Hot on the heels of the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 release, EDATec has announced something that we wished was included as standard. EDATec has designed a $7 active cooler (ED-CM5ACOOLER) which offers passive and active cooling to the flagship Compute Module board.
The active cooler connects to the Compute Module 5 using the same four screw points as the official passive cooler, but it also uses a fan similar to the official active cooler (and Argon THRML active cooler) with the same fan connector for use with the CM5IO board.
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EDATec ED-CM5ACOOLER Technical Specifications
Maximum Fan Speed
8000 RPM ± 15% (At 25°C, after 3~5 minutes rotating)
Maximum Airflow
1.09 CFM
Noise
27.7db
CPU Temperature under load
57.6°C (Ambient temperature of 25°C and all four cores running a sysbench load test)
Dimensions
56.5mm x 41mm x 14.1mm
The temperature controlled blower style fan cools the heatsink, which connects to the Compute Module 5's SoC, Wi-Fi module and the Power Management IC (PMIC) via a thermally conductive silicone layer. Fan speed is controlled using Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) and the speed of the fan is controlled via the duty cycle. The higher the cycle, the faster the fan spins (up to 8000 RPM).
The heatsink is made from CNC cut aluminum and connects to the CM5 and the CM5IO via M2.5 machine screws, with nylon gaskets being used to stop over-tightening the CM5 to the IO Board, which can cause the CM5 to flex as the screw pulls it towards the IO board.
In our review of the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 we noted that both the passive cooler and the CM5IO Case's fan could not be used at the same time. Interestingly, the passive cooler (a large heatsink covering the entire face of the CM5) offered excellent cooling performance at stock speeds, and pretty good cooling for a CM5 overclocked to 3 Ghz. The active cooling fan in the CM5IO case cannot be used with the passive cooler as it touches the cooler. A shame as the pairing of passive and active cooling would drop the temperatures by a considerable amount. But, for just $7 it looks like EDATec could have a viable solution. And yes, we have one coming to use for a full review, and we'll push the CM5 beyond 3 GHz! If you can't wait for the review, and have $7 to spare, then Digikey has the product listed, and we've confirmed with EDATec that stock is on the way.
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Les Pounder is an associate editor at Tom's Hardware. He is a creative technologist and for seven years has created projects to educate and inspire minds both young and old. He has worked with the Raspberry Pi Foundation to write and deliver their teacher training program "Picademy".
