Cooling the ATV 4k 2022

[Wizec]

I bought these and put one on my theater room Apple TV 2022:

Enokay 4pcs 40mm Heatsink Kit 40x40x11mm Thermal Conductive Adhesive Tape, Cooler Heat Sink for Cooling 3D Printers, TEC1-12706 Thermoelectric Peltier Cooler 40mmx40mmx11mm Heatsink https://a.co/d/hMOX6KN

It gets warm when we play racing games, but it’s never gotten hot.

 

[Miltz]

Don't understand the reason for obsessing about the Apple TV temperature. It's not sitting on your lap, there are no mass reports of failures due heat failure. Apple normally over designs things so unless you are running it out of spec (32 to 95 degrees) why worry about it?

I guess you never gamed on the new 2022 model for more than a few minutes, hence your comment. Mine got up to 120C before I put a cooler on it. So I eventually stopped gaming on it cuz it’s clearly not meant for that. Apple are idiots. There I said it. Removing the fan and heatsink is mind boggling. It’s an excellent streaming device, but not for gaming.

 

[Juicy Box]

I bought these and put one on my theater room Apple TV 2022:

Enokay 4pcs 40mm Heatsink Kit 40x40x11mm Thermal Conductive Adhesive Tape, Cooler Heat Sink for Cooling 3D Printers, TEC1-12706 Thermoelectric Peltier Cooler 40mmx40mmx11mm Heatsink https://a.co/d/hMOX6KN

It gets warm when we play racing games, but it’s never gotten hot.

Last week, I purchased this heatsink from Amazon:

Awxlumv Aluminum 80mm Heat Sink 3.15x3.15x1inch/ 80x80x27mm Heatsink Large Radiator Circuit Board Cooling Cooler 26 Fins for LED, Power High Fans - Sliver

www.amazon.com

I tried it today, and it worked, sort of. I was able to get about three times as much play time on Wreckfest before the thermal state went from "normal" to "serious" and started the ATV4K3 started to thermal throttle. Even with the thermal state at "serious", the heatsink seemed to have reduced the amount of frame rate drops compared to playing without the heatsink.

So, I call it a success.

when I ordered the heatsink I also got a thermal pad, but haven't used it yet. I might see if that might improve things.

When searching on Amazon, I was trying to find a heatsink with a built-in fan, but couldn't find one that I thought would be a good fit for the ATV4K3 case.

I think I have some small computer fans that might be the right size to set on top of the heatsink I bought, hopefully to move the air enough to keep the temps low enough to play for an hour without it thermal throttling.

 

[Juicy Box]

There an app called System Info for Apple TV that will tell you the thermal state of the unit. Mine say nominal: normal temperature. Not sure if that would be beneficial.

I bought and downloaded it. I will check it out. It have been nice to have an actual temperature, and not just "normal".

Thanks for the app recommendation.

Not sure if you have seen it yet, but this is what System Info app looks like when the ATV4K3 starts thermal throttling:

It would have been nice to have an actual temp instead of just the current state of the temperatures, but as far as I know, it is the only app in the tvOS Apple Store that will give any HW temperature info.

Also, I noticed that there are some misspelled words in the app, I am thinking that English is probably not the primary language of the app's creator.

 

[icanhazmac]

When searching on Amazon, I was trying to find a heatsink with a built-in fan, but couldn't find one that I thought would be a good fit for the ATV4K3 case.

StarTech.com 85x70x50mm Socket 478 CPU Cooler Fan - CPU Cooler with Heatsink & TX3 Connector (FAN478), Black

This Socket 478 CPU cooler is a combination CPU fan and heatsink that's designed to provide optimal CPU cooling at a great price. The CPU cooler features a reliable 60mm ball bearing fan that provides excellent airflow, and a built-on aluminum heatsink designed with closely spaced fins to help in...

www.amazon.com

Not perfect but might work.

 

[Juicy Box]

StarTech.com 85x70x50mm Socket 478 CPU Cooler Fan - CPU Cooler with Heatsink & TX3 Connector (FAN478), Black

This Socket 478 CPU cooler is a combination CPU fan and heatsink that's designed to provide optimal CPU cooling at a great price. The CPU cooler features a reliable 60mm ball bearing fan that provides excellent airflow, and a built-on aluminum heatsink designed with closely spaced fins to help in...

www.amazon.com

Not perfect but might work.

I just ordered it, and will test it this weekend, I will let everyone know how it does.

 

[Juicy Box]

StarTech.com 85x70x50mm Socket 478 CPU Cooler Fan - CPU Cooler with Heatsink & TX3 Connector (FAN478), Black

This Socket 478 CPU cooler is a combination CPU fan and heatsink that's designed to provide optimal CPU cooling at a great price. The CPU cooler features a reliable 60mm ball bearing fan that provides excellent airflow, and a built-on aluminum heatsink designed with closely spaced fins to help in...

www.amazon.com

Not perfect but might work.

I just ordered it, and will test it this weekend, I will let everyone know how it does.

I tested out the heatsink+fan from above while playing Wreckfest, and I was able to get through an hour of almost non-stop playing without seeing the thermal state increase to "Serious", this is with every graphical setting to the max, with the exception of frame rates, which I had set to 30fps.

After 59 minutes of playing, the thermal state changed from "Normal" to "Serious".

Overall, it was good. The game still had some frame rate drops though.

The biggest problem (besides how it looks) is the noise from the fan on the heatsink. I think I am going to have a smart switch control the fan, and turn it on whenever I play a GPU-intensive game, and maybe set it to auto shut off after two hours.

I might use a thermal pad and see if that improves anything.

This is what it looks like:

 

[curnalpanic]

This is what it looks like:

The heatsink should ideally be attached directly to the processor, rather than the outside of the case which is plastic and does not conduct heat very well. Also, a bigger fan might help with the noise.

 

[Juicy Box]

The heatsink should ideally be attached directly to the processor, rather than the outside of the case which is plastic and does not conduct heat very well.

Well, yeah of course. In practice, attaching directly would involve a larger mod than I wanted to do.

Maybe I might look at the ifixit tear down and see if there is a way I can cut into the top and place the heatsink directly to the chip.

Also, a bigger fan might help with the noise.

Good idea. I have a few larger ones that I was using on another project, I will see this weekend if that improves the noise some.

 

[raythompsontn]

The biggest problem (besides how it looks) is the noise from the fan on the heatsink.

Have you given any consideration to a water cooler? One of the self contained units, pump, couple hoses, and the radiators. On my Intel I9, maxed out for 15 minutes, the fans cannot be heard. The hoses would give some flexibility in location of the radiators.