[SPARCbook] Heat and the SPARCBook - just a quick note...

[Sunder]

On Wed, 31 May 2000, Ken Hansen wrote:

> Hello all,
>     I just wanted to report that my 3GX, sitting on my home
> network all day, accepting randome terminal sessions from me
> over the internet (access using DDNS service from tzo.com
> was a breeze, now I can access a system on my home network
> that is connected via ASDL line!) *never* broke a sweat!

That is a good thing. :)  The key issue of heat buildup with mine is
simply that I've replaced the IBM 2" 2.0gb disk with a Toshiba 6.0Gb disk,
which runs much hotter, to the point of overheating itself.  Once
overheated, it no longer responds to disk requests - it's as if you unplug
the drive.

I've fixed this by getting a large 120VAC muffin fan pointing at the left
side of the Tadpole about three inches away.

It's not a question of the Tadpole patches with Solaris 2.6 versus those
with 7.  I see that the power management is working.  That is, I notice
the disk does spin down after a while, the screen goes black, etc.

I've also gotten a stick on hologram thermometer, the kind used for
aquariums and stuck it above the keyboard on the right side.  After a few
crashes, I've noticed that once the thermometer goes beyond 90 degrees F,
the drive fails.  So, I just keep an eye on the thermometer, and once it
goes beyond 85F, I suspend the Tadpole.

However, now, when it's idle, it does slow down the CPU and shut down the
disk long enough for the external fan to cool it down.  It's quite usable
this way, and I don't mind the nice breeze. :)

The version of Solaris doesn't make a difference in regards to heat.  The
key is to install the Tadpole packages/patches to either OS.  If you
don't, there is no power management, so the CPU runs at full force, and
the disks never spin down.  So installing stock 2.6 or 7 (except 3/98 and
5/98???) should be done in a cool environment if you're doing it from a
slow CDROM, as stock Solaris doesn't have the power management features.


> 
>     I left it on for 12 hour+, and the bottom is quite cool - just a
> reference point concerning heat build-up. My 3GX has Solaris
> 2.6 (non 5/98 relase), all patches & packages listed in the FAQ
> and I have had *no* problems at all!
> 
>     Things to take away from this note:
> 
>     - May, 1998 relase of Solaris 2.6 does not seem significant,
>       mine was from 1997...
> 
>     - Left on and fairly idle, there is no apprecible heat build up...
> 
>     - tzo.com Dynamic Domain Name Service is a great thing,
>       esp. if coupled with a Linksys Cable/DSL router and DSL service!
> 
> OK, back to work...

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