components are very high quality and could handle it. Its always better having lower temperatures no matter what.

Believe me i have alot of experience on this on the last 10 years

Well i have 15 years of experience with routers and i have never had a router to fail due to heat! But what you are discribing is : wl-500 routers arent any good with handling heat!! I have used several brands. 5 different dlinks, 1 netgear, 1 zyxel, 1 dovado, 1 asus, non of them has failed due to heat and some of them has got quite hot. So does the fact that WL-500 cant handle heat meen that Asus RT-N66U will go down the same road to death? This is my first Asus router. So are the Asus bad at designing routers? Or what are you saying? I know that heat is a killer but what im saying is that routers are normally designed to handle heat !?

 

[RogerSC]

I agree that excess heat in electronic equipment is never a good thing. I recall some routers that were noted for getting too hot and stopping working, the Linksys E3000 was noted for that. On the other hand, I've never had a heat problem with a router that I could position vertically, so that's what I always do whenever possible. That exposes the largest amount of radiating surfaces to air circulation, and gives the best cooling. Most times a router that will get "too hot" horizontally, when positioned vertically will just get warm.

The rt-n66u stand is flimsy, but I'm wondering if you fiddled with it enough to lock it in place. I noticed that, until I fiddled with it for a couple of minutes and got it locked in place, it was useless...Now that it is in its locked position it works fine for me. And the router runs much cooler using the stand. Only warm to the touch, pretty much like other routers I've had.

 

[hggomes]

Yes they are designed to handle it, but some don't, thats the point. I have a D-Link and a Huawei with capacitors popped too. There are lots of bad engeneering on computer electronics, thats a reality, if you've got those 15 years of experience like you said (i believe so) you should know that. I had an ATI 4870 that worked for 3 years at very high temperatures 80-95 or even more when full stressing and i was always thinking myself the day that some components would fail, never happen its still working, thats a good engeneering but i'm sure if she worked with less temperature the probability of failing would be even less.

What im trying to say here is that temperature is and always will be a important factor no matter what, if the equipment has bad components will be fail quick, if the equipment has good components can hadle it 5 or 10 years but with less temperatures those 5-10 would be 30.

The equation is simple: The less temperature you've got, the better is, even if hw could handle it.

"So does the fact that WL-500 cant handle heat meen that Asus RT-N66U will go down the same road to death?"

We don't know yet, maybe yes maybe not. But im sure all users would be much more happy if temperatures were lower, no one would even be worried about they're routers.


PS:

"Well i have 15 years of experience with routers and i have never had a router to fail due to heat!"

That's you, not the entire world

In this case i can say you are very lucky guy and im not. Or maybe you live in the arctic pole

http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showpost.php?p=40319&postcount=19

"So don`t worrey about heat it`s never been a problem!! Thats a fact!!"

NOT TRUTH and ITS NOT A FACT.

You will need some years to read them all:

http://www.google.pt/#hl=pt-PT&outp....,cf.osb&fp=8728c4916b0b184e&biw=1280&bih=709

 

[mrcom]

Yes they are designed to handle it, but some don't, thats the point. I have a D-Link and a Huawei with capacitors popped too. There are lots of bad engeneering on computer electronics, thats a reality, if you've got those 15 years of experience like you said (i believe so) you should know that. I had an ATI 4870 that worked for 3 years at very high temperatures 80-95 or even more when full stressing and i was always thinking myself the day that some components would fail, never happen its still working, thats a good engeneering but i'm sure if she worked with less temperature the probability of failing would be even less.

What im trying to say here is that temperature is and always will be a important factor no matter what, if the equipment has bad components will be fail quick, if the equipment has good components can hadle it 5 or 10 years but with less temperatures those 5-10 would be 30.

The equation is simple: The less temperature you've got, the better is, even if hw could handle it.

"So does the fact that WL-500 cant handle heat meen that Asus RT-N66U will go down the same road to death?"

We don't know yet, maybe yes maybe not. But im sure all users would be much more happy if temperatures were lower, no one would even be worried about they're routers.


PS:

"Well i have 15 years of experience with routers and i have never had a router to fail due to heat!"

That's you, not the entire world

In this case i can say you are very lucky guy and im not. Or maybe you live in the arctic pole

http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showpost.php?p=40319&postcount=19

"So don`t worrey about heat it`s never been a problem!! Thats a fact!!"

NOT TRUTH and ITS NOT A FACT.

