Introduction / Features; Heat Spreader Assembly - PC Engines apu1c4 Manual

Introduction / Features

PC Engines apu boards are small form factor system boards optimized for wireless routing and
network security applications.
CPU AMD G series T40N or T40E APU, 1 GHz dual core (Bobcat core) with 64 bit
support, 32K data + 32K instruction + 512KB L2 cache per core
DRAM 2 or 4 GB DDR3-1066 DRAM
Storage Boot from SD card (built-in adapter, connected through USB), USB or m-SATA
SSD. 1 SATA data + power connector.
Power 12V DC, 2.5 mm center pin, center positive. About 6 to 12W depending on CPU
load. Recommend 12V adapter rated for at least 1.5A to provide margin for
peripherals.
Expansion 2 miniPCI express (one with SIM socket for 3G modem), LPC bus, GPIO header,
I2C bus, COM2 (3.3V RXD/TXD).
Connectivity 3 Gigabit Ethernet (Realtek RTL8111E), 1 DB9 serial port (console).
Firmware CoreBoot open source system BIOS with support for iPXE and USB boot.
Form factor 6"x6" (152.4 x 152.4 mm), fits in our case1d2*u enclosures.
Cooling Conductive cooling from the CPU and south bridge to the enclosure.

Heat spreader assembly

The apu CPU and south bridge are passively cooled by heat conduction to the enclosure.
The apu board should not be powered up without cooling except for brief bench tests.
The included heat spreaders are designed for our enclosures. Third party enclosures should work if
they are made from aluminium, and have a board standoff height of 5 mm. If in doubt, please
contact us. Based on our measurements, at full load the CPU runs a few degrees cooler in the black
(case1d2blku) or red (case1d2redu) enclosures, compared to the plain anodized enclosure
(case1d2u).
Photos for this assembly procedure can be found at
 Remove DB9 hex nuts. Using a small x-acto knife or similar, peel transparent backing foil from
the small heat spreaders. Apply to CPU and south bridge. Then peel the blue cover foil from the
heat spreaders.
 Place the alu heat spreader (blank side down) over CPU and south bridge. Make sure to avoid
conflict with nearby through hole components. Peel the cover foil.
 "Bottoms up" - hold the enclosure base upside down, feed the board DB9 and LAN connectors
through the openings. Lightly press board and enclosure base together to stick the heat spreader
in place.
 Turn around and carefully press down around CPU and heat sink to get good contact between
enclosure and heat spreader. Then insert screws and hex nuts.
Please do not disassemble the unit needlessly, the thermal conductive pads are easily damaged.
Replacement pads are available from us on request.
apu system board
www.pcengines.ch/apucool.htm
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7/31/2014