Cutting Up Heatsinks

[XFactor]

I finally got my barebones system working (Screen+N64=Happiness).

Right now i am doing some prep work for the case. I want to keep my system as slim as possible. Right now i am creating the aluminum frame which the components will be attached within the case. Hopefully, this will allow me to design the case so that all i have to do is essentially screw 6 screws into place to secure the whole system..

But right now, i am having a issue with the depth of my case. I have heatsinks that are about 35mm tall; however, i never intended to have them this high as the cart slot will be placed right above them along with a fan.

Anyhow, i need to know how short i can make the prongs of the heatsink given a fan that circulates 3.5 cubic feet of air a minute (it is 25mmX25mmX10mm) and runs on 5 volts. I was hoping to cut the prongs somewhere around 20-25mm high but this might be pushing the limits of heat diffusion. If it can be made shorter, that'd be awsome.

If anyone has an opinion on this i'd be thankful.

[vskid]

I think it will depend on the area of your heatsink. If it covers almost the whole board, you'll be able to cut it lower than if it is just enough to cover the chips. I think it also depends on what your heatsinks are made of. A picture might be helpful for those that know more about this than me(all the stuff I wrote is just an educated guess).

[daguuy]

if you have a fan, that would be perfect. i have a fan and mine are only 1cm tall

[Warrior_Rocker]

I found that just cutting down the original n64 heatplate works like a charm, I never have an issue with heat from my board, but mine is the v9 board which gets a little less hot than the older ones...

[XFactor]

Yeah, i am doing something similar...sorta...

I will post tommorrow my skeleton structure for the unit (that being the aluminum brackets used to hold everything together). I basically ended up using some of the original parts from the N64 heatsink to fashion both a heat dissipator and a place to secure the cart slot...

And, what's more, there's heatsinks under this and its only about .8" thick thus far. This thing is going to be incredibly slim by the looks of it...possibly only a little larger than an inch by the end of the internal construction.

BTW...i got some artic silver epoxy to use on the heatsinks when i go to mount them. I keep hearing about pressure all the time, but i am afraid i will over-press and destroy the chip. If anyone has experiance with this, i'd love to know how it was done.

EDIT: How do you know your board is v9?

[Neildo_64]

For the pressure on the heatsinks, you just need enough pressure to hold the heatsinks on the chip well. You dont really need to push hard at all, just enough that it is making full contact with a little bit of pressure.

[timmeh87]

if youre using epoxy, you can just pretty well put something that weighs a decent amount on top until it dries, like a book or something. from there, you need zero pressure, since it will be glued on solid.

but for those of you not using epoxy - if your pressure is even, it shouldnt crack the chip. you can probably put twice as much pressure as you feel comfortable with and still not break it. (if its even!). i personally didnt worry about it, my heatsinks are on there pretty tight.

[Gamelver]

yeah, it's hard enough for me to break fried chips on intentionally, let alone by a simple heatsink ...

[XFactor]

How much epoxy should i apply to the chips? enough to completely cover them or a dime-sized blob?

[Skyone]

For computer CPUs, I use a quarter sized circle, same applies for the N64.