MiSTer FPGA Forum

My MiSTer case doesn't have very good airflow and I've noticed skipped frames after a while on some cores. Opening the case solved the issue, so I assume this is heat related.

I bought a PWM fan for the case with a controller that uses a temperature probe. I have a few questions on the best way to set it up:

Where should the temp probe go? Should it go next to the chips on the DE10-Nano or is an open area better?
The "turn on the fan" temp of the controller can be set from 30c to 70c, what would be a good value for this?
The "set fan to max speed" temp can be from 35c to 120c, what would be a good value for this?

Thanks for any advice

Skipped frames. On which cores? Even with only a passively cooled heatsink this doesn't sound likely.

Are you using the "low-lag" vsync option?

AngelicLiver wrote: ↑Sun Apr 03, 2022 6:42 pm Skipped frames. On which cores? Even with only a passively cooled heatsink this doesn't sound likely.

Are you using the "low-lag" vsync option?

I saw extreme stuttering on the beta PSX core after about 30 minutes of running. The inside of the case felt hot, and opening the case fixed the stuttering issue. However, after reading your note I am trying to recreate the problem and can't. The DE10-Nano chip is running about 63C (145F) without performance issues.

The PlayStation core is still unstable and is not quite feature complete; oddities will appear between nightly builds. 63°C is quite warm but not concerningly so. The MiSTer Ironclad has its temperature probe beneath the SOC, that seems like a sensible place to put it. Fan curve is up to you but perhaps turn it on above 40°C and crank it about 60°C?

Have you done a memory test and are you using a decent power supply (5v 4a)?