Asus RT-N16 Cooling Mod

mod by maer2

So I have an ASUS N16 Router it's pretty sweet with a 480MHz processor ,Wireless N, Gigabit LAN, 128MB RAM, and 32MB flash ROM.

So anyway my router is in a closet and the signal is shitty upstairs in my bedroom. So I use DD-WRT not only because it is far superior to the stock firmware, it allows me to adjust the output power of the wireless radio. The stock power is 17mw, the max is 251 - this is great for signal but it tends to make the router run hot. My new 75/25Mbit service, my weakness for HD movies, and the fact I have lots of QoS rules that lead to the processor being over 50% usage constantly. Both of these factors create lots of excess heat, causing dropouts in speed and router crashes.

So...... time for some overkill

I started by removing the stock heat sink and thermal tape, sanding down the heat sinks and cleaning everything with 91% isopropyl.



Applied the arctic silver ceramic to the chips and placed the sink on:



Also decided to add a pair on the radio chip and a fan:



And a fan cutout of course:



And a set of 9dbi antenna from Fabcorp (pics to come):

http://www.fab-corp.com/product.php?productid=3069&cat=250&page=1

I have been stress testing for about 12 hours maxing wireless, and WAN and its rock solid.

Anthony