You will need some years to read them all:

http://www.google.pt/#hl=pt-PT&outp....,cf.osb&fp=8728c4916b0b184e&biw=1280&bih=709

Hehe i hear you. I do live in sweden so the climate isn`t so hot Anyways i have had routers where the case have melted hotglue on the surfice. And the router worked for like 4 years nonstop i only stopped using it because i wanted to upgrade. To the point!!!the RT-N66U is so cold that nearly can`t feel it with my hand!! So there should not even be a discussion about heat on this router? It`s the coldest router i have tested so far! So if you think this router is hot you haven`t tried many routers in my opinion.
PEACE Mrcom

 

[hggomes]

Now i undestand what you said, in your country hardware / electronics temperatures should not be a problem at all for sure, its a cold country. Now try go to Brasil or other hot country's and we can discuss again about it

I never said this router was hot, i was only reading users posts and then i have read your post, LOL.

I didn't think it was hot until i open it, you cannot leave you hand on the heatsink much time, it's REALLY HOT inside

But i couldn't tell from the outside, the case it's only warm, but some people report HOT even outside the case, each case its one case, we can't only look for our and generalize. Just the simple room temperature makes all difference

Answering your statment / oppinion, it's wrong too, i think i've tested more than 50 routers in the last few years, ASUS, Linksys, D-Link, Huawei, ALIX, Mikrotik, Thompson, Netgear, Buffalo and many others...

 

[mrcom]

Now i undestand what you said, in your country hardware / electronics temperatures should not be a problem at all for sure, its a cold country. Now try go to Brasil or other hot country's and we can discuss again about it

I never said this router was hot, i was only reading users posts and then i have read your post, LOL.

I didn't think it was hot until i open it, you cannot leave you hand on the heatsink much time, it's REALLY HOT inside

But i couldn't tell from the outside, the case it's only warm, but some people report HOT even outside the case, each case its one case...

Answering your statment, i think i've tested more than 50 routers in the last few years, ASUS, Linksys, D-Link, Huawei, ALIX, Mikrotik, Thompson, Netgear, Buffalo and many others...

Well maybe there is a problem with the build quality of the routers if there is such differens in heat. PS. And by the way thanks for the LOL .DS

 

[hggomes]

No problem mrcom

This is healthy discussion, each of us gives our opinion so people could think in a different way or learn about it, no one is owner of the rightness

 

[mrcom]

No problem mrcom

This is healthy discussion, each of us gives our opinion so people could think in a different way or learn about it, no one is owner of the rightness

I fully agree \Mrcom

 

[sovereignty68]

Well i have 15 years of experience with routers and i have never had a router to fail due to heat! But what you are discribing is : wl-500 routers arent any good with handling heat!! I have used several brands. 5 different dlinks, 1 netgear, 1 zyxel, 1 dovado, 1 asus, non of them has failed due to heat and some of them has got quite hot. So does the fact that WL-500 cant handle heat meen that Asus RT-N66U will go down the same road to death? This is my first Asus router. So are the Asus bad at designing routers? Or what are you saying? I know that heat is a killer but what im saying is that routers are normally designed to handle heat !?

I have 20 years of experience with high-end networking equipments like Cisco and HP multi-layer switches and routers. I say I disagree that routers won't fail due to heat. I've seen many routers fail due to overheat problem when ambient temperature rises just like many electrical equipments do. Depends the QC by the manufacturers, some routers can sustain very high temperature, some can't. Heat is always a killer and will shorten the life span of your electrical equipment if it's not controlled properly.

 

[mrcom]

I have 20 years of experience with high-end networking equipments like Cisco and HP multi-layer switches and routers. I say I disagree that routers won't fail due to heat. I've seen many routers fail due to overheat problem when ambient temperature rises just like many electrical equipments do. Depends the QC by the manufacturers, some routers can sustain very high temperature, some can't. Heat is always a killer and will shorten the life span of your electrical equipment if it's not controlled properly.

Hi. Well the point is the RT-N66U doesn`t get hot at all!! And on a second note what we are discussing are personal use routers and not high end there is a big differens. High end routers and switches produces alot of heat due to the high capasity they even sometimes have fans to handle the heat!! Thue even personal routers get really hot BUT again NOT the RT-N66U!!

 

[Revenent]

Hi. Well the point is the RT-N66U doesn`t get hot at all!! And on a second note what we are discussing are personal use routers and not high end there is a big differens. High end routers and switches produces alot of heat due to the high capasity they even sometimes have fans to handle the heat!! Thue even personal routers get really hot BUT again NOT the RT-N66U!!

Nope, mine does get hot.

Even at around 17°C ambient temperature.

I've complained to Asus, but they aren't willing to do a cross-ship or advance shipping, so I need to find and configure another router before I can do a replacement to see if it fixes the issue.

 

[mrcom]

Nope, mine does get hot.

Even at around 17°C ambient temperature.

I've complained to Asus, but they aren't willing to do a cross-ship or advance shipping, so I need to find and configure another router before I can do a replacement to see if it fixes the issue.

