GX10/DGX Spark cluster hits 82°C running DeepSeek with almost no throttling across 6 cooling setups
Aroochacha · reddit · 2026-10-27
The author benchmarked temperatures and throughput on a 4-node ASUS GX10 (DGX Spark-class) cluster running DeepSeek V4.1-Flash across 6 cooling setups, addressing community worries about throttling.
Key findings
- Peak 82°C under load causes almost no throttling: max clock reduction is 3%, mostly for power leakage; throughput difference between coolest and hottest states is 3%, effectively noise
- Setups tested: stock IKEA Kallax placement, fanned-out with added fans, a homemade V1 enclosure (with/without fans), and a V3 open-faced air duct designed from ASUS's official 3D model
- Baseline Kallax: 69.4°C avg / 50.9W under load, 62.2 t/s median decode; fanned layout boosted decode to 75.8 t/s and 8K prefill to 5,067 t/s
- The V1 enclosure's bottom lip restricted airflow, making the bottom units hotter (80°C peak)—yet still no throttling
Useful for anyone stacking these small-cluster devices: cooling tinkering is optional, but a good duct can buy 20% more decode throughput.
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