Building a Mini gamecube - need cooling advice

[voltorben]

Hi,

I’ve been looking into making a “mini gamecube” lately, and i’ve read of the lot of the portable/gc guides on this forum.

I want to make a basic setup with:

• 4 controller ports
• NO memory card ports (will solder them on)
• AV port (haven’t decides what to do yet)
• Power port
• NO disk drive
• Wiikey fusion
• original heatsink (not final)
• original fan (not final)

I will use the original pcb / ports / ffc for the controllers - maybe minimal trimming if it’s a tight fit.
And I’m going to go with the “minimalist GC cut” from Ashen’s trim guide.
Space isn’t a huge issue - i want to make it around 120mm x 120 mm x 40 mm.

I’ve learned a ton of stuff from all the useful guides on here and assembling the mod will not be an issue, but one thing that concerns me is the cooling / heating.

I want it to be able to perform as good as a normal gamecube even with extensive use (which i have never had heat issues with before).


How i want to place my parts:
note: a lot of parts is left out in these mockups

animated gif:

http://imgur.com/6ZrVguq

Step1:

http://imgur.com/ZnQGHM8

Step 2:

http://imgur.com/F2VISi4

Step 3:

http://imgur.com/jzz65Nf

Step 3 w/ opacity:

http://imgur.com/9JcTj9L

Here i’ve created an airflow through the box, kinda like the original gamecube that has holes on both sides.
Is this necessary?

I also saw this pretty cool heatsink/cooler mod from ashen, where he modified the original heat sink and used a laptop fan.

I was considering if the same could be done with the original fan and heatsink.
Initially i thought no trimming or bending - just cutting out space for the fan.

Here is a mockup:
A)

http://imgur.com/MGmGH7c

B)

http://imgur.com/G4yZa92

Anyone know if that would work? It could shave quite a bit of the height - which again is not an issue, but of course would be nice.

Input and tips are welcome
Thanks for reading!

 

[samjc3]

It seems highly likely that your proposed heatsink cut would be just fine - if we've learned anything from the various gamecube portables made of the years, it's that the gamecube doesn't take too much cooling to stay alive. The only concern that might arise with what you've drawn is that having the fan so close to the base of the sink might choke airflow somewhat. I doubt it would be enough to cause an overheating issue, but it very well might make it a fair bit louder than stock.

 

[voltorben]

It seems highly likely that your proposed heatsink cut would be just fine - if we've learned anything from the various gamecube portables made of the years, it's that the gamecube doesn't take too much cooling to stay alive. The only concern that might arise with what you've drawn is that having the fan so close to the base of the sink might choke airflow somewhat. I doubt it would be enough to cause an overheating issue, but it very well might make it a fair bit louder than stock.

That's really good news to me, then
A loud fan won't be a problem either, as it will be used in a car most of the time (doubt it will be louder than the car )

Thanks for your quick reply!

 

[samjc3]

Ooh, better idea. Just strap it to the roof of the car. Then you won't need a fan at all. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

 

[voltorben]

Ooh, better idea. Just strap it to the roof of the car. Then you won't need a fan at all. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

HAHA! wow. that - that is actually not a totally bad idea

 

[ttsgeb]

That's really good news to me, then
A loud fan won't be a problem either, as it will be used in a car most of the time (doubt it will be louder than the car )

Thanks for your quick reply!

I've been experimenting with using an old laptop as a carputer lately, and I've found that the relatively minor fan noise is actually pretty annoying.

 

[Blargaman91]

I think a thinner fan would probably be alright for this, as the GameCube one is pretty clunky.
I love the idea of the project. If you ever make another version, I'd recommend looking into using the Wii. It can be used as a GameCube-only device with no need for a Wiikey or disc drive, and produces far less heat.

 

[voltorben]

I've been experimenting with using an old laptop as a carputer lately, and I've found that the relatively minor fan noise is actually pretty annoying.

I imagine you are right! but it's almost exclusively going to be used in a car, where hopefully it will not be louder than the car

I think a thinner fan would probably be alright for this, as the GameCube one is pretty clunky.

Yeah, maybe i should check if i can find some thinner ones on ebay, because yes - the GC one is pretty clunky :/
Then maybe i could trim some of the top of the heatsink. I guess it depends on how small i can get the rest of the stuff.

I love the idea of the project. If you ever make another version, I'd recommend looking into using the Wii. It can be used as a GameCube-only device with no need for a Wiikey or disc drive, and produces far less heat.

Dang, now i need to do this too! And i already have the spare wii lying around
The only thing that concerns me is the size of the motherboard. It's a long time since i've had my wii open, so i can't remember if it's the same dimensions as the wii console - but i think it is. Or maybe you can trim a big part off, if you cut off the "wii part"?

The GC uses fewer Watt's than the wii, so it's still ideal for the car (which this mini GC is going to be used for), but i use my wii daily (super smash bros melee) so i really want to do this mod too, at some point.

Just waiting for my FFC breakout before i can get my hands dirty

 

[Blargaman91]

The GC uses fewer Watt's than the wii, so it's still ideal for the car

Well the Wii actually uses less power than the GameCube, which is why I mentioned it. And it can be cut even smaller than the GameCube now: http://bitbuilt.net/forums/index.php?threads/the-definitive-wii-trimming-guide.198/#post-1492

 

[voltorben]

Well the Wii actually uses less power than the GameCube, which is why I mentioned it. And it can be cut even smaller than the GameCube now: http://bitbuilt.net/forums/index.php?threads/the-definitive-wii-trimming-guide.198/#post-1492

it does? :O how much you recon?
I mean, the Wii draws more Amps, and still uses 12V, but perhaps it never draws max Amps?

That thread looks epic... Going to look in to that for sure.

Thanks!

 

[Blargaman91]

The Wii draws fewer amps than the GameCube. The newest revisions use about 50% less power than the GameCube if you get rid of the disc drive.