Sorry about your router. I should have wrote My RT-N66U doesn`t get hot. I can feel that it`s on but in comparisson to my dir-655 it`s cool. My room temp is 20-22 celcius. And running original firmware .112 Best regards Mrcom

 

[hggomes]

Mrcom don't take it personal but... When i first test my 2 RT-N66U i thought the same as you, it does not get so hot, but the plastic case it tricks. If you have the oportunity open the case and i defy you to stand your hand on the heatsink more that 3 seconds

Its really HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTT damnnn

Outside temperature is not noticable but inside components are BURNING like HELL , even the antennas SMA connectors are pretty HOT.

 

[claykin]

That level of heat is typically not good, but keep in mind that die temps can be up to 90c depending on the process which the semi was manufactured. Broadcom isn't freely distributing their datasheets, so I cannot tell what design they've used.

I suspect the heat may be due to transmit power level Asus is using. I beleive the Netgear WNDR4500 uses the same chipset and radio amps, but doesn't get nearly as hot (and also has much smaller heat sinks). Its also true that the 4500 has less range so likely has lower transmit power. Could it be that Asus has the amps dialed up a bit too much without active cooling?

It sure seems odd that the WNDR4500 with the same basic chipset design can get by without so much heat and aluminum dissipation.

Mrcom don't take it personal but... When i first test my 2 RT-N66U i thought the same as you, it does not get so hot, but the plastic case it tricks. If you have the oportunity open the case and i defy you to stand your hand on the heatsink more that 3 seconds

Its really HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTT damnnn

Outside temperature is not noticable but inside components are BURNING like HELL , even the antennas SMA connectors are pretty HOT.

 

[RogerSC]

That level of heat is typically not good, but keep in mind that die temps can be up to 90c depending on the process which the semi was manufactured. Broadcom isn't freely distributing their datasheets, so I cannot tell what design they've used.

I suspect the heat may be due to transmit power level Asus is using. I beleive the Netgear WNDR4500 uses the same chipset and radio amps, but doesn't get nearly as hot (and also has much smaller heat sinks). Its also true that the 4500 has less range so likely has lower transmit power. Could it be that Asus has the amps dialed up a bit too much without active cooling?

It sure seems odd that the WNDR4500 with the same basic chipset design can get by without so much heat and aluminum dissipation.

Well, on the other hand, have you taken apart the WNDR4500 and verified that both aren't about as hot on the inside? I'm not about to take my router apart, and don't have a WNDR4500 to take apart for comparision anyways, but the original statement was that the rt-n66u is hot on the inside...

 

[jerry6]

Around 72F I haven't measured the temp on the router but I will this weekend. I don't see any performance issues but it does bug me , my old wrt 610N v1 didn't run this hot.

my old wrtb600 ran hot , after 2 years the 5ghz band was turning off and on at random . the rt 66u has a massive heat sink so it should get rid of the heat , if the case is warm that's good , means the HS is taking the heat off the chips . My 3700 was never hot not sure what kind of HS it or wrt 600 had , but 2.4 radio went bad after 3 years , maybe the case was cool to touch , but what was chip temp ? if the case is hot might mean heat is being transferred away from chip and board , that is better than cool case , hot chip/ board .

 

[claykin]

I did. 6 finned heatsinks on top side of PCB (Tim did not show this in his review). None were more than luke warm. Bottom shields were also luke warm.

Either the power amps turned up in the RT-N66U are the cause or there's something wrong with the internal PSU where its overvolting the semi's.

WNDR4500 uses a 12V 5A SM PSU brick (laptop style brick). What are the specs of the RT-N66U wall wart? Maybe the wall wart Asus is using is not properly regulated or a crap SM PSU.

Well, on the other hand, have you taken apart the WNDR4500 and verified that both aren't about as hot on the inside? I'm not about to take my router apart, and don't have a WNDR4500 to take apart for comparision anyways, but the original statement was that the rt-n66u is hot on the inside...

 

[srinivasvaradaraj]

Check out this little missing page on your routers. I assume this is vestigial code from their v1 fan based board. Thought this is interesting.
http://<YOUR ROUTER IP>/Advanced_PerformanceTuning_Content.asp

or if default

http://192.168.1.1/Advanced_PerformanceTuning_Content.asp

 

[claykin]

Check out this little missing page on your routers. I assume this is vestigial code from their v1 fan based board. Thought this is interesting.
http://<YOUR ROUTER IP>/Advanced_PerformanceTuning_Content.asp

or if default

http://192.168.1.1/Advanced_PerformanceTuning_Content.asp

This has been mentioned before. Seems like sloppy coding.

 

[gary8vi]

Check out this little missing page on your routers. I assume this is vestigial code from their v1 fan based board. Thought this is interesting.
http://<YOUR ROUTER IP>/Advanced_PerformanceTuning_Content.asp

or if default

http://192.168.1.1/Advanced_PerformanceTuning_Content.asp

If I'm reading this page correctly I'm seeing 130 F or 55 C as a fairly constant temperature reading. You need to let it "run" for a couple of minutes.

How does that compare with everyone else?