ACA620EC freeze/overheating

I just replied to a separate thread regarding a similar issue, so I hope I didn't break any rules by doing so. I figured a new thread specifically for the ACA620EC overheating might be beneficial for viewing and diagnosis.

The problem: I'm experiencing the freezing issues after about two minutes of use on a stock A600 v1.5 board w/ plain WB install.

The test: The machine works fine with the case opened and I've left it running for over an hour without issue...until I closed the case. It then froze after about two minutes.

The culprit: Overheating. This board gets HOT. I mean it. It hurts to touch it.

The questions: How was this able to ship if indeed faulty? Is there anything I can check for? Will another ACA620EC exhibit the same issues? Why is the ACA630 discontinued when it worked so well? Am I out of luck?

I used to be able to run my 630 just fine without issue. I cleaned the pins and checked for shorting or bent pins/etc. Everything is completely fine on the A600. I've read about a few overheating issues about this accelerator, but there isn't any follow-up. Suggestions?

If you bought it new you should contact your reseller.

if closing the case causes it to overheat then you could try fitting a fan to move cool air over it.
what on the card gets overly hot? the cpu or regulator or?

but,i think steve has the better idea to contact the reseller of the card.
but as far as i know,no card is supposed to get that hot that it hurts to touch it.

AmigaUser said:

I just replied to a separate thread regarding a similar issue, so I hope I didn't break any rules by doing so. I figured a new thread specifically for the ACA620EC overheating might be beneficial for viewing and diagnosis.

The problem: I'm experiencing the freezing issues after about two minutes of use on a stock A600 v1.5 board w/ plain WB install.

The test: The machine works fine with the case opened and I've left it running for over an hour without issue...until I closed the case. It then froze after about two minutes.

The culprit: Overheating. This board gets HOT. I mean it. It hurts to touch it.

The questions: How was this able to ship if indeed faulty? Is there anything I can check for? Will another ACA620EC exhibit the same issues? Why is the ACA630 discontinued when it worked so well? Am I out of luck?

I used to be able to run my 630 just fine without issue. I cleaned the pins and checked for shorting or bent pins/etc. Everything is completely fine on the A600. I've read about a few overheating issues about this accelerator, but there isn't any follow-up. Suggestions?

Click to expand...

amigauser
1: psu condition ?
2: mobo capacitor condition ?

i dont think it would be the power supply or capacitors if the machine works fine with the case open,and not when its shut.

PSU is good and caps have been replaced. Sure the 630 got hot, but it had a massive heatsink. This has nothing.

- - - Updated - - -

So after some research I found this image: and a site (http://www.ppa.pl/sprzet/aca-620.html) in Polish featuring this (questionably automatic) translation:

"It turns out that the processor MC 68EC020 like a metallurgical furnace heats and housing brings atmosphere to the tropical climate . Undeterred, he mounted a card of his own design cooling system that allows the card to work with a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius. Before upgrading - 59 degrees. But all these shortcomings is Pikus by what I experienced over the next two weeks. Card refused any cooperation with WHDLoad . For two weeks I changed versions , options, thousands of times I cleaned the contacts MC68000 , blaming the lack of contact between the " slingshot " and stand for the guilt of my troubles ."

and

"After several posts said Jens and said that yes, we have a problem and are working on it, and how to deal with the stubbornness , the gentlemen send back the card and we will repair them."

and

"After a period of 5 hours playing " The Settlers " again reached the limits 59 degrees and suspended the computer , so my copyright cooling returned to its rightful place . After applying the cooling system , the card is working properly."

My question is now this: Why are these even being sold? I've contacted the online store I've purchased this item from and I'm now waiting for an official response. There's zero mention of the possibility of overheating and I wouldn't have purchased this item had I known it was unfinished, ie attach your own heatsink. I guess this thread has gone from "what should I do" to "return/avoid".

I had aca620 running for a whole day at an event. It only crashed once.

Case was closed of course.

maybe it's the same deal as with the ACA1231's ... first the cpu did not need a heatsink because it was operating "within specs" and then a free heatsink was sent out... but even with the heatsink the card is getting annoyingly hot - but no crashes...

I really wanted to love this item because the 630 was pretty amazing. Ugh.

all problem with overheating ACA620 are strange , few days ago I was overclocking my 1232 33mhz to 40mhz , conclusion
memory chip in board are cold , xilinx chip are cold , 68030 cpu is litle hot , with small radiator cpu is cold
board is very stable
in ACA620 are the same memory chip , the same xilinx chip , the same technology board , only 020 which is very similar to 030
So where is the problem ? cpu damage ? i know that cpu in ACA are used , maybe your cpu is after heavy life

Deling, maybe you are right, they are reclaimed CPU I think so perhaps this one is less tolerant of heat.

@AmigaUser, Perhaps you need to return it for a replacement.

As I said my ACA620 was 100% stable and did not feel very hot to me. Even under heavy load and I left it running Doom for over an hour with the case closed, no issues.

Jens did have a problem with the first rev of this card. Which has since been resolved with the rev 2 of this card.
I guess your quoting an old rev one post / complaint.

bump

so what happened with the OP? Did he fix his issue? Are some of these cards needing cooling to work? Mine is a rev 2 and it also overheats and locks up after a few minutes. Jens said my problem is bad caps but I am thinking it's heat.

Bump, facing the same issue: case not completely closed, yet gets hot, rev 2 ACA620EC with A600 rev1 with A604n 1mb chip expansion. A600 has been recapped.
It is October and I hurt my fingers just by touching it...what about summertime?

Bump, I finally tried again with this card, and it was still locking up on a freshly recapped A600 Rev 2D board. I even added a heat sync to it. I read that adding some screws to secure it will help as well as grounding it. Got some screws and secured it to the motherboard, and no more lockups!