The Raspberry Pi Foundation has released an official case fan for its Raspberry Pi 4 single board computer, designed for overclockers and power users.
According to the mini-computer maker, this will not bring the Raspberry Pi 4 “arctic cold” like some advanced liquid cooling system, but despite its small size, it can provide a sharp drop in temperature. And this is important, because it means less or no throttling under significant loads. The fan is also reported to be fairly easy to install.
But does it really help? The Raspberry Pi Foundation has provided a couple of graphs that demonstrate the potential benefits of using a case fan to improve computer performance. The first (below) shows the pace of compiling a Linux kernel on a Raspberry Pi 4 installed in an official package.
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It shows that the board reaches the start point of throttling at just over 80 ° C and slows down. This can cause some processes (like compilation) to take longer than running the board outside the case or using a third-party cooling solution to control the temperature.
The following graph reflects the same action, but with an official case fan. We see that the fan keeps the Raspberry Pi 4 running at full power indefinitely, while the temperature stays below 80 ° C and does not even reach 70 ° C.
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This effect is achieved by the fan blowing cold air from outside the case to a heatsink that is attached to the processor.
The cooling fan for the Raspberry Pi 4 costs only $ 5 and is designed to be used with the official single board PC case, which also costs $ 5.
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