Youview BT T1000 - Heatsink Replacement

[petertr2000]

Hi,
Has anyone ever tried to do this?

For some reason, they've fitted a pitiful heatsink on this thing, no fins, just a sheet of metal with a lip at the edge (both older and new models had much more).

And we've found that the rear fan was disabled by a firmware update a while back - which can't be fixed in software

So I'm planning to re-wire the exhaust fan to permanent 12V supply, but I suspect it might get loud. I'd like to replace the heatsink with something more useful

Anyone tried anything like this?

I'm a little bit concerned as the heatsink drops around the CPU itself, and I'm worried that its somehow bonded to the CPU packaging and/or the mother board - i.e. adhesive.

 

[lude1962]

could you put another heatsink on top ie rasp pi size?

 

[petertr2000]

could you put another heatsink on top ie rasp pi size?

That's exactly what I've planned to do - I've bought a 9x9x12mm Ri style, self-adhesive heatsink that'll drop right onto that raised section (where the CPU is). Saw someone else had done it.

I guess that metal plate is at least fixed very hard with paste or perhaps even glued somehow - would rather "de lid" it though tbh, as the paste could be knackered?

Also planning to reconnect the exhaust fan by piggybacking another power source. Shouldn't be too hard.

 

[agw_01]

I recently bought a very cheap T1000 which was crashing quite frequently. Having realised how hot the heatsink gets (60+ degrees), I cut a hole in the lid and fitted an 80mm fan just above the CPU area. Wired it into the hard disk power connector at 7v so it runs whenever the hard disk has power and so far, so good.

I'm just waiting on a cheap heatsink and some thermal pads being delivered before going any further.

 

[petertr2000]

So we spliced into the HDD 12V supply and now our fan is running flat out all the time
- Good: The box no longer gets hot - it was very hot before
- Bad: The fan is noisy. I think we'll stick a variable resister on it to turn it down

And then fitted a RPi style heatsink

The number of crashes has come down, but its still locking up from time to time. So I've ordered a heatsink that's about twice as big.
Am I better off using thermal tape for the adhesion here, or paste (I've got some AS5 leftover)

But agree with agw above, I think the CPU needs a fan directly on it as the rear exhaust fan doesn't really create airflow over the CPU - it seems to be more for the HDD and PSU

 

[agw_01]

You could run the fan at 7v to quieten it down a bit. Not sure how effective that little fan is going to be though which is why I went for an 80mm fan. Fan positive wire -> HDD yellow wire and fan negative wire -> HDD red wire will give you 7v.

AS5 will perform better but will allow the heatsink to move around if disturbed so as long as you keep this is mind when moving the box, I'm sure it'll be fine. You could always go with an epoxy to securely fix the heatsink to the CPU if you were concerned.

 

[Armageus]

AS5 will perform better but will allow the heatsink to move around if disturbed so as long as you keep this is mind when moving the box, I'm sure it'll be fine. You could always go with an epoxy to securely fix the heatsink to the CPU if you were concerned.

Tiny dot of superglue on 2 opposite corners works well when using thermal pastes - can easily be twisted/cut with razor blade to remove still.


Also worth being careful doing 7volt mods in devices like this that have an integrated PSU - tried it on a Samsung DVR and ended up with some components melting. Upon checking the hard drive fitted was one specced that needed nothing on the 5v rail, and looked like the PSU wasn't designed to cope with any kind of 5v load (or didn't have the sort of protection ATX supplies do).

Resistor or Potentiometer is likely a safer alternative for this sort of application

 

[petertr2000]

Thanks for the replies.

Switched from a 9x9mm heatsink to a 28x28mm one tonight. Its larger than the contact point of the CPU itself but does sit on it quite well. Just used the AS5 - its not like the box is going to be moved around.

As for the 7V idea - that sounds very handy actually. The fan only takes 0.5amp at 12V, so would be about 0.3amp at 7V - surely 0.3amps isn't going to cause any bother??

 

[Armageus]

As for the 7V idea - that sounds very handy actually. The fan only takes 0.5amp at 12V, so would be about 0.3amp at 7V - surely 0.3amps isn't going to cause any bother??

As above - you'd think not, but having had smoldering components as a result of me trying one, then I wouldn't risk it. The 7 Volt mod is a "nasty" hack as I understand it from an electrical point of view and relies on protection circuits within good quality ATX PSUs.

Better to do it properly and use something like:
My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Zalman Fan Mate 2 Fan Controller= £3.95
• 1 x Noctua NA-SRC10 3-Pin Low-Noise Adaptors, 3 pack= £4.45

Total: £11.14 (includes shipping: £2.74)​

​

 

[agw_01]

@Armageus , you make some good points. Especially about the 7v wiring as I have come across this myself previously. Interesting about the HD in your PVR having no requirement for the 5v rail, I will keep this in mind.

With fan controllers as cheap as they are, that does look like a safe bet. Might even get one myself!

Peter, so you removed the stock heatsink? Did the old compound clean up easily, I'd imagine it to be some sort of epoxy.

 

[petertr2000]

Peter, so you removed the stock heatsink? Did the old compound clean up easily, I'd imagine it to be some sort of epoxy.

Decided against, it was very well stuck on, and didn't want to knacker the whole thing. So I AS5'd a 28x28mm heatsink on it
The fan is still running flat out, slightly noisy.

Hasn't crashed in the last week or so since we did this.

However, he picked up a FreeSAT box today, so I think the Youview box will be retired soon.

 

[agw_01]

I managed to get mine off, it's stuck on with a very strong thermal pad. Thankfully, removing the heatsink left thermal material on the CPU so I just placed my new heatsink on top.

The bigger heatsink still gets very hot when left with no airflow, but the fan running at 5v generates enough air flow to keep it much cooler than the stock heatsink which would have still been scalding to touch with the fan running.

I checked the hard disk and it does draw power from both the 5 and 12v rails but I think I'm still going to buy a fan controller anyway.

 

[andy_mk3]

Wow, that stock heatsink is pathetic! Nice work on the mods there.

 

[jpaul]

how did you mechanically attach the new heatsink ? can't see any bolts
arctic silver , at least what i have, is just a paste, could attempt some superglue dabs around periphery that could be cut later.

[ older fox T2 I have, just has passive cooling, i open box and dust once a year, run it in open air; never opened the foxsat,
I could not see any online pictures of internals of newer t2000 cooling ]

 

[agw_01]

It's not fixed down but the thermal pad is pretty sticky so the heatsink isn't going anywhere.

I wonder if Humax cheaped out on these Youview boxes. My mum has had a couple of Freesat boxes which have been faultless.

 

[paradigm]

It's not fixed down but the thermal pad is pretty sticky so the heatsink isn't going anywhere.

I wonder if Humax cheaped out on these Youview boxes. My mum has had a couple of Freesat boxes which have been faultless.

Doesn't get any better with the newer ones either. I've got a BT 4K youview box that had just as pathetic a heatsink and used to crash daily. Less room to do anything with it, but still managed to replace the heatsink, cut a 40mm hole in the top of the case, and used Arctic Silver epoxy to re-fit. Wired the fan to the switched live (12v), but it's a silent 40mm fan, even at 12v.

Not crashed since.

 

[jpaul]

and humax used to be good “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, shame on both of us.”

yes, subsequently saw there is an AS epoxy., not just a paste.