Recently published Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 Saw the flagship Raspberry Pi 5 Compressed to the same dimensions as Compute Module 4. There are two official cooling methods for Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5. Passive cooler or fan attached to official CM5 case. The problem is that you can’t use both at the same time. This means a passive cooler uses a fan to wipe the floor. Why? Because the fan only blows air onto the integrated heat sink (IHS) of the Raspberry Pi SoC.
In order for the CM5 to perform optimally, we need a heatsink and a fan, and EDATEc has already started! The EDATec CM5 Active Cooler, which retails for $7 at DigiKey, offers both passive and active cooling in a package similar to the official Raspberry Pi 5 active cooler. But are there any benefits to this? Let’s take a look!
Connecting the EDATec CM5 Active Cooler
All it takes is four screws, some space, and a fan connector to connect the cooler to the CM5 through the IO board. superior.
You will also need to remove the cooling fan included in the CM5 case to open the vents for ventilation. Looking through the ventilation gap on the CM5 case, I can see that the CM5 active cooler fits that gap almost perfectly.
When securing the active cooler to the CM5, don’t forget the included spacer between the CM5 and the IO board. They prevent the CM5 from bending and deforming. With the cooler connected, all we need to do is connect the fan power cable to the connector on the CM5 IO board.
Once connected, the EDATec CM5 Active Cooler looks pretty good. As with previous EDATec products I’ve reviewed, I’m not a fan of the huge logo and text, but once the case is closed, I don’t see it that often.
EDATEc CM5 Active Cooler Cooling Performance
Simply put, the EDATec CM5 active cooler is much better than the fans in the CM5 case. However, the official Raspberry Pi CM5 passive cooler is just as good as EDATec’s cooler at stock 2.4GHz speed. The fan noise is so low that it is barely audible inside the CM5 case.
I ran the usual stress tests on stock (2.4GHz), then overclocked to 3GHz, and logged the data to a CSV file for later analysis.
I did initial testing at the stock 2.4GHz CPU speed and tested the EDATec CM5 active cooler against the official passive cooler, and then against the CM5 case’s active fan cooler.
Compared to passive coolers, the EDATec CM5 active cooler is equally matched at stock speeds. The difference between the EDATec cooler and the passive cooler is only 0.6 degrees Celsius, with the EDATec cooler at 39.5°C and the passive cooler at 38.9°C. Under pressure, the EDATec cooler is 1.1C cooler (64.8C) than the passive cooler (63.7C), which means if you’re running a stock CM5, the passive cooler is sufficient.
So, how does the EDATec CM5 active cooler compare to the CM5 case’s fan at stock speeds? The answer is much better! At stock speeds, the EDATec CM5 active cooler idles at 39.5C, while the CM5 case fan idles at 51.6C. This is a large drop, a difference of 12.1C, and indicates that CM5’s IHS requires direct contact for cooling.
Under pressure, the EDATec cooler reached 64.8C, while the CM5 case fan cooled it to 82.3C. The high temperature of 82.3C also triggered CPU throttling, reducing CPU speed in an attempt to cool the CPU. The huge difference of 17.5C is enough to warrant purchasing the EDATec CM5 active cooler.
So, how does the EDATec CM5 Active Cooler perform at 3GHz overclocking? Compared to official passive coolers, it performs quite well. It may not have the same thermal mass as an official passive cooler, but the onboard fan helps move heat away from the cooler.
At 3GHz, the EDATec-cooled CM5 idles at 42.8C, compared to the official passive cooler’s 50.5C. This is already a difference of 7.7C! Under stress, the EDATec kept the CPU at 75.2C, nearly 10C lower than the passive cooler’s 85.1C. Again, this is above the thermal throttling trigger temperature, meaning the CPU is slowing down to keep it cool.
The situation is similar with the CM5 case fans. It cannot cool the CPU like the EDATec CM5 active cooler. The EDATEc cooler kept the CPU at 42.8C at idle, while the CM5 Case fan could only manage 52.1C, a difference of 9.3C! Under stress, the EDATec cooler kept the CPU at 75.2C, but the fan cooler reached 87.3C and triggered throttling.
So, after all the tests, the results show that for overclocking, the EDATec CM5 active cooler is better than the official passive and active coolers. But at standard speeds, the Raspberry Pi passive cooler performs slightly better.
Who is the EDATEc CM5 Active Cooler suitable for?
This is a cooler for those of us who want to push the Compute Mod 5 further and faster. If you are going to use the CM5 at standard speeds, use a passive cooler. But for creating small custom projects based on CM5, retro simulation, artificial intelligence, robotics, etc., if we want to overclock, the EDATec CM5 active cooler will provide more performance.
bottom line
EDATec’s $7 CM5 Active Cooler does a great job of keeping the CM5 cool. It’s easy to install and works without tweaking your code. If you run the CM5 at raw speeds you’ll notice little or no difference in thermal performance, which is a cooler for overclockers.