Raspberry Pi 4 heating issues and Librelec

1st Official Post

    Hello,

    With the release of Raspberry Pi 4, there are two known problems:

    1. Not all USB-C adapters work
    2. Heating issues - take a look at Raspberry Pi 4 getting hot? A closer look | ZDNet

    I would like to buy a Raspberry Pi 4 without the need ot buy fans. heatsinks or other cooling hardware. Will this problem be solved in a future Librelec release, possibly Librelec 9.2? If yes, when will it be released?

    If not, will we have to wait for a second version of the Raspberry Pi 4 Model for this issue to be properly addressed?

    What are your suggestions?

    Thanks,

    Miguel

    If you already have a Rpi 2 or 3 ,stick with it for now till things are ironed out and in the meantime maybe a Rpi4 version 2 is out..If you don't own a Rpi or you would like to help in testing just go for it...it's already working fine for many users but there are still few issues...the Not all USB-C adapters work is not a big issue as you ll probably get 1 with it and you won t have to change it in years...Heating issues I doubt there will be a significant drop with software changes..it's probably a design issue and you ll need to adapt it to your usage...so probably heatsinks/ventilation or fan is a must

    • Official Post

    Not being able to use the original hardware version with Apple PSUs isn't really a big obstacle. All the cheap(er) PSUs/cables that are advertised for RPi4 use will be fine with it - and the Pi Foundation already started shipping revised hardware that fixes the problem a couple of months ago (released silently to avoid inventory issues) so if you're buying from one of the tier one resellers it's unlikely you'll receive the old version now. RPi4 firmware already started to drop temperatures a little by adding power efficiency - but the gains from that direction will be small and will come slowly over time. Some kind of cooling is mandatory - and for an HTPC use-case the best thing to do is get a case that acts as a heatsink. I'm using the Kodi flirc case and the device runs around 50ºC in a closed and poorly ventilated space. It would be niceer if it ran at 35ºC .. but it's not running at 75ºC like it was in bare-board state in the week after launch. The flirc case is a nice looking case too.

    I would say budget for an Official PSU for peace of mind and a proven heatsink or heatsink designed case.

    I have RPi4-4 (early release), Pimoroni Heatsink Case, Official PSU and HDHomeRun Connect Quatro running LE 9.1.002 with Kodi 18.3 (18.3 supports commercial skipping, 18.4 does not, 18.5 will).

    My main use is PVR, often recording several HD TV programs at the same time, running comskip on all of them afterwards whilst playing a recording (amazing!). Even when running multiple comskips I rarely see temps over 64C and typically between 48C - 52C.

    There is still a long way to go to maximise the efficiency, performance and full function (audio / video) from the RPi4 but the work and achievement so far by all at the RPi Foundation, Kodi, TVHeadend and especially everyone at LibreElec is astonishing and much appreciated.

    Every few weeks there is another major step forward.