This is my expectation also - and must consequently mean the power not going to the chassis is now causing other components in the design to get hotter - starting with the chip, then conducting to the PCB and then to the internal air.If it is the chassis temperature that goes down, and assuming that the amp chip is generating the same amount of heat, a cooler chassis means that the heat conduction from the amp chip to the chassis is reduced.
which goes alongside my view that people messing about with thermal paste are just as likely to make things worse, as better. It is not simply a case of slapping it on and hoping for the best. The paste needs to be as thin as the design allows, with the pressure as high as the design allows.
High pressure doesn't just mean tightening the screws until the veins pop in the hapless modders forehead - this is likely to cause mechanical damage. It is about tightening the screws to the designed torque - which none of us know.
In a former life one of our most expensive design/manufacturing failures was incorrect application of thermal paste. And we got it wrong more than once.
But that would only be the case where contact is made with the case - which might reduce a local hotspot there (I think on the underside where the chip makes contact - but this is not what people are touching). After that, a larger surface area of contact will result in better heat transfer to the case which will make it warmer.True or it might be spread over a larger surface area of the sheet metal?
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