ALIX 3d3 heatsink upgrade

I have seen on the net, that some people put a 40x40cm heatsink on the AMD Geode LX processor. I’ve decided to try it myself.

A few days ago I have measured using the lm-sensors package to check on the CPU temperature and to my amusement I saw 49 degrees celsius after boot and some ussage over the lan. Today I have bought a 7лв ($4.6) 4x4cm heatsink with a fan usually used for those older VGA cards form a few years ago. I’ve soldered the cables directly to the power connector to which I supply 12V. Now the temperature is 42.5-43 degrees celsius. Note that the room temperature is 2-3 degrees higher than a week ago during the previous measurement. It’s about 29 degrees here.

Update: I’ve removed some of the sticky tape on the heatsink in the form of a circle in the center and added thermal paste. Readings now:

alix-d3d:~# sensors
lm86-i2c-0-4c
Adapter: CS5536 ACB0
M/B Temp: +34.0 C (low = +0.0 C, high = +70.0 C)
(crit = +85.0 C, hyst = +75.0 C)
CPU Temp: +40.0 C (low = +0.0 C, high = +70.0 C)
(crit = +85.0 C, hyst = +75.0 C)