Neo Geo CDZ - Easy Cooling Mod & Case Restoration

SmokeMonster

Morden's Lackey
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Jan 25, 2014
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Anyone interested in a Neo Geo CDZ comes across warnings about how they overheat. I ran mine for a couple of hours before and after recapping it to see how hot it gets, and it never approached anything near what I would consider dangerous. The only place it seems to get warm is in the area directly over and under the CPU. A possible reason that they overheat is because the console itself has essentially no risers underneath to circulate air.

I used double-sided tape to add four 26mm rubber feet ($2.17 for 10 on eBay) to the bottom of the console. This lets a lot of air underneath, and seems to really help keep it cooler. The feet are removable, so this isn't destructive mod.





I also found that my case restoration method works great on the CDZ. I clean the shell with ammonia-free window cleaner and remove scuffs using Brebbia Pipe Stem Polish. You have to use an extremely light touch with the polish to avoid polishing any of the surface except the scuffs (don't pass the polish over logos or painting though). This keeps the console's original matte finish while just removing the material that makes up the scuffs. Scratches remain, but are pretty much invisible afterwards. It's very clean after another pass with the window cleaner.


Before: You can't really tell from this picture, but the case was covered in scuffs.


After
 
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Neodogg

Dogg-Father,
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You're doing it wrong, look at some of the doll fuckers post/threads for proper stand offs
 

NeoTurfMasta

DANCE DANCE KARNOV!,
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The main ventilation problem on the CDZ is the shielding that covers the entire bottom of the PCB. There is no good way for the heat to escape. All the heat stays inside that shielding and those vent holes in the plastic do very little to help. I have experienced this on at least 2 CDZ I have had, and both of them stopped overheating once I removed that lower shield.
 

SmokeMonster

Morden's Lackey
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Posts
365
The main ventilation problem on the CDZ is the shielding that covers the entire bottom of the PCB. There is no good way for the heat to escape. All the heat stays inside that shielding and those vent holes in the plastic do very little to help. I have experienced this on at least 2 CDZ I have had, and both of them stopped overheating once I removed that lower shield.
That is good to know. I'll go ahead and remove that as well.
 

WoodyXP

Setsuna's Owl Keeper,
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Thanks for the tip, NTM. I'll be pulling that shield out.
 

xsq

Thou Shalt Not, Question Rot.,
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7,414
You're doing it wrong, look at some of the doll fuckers post/threads for proper stand offs
oh yeah, this is what you need boy:



pioneer-pl-518-feet.jpg
 

TikTekTak

Haomaru's Blade Shiner
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Does anyone even know what real purpose that huge shielding should have? EM shielding or what?
 

CMS

Previously A04_msh.
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Yes. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think the JP versions have this shielding, not on the AES at lest.
 

NeoTurfMasta

DANCE DANCE KARNOV!,
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Yes. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think the JP versions have this shielding, not on the AES at lest.

There are no other versions of the CDZ. They all have the shielding.
 

CMS

Previously A04_msh.
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You're right, CDZ is JP only. How about the regular CD version, do only US/EU versions have shielding?
 
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NeoTurfMasta

DANCE DANCE KARNOV!,
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You're right, CDZ is JP only. How about the regular CD version, do only US/EU versions have shielding?

Yep, they all have some form of shielding. Most are metal, but there are a few revisions that have a conductive paint coating a plastic shield. The front loaders all have a metal shield as well.
 

cr8zykuban0

Igniz's Servent
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ima look into taking out the shield on my cdz. I always wanted to put a computer cooler fan on the bottom of the cdz but im pretty sure that'll make things worse by pushing cold and hot air into the system. :/
 

SmokeMonster

Morden's Lackey
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Yep, they all have some form of shielding. Most are metal, but there are a few revisions that have a conductive paint coating a plastic shield. The front loaders all have a metal shield as well.
Yes, and if there's a plastic shield there it probably blocks air in the same way. Since their function is RF shielding there is no harm in removing them.
 
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NeoTurfMasta

DANCE DANCE KARNOV!,
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Yes, and if there's a plastic shield there it probably blocks air in the same way. Since their function is RF shielding there is no harm in removing them.

The Top Loaders have a metal lower shield and either a metal or plastic upper shield. Removing the lower shield wont help anything since there are no heat producing ICs on the bottom. You cannot remove the upper shield as it helps support the AV board and controller board.

I don't see any need to remove the shield on the Top or Front Loaders. There are several holes in the shield for heat to escape through the top vents. The CDZ crams the hottest ICs together in a shield that has 2 small screw holes.
 

SmokeMonster

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The Top Loaders have a metal lower shield and either a metal or plastic upper shield. Removing the lower shield wont help anything since there are no heat producing ICs on the bottom. You cannot remove the upper shield as it helps support the AV board and controller board.

I don't see any need to remove the shield on the Top or Front Loaders. There are several holes in the shield for heat to escape through the top vents. The CDZ crams the hottest ICs together in a shield that has 2 small screw holes.
More great advice. All of my suggestions only pertain to the CDZ. I didn't realize that the other questions were about front and top loaders.
 

SmokeMonster

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Pretty interesting

Is that fragile?

Never had problems with mine...
They are prone to overheating if that's what you mean. It only takes about 5 minutes to disassemble and remove the plate, so you really should. It serves no purpose any more except to block the flow of air through the bottom vents.
 

Xian Xi

JammaNationX,
15 Year Member
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Dec 1, 2005
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Remove the bottom shield and use a laptop cooling fan pad.

What I did in the past was install a slim small 15 or 20mm fan inside on the rear of the console. You can also add vents on the top of the CDZ near the back. Heat moves up not down.
 

TeamShake

Kuroko's Training Dummy
Joined
Oct 22, 2013
Posts
75
I removed the shield from mine the other day, but not sure I want to go any further than that. I'm hoping that will be good enough. The previous owner ran it enough that it needed the laser replaced so it was used quite a bit with the shield on.
 
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