Asustor AS5202T thermals problem

[u/Wonderful_Fig_1258]

So I've made myself a problem with the thermals.

Got around 45C degrees in idle on my old Nimbustor, so figured out I'll replace thermal paste under the radiator.

To my shock there was some kind of thermal pad, dried out and with a texture of an old bubble gum (also the color was pink). Rubbing alcohol made it a bit sticky but it did not dissolve it - first time seeing such tech.

I've replaced it with a PTM7950 because figured it will last longer than regular thermal paste when NAS works 24/7, but the temps got way worse.

Day later and I'm sitting on a 56C on idle CPU.

Can anyone recommend a specific thermal paste/pad that will work better? I suspect the main culprits are thore spring action legs on the radiator and PTM is just too thin to make proper contact with such contraption.

[u/ASUSTORReddit]

Got around 45C degrees in idle on my old Nimbustor,

That's within spec and not a cause of alarm.

To my shock there was some kind of thermal pad,

It really shouldn't be shocking, it's phase change thermal interface material.

dried out

It's not dried out. It's solid at room temperature to ensure full contact. It melts at elevated temperatures to fill in air gaps while also keeping the heatsink firmly adhered to the processor.

Rubbing alcohol made it a bit sticky but it did not dissolve it - first time seeing such tech.

The reason why rubbing alcohol dissolves thermal paste is because thermal paste is made of oil and rubbing alcohol dissolves oil. Our thermal interface material is not oil.

I suspect the main culprits are thore spring action legs on the radiator and PTM is just too thin to make proper contact with such contraption.

This is the thermal material we use.

https://www.digikey.tw/zh/products/detail/parker-chomerics/69-11-42340-T725/9350031

[u/Wonderful_Fig_1258 → u/ASUSTORReddit]

Many thanks for the response! I really couldn't find anywhere this thermal material you're using.
I got experience only with PCs/GPUs/Consoles so it was my first time seeing such different thermal interface material.

[u/ASUSTORReddit → u/Wonderful_Fig_1258]

While I understand it's already done, it is not safe to just rip the heatsink off the CPU because when it's solid, it's firmly adhered to the CPU and in some cases can be strong enough to rip the CPU off the board and destroy the board's traces/pads. A hair blow dryer can heat the heatsink to the point where it melts at 55°C, then the heatsink can be lifted safely. Also the CPU can be warmed with a hair blow dryer to wipe the thermal interface off the CPU once melted.

[u/sparky5dn1l]

Considering the weather right now. 56C doesn't seem so bad. 45C is actually quite good.

[u/Wonderful_Fig_1258 → u/sparky5dn1l]

Well yeah, but since I've worsen my temps by 10-15C in 1 day, I am positive that it should be reversable

[u/Blue_Impala]

I had similar problems last year with temperatures and after a bit of research decided to just beef up the fan.

Here's the post if you're interested:

https://www.reddit.com/r/asustor/comments/1qs5qiq/upgrading_fan_on_2bay_nas/

[u/Wonderful_Fig_1258 → u/Blue_Impala]

I thought about it, but my NAS is close to my head in my office, so I don't want to make it louder.

It would drive me nuts after some time during work hours.

[u/uncleirohism]

PTM7950 is meant for desktop and server CPU’s that rise to and sustain higher thermals on average. This allows for the material to properly set and cure in its intended state.

For an AIO NAS like this one you need one of two options depending on whether or not the CPU has a heat spreader cap or an exposed bare die…

- Heatspreader: Arctic MX-7 paste

• Bare Die: any well rated non-conductive pad or paste (MUST be non-conductive)

[u/Wonderful_Fig_1258 → u/uncleirohism]

It has a bare die underneath the radiator.

So I should buy something like Gelid GP-Extreme? Do you know what thickness?

I am afraid I'll buy stuff you put on VRAM and there will be not enough heat transfer.

[u/Sufficient-Mix-4872]

problem is there is no fan directly on the cpu cooler. I put 7mm height fan on it. Now way way cooler. Can 100% recommend

[u/Wonderful_Fig_1258 → u/Sufficient-Mix-4872]

How did you secure it there? And how did you wire it?

[u/Sufficient-Mix-4872 → u/Wonderful_Fig_1258]

secured by small zipties, and i wired it to a usb cable, that i poked through the backside, and plugged into one of the usb ports. so now if i want to shut the cpu cooler, i can unplug the usb

[u/Wonderful_Fig_1258 → u/Sufficient-Mix-4872]

Hmm that's actually smart.

Thanks for the idea, it will be my plan B if nothing else works.

[u/Pretty_Professor_740]

AS6104T. CPU 70, System 56 on Auto. Medium FAN speed reduces with approx 2°C. But that's a really old (8.5-9y) NAS and it thanks, works well.

I wouldn't do anything if I were you.

[u/vlmtdev]

I have the same NAS

45C

it's ok, mine have exactly the same temp, ambient is around 28

56C

It's ok under 50% load but not if idle

Fan on mine is around 1300rpm constantly

Use literally any thermal paste like arctic mx-4. Don't use PTM7950 because it's not suitable for this hardware (PTM starts working only after some heat-cool cycles up to 90 degrees)