The official Raspberry Pi 5 Active Cooling Heatsink is designed to enhance cooling performance with a combination of an aluminum heatsink and an integrated fan. Its core component, a high-efficiency aluminum heatsink, rapidly absorbs and disperses heat generated by the Raspberry Pi 5’s processor due to its excellent thermal conductivity. The integrated fan accelerates airflow, further enhancing the cooling effect and helping the heatsink expel heat more effectively.

If you plan to use the Raspberry Pi 5 without a case and need it to handle long periods of heavy load (such as high-performance computing or multitasking), installing this active cooling solution is crucial. Without proper cooling, the Raspberry Pi 5 may experience throttling due to overheating, leading to performance degradation and potential instability. With this active cooler, you can avoid these issues and ensure the Raspberry Pi 5 remains stable and performs optimally under load.

Additionally, the design of the Raspberry Pi 5 allows the heatsink to be directly installed onto the board without the need for extra tools, making installation simple. Whether for DIY projects or high-load applications on a development platform, the active cooling heatsink is an excellent accessory that significantly enhances the Raspberry Pi 5’s long-term stability and durability.

Features

• Efficient Cooling: Combines an aluminum heatsink with an integrated fan to effectively dissipate heat, ensuring stable performance even under heavy load.
• Smart Temperature Control: The built-in temperature sensor adjusts the fan speed automatically, keeping it quiet under low load and boosting cooling power when necessary to prevent throttling.
• Silent Operation: The low-noise fan design provides efficient cooling while maintaining a quiet working environment, suitable for noise-sensitive applications.
• Easy Installation: The compact design allows for quick installation without additional tools, making it user-friendly and hassle-free.
• Enhanced Stability: Prevents overheating and throttling, ensuring long-term reliability and performance, even during extended high-load operations.

Product Test

We conducted stress tests on all four cores of the Raspberry Pi 5 to load the CPU. During the test, we compared two primary thermal management solutions:

• Standard heat sink fan
• Active Cooler

Test Results:

1. No Cooling (Bareboard)
   • Idle Temperature: Approximately 65°C
   • Load Temperature: Exceeded 85°C, causing the processor to enter thermal throttling, where thermal throttling continued after exceeding the throttling threshold.
2. Active Cooler
   • Idle Temperature: Approximately 45°C
   • Load Temperature: The fan operates at low speed, stabilizing CPU temperature at around 60°C, with the temperature ranging between 62°C and 63°C during extended testing.
3. Official Red-White Heat Sink Fan Case
   • Idle Temperature: Approximately 48°C (slightly higher than Active Cooler’s 45°C)
   • Load Temperature:
     • Without the Case: Approximately 72°C
     • With the Case: Approximately 74°C (slightly higher under load with the case on)
   • While load temperatures are higher than with the Active Cooler, they are still well below the 80°C and 85°C throttling thresholds.

Conclusion:

• Raspberry Pi 5 can handle typical client workloads without a case or active cooling.
• For normal use, cooling is optional, although the Active Cooler can enhance performance, particularly under sustained heavy load.
• For long-duration heavy tasks (e.g., rebuilding a Linux kernel), thermal throttling may occur, which can affect performance. Therefore, we recommend the Active Cooler for optimal thermal management.