By: Adrian (a.delete@this.acm.org), August 15, 2019 3:47 am
Room: Moderated Discussions
Jouni Osmala (fname.sname.delete@this.aalto.fi) on August 15, 2019 3:12 am wrote:
>
> Found a German company that specializes to passively cooled PC:s and makes their own custom cooling
> solution for PC:s for mass market. And fully custom cooling/mounting for special projects.
> They can put 2080 and Threadripper into a system. Unfortunately they haven't upgraded the
For small computers, e.g. with CPU TDP up to 30 W, being fanless is a great advantage.
(The case should better be completely closed, otherwise dust accumulation can reduce quickly the efficiency of a passive cooling solution.)
Small fans are always very noisy and, with few exceptions, in such small computers the fans are the first component that becomes defective, after a few years. Moreover, for small fans it is frequently difficult to find an appropriate replacement fan.
None of these problems exist for larger computers, i.e. for Mini-ITX and larger cases.
In such large computers you can use large low-noise fans, which cannot be heard if the case has good enough acoustic insulation.
Moreover, good-quality large fans can have a very good reliability, i.e. a lifetime of at least 10 years is easily achievable and they are easy to replace anyway.
In conclusion, while for small computers I also always attempt to use only fanless computers, for large computers I do not believe that it is worthwhile to accept the much larger size & weight that is required for a fanless computer at any given TDP.
>
> Found a German company that specializes to passively cooled PC:s and makes their own custom cooling
> solution for PC:s for mass market. And fully custom cooling/mounting for special projects.
> They can put 2080 and Threadripper into a system. Unfortunately they haven't upgraded the
For small computers, e.g. with CPU TDP up to 30 W, being fanless is a great advantage.
(The case should better be completely closed, otherwise dust accumulation can reduce quickly the efficiency of a passive cooling solution.)
Small fans are always very noisy and, with few exceptions, in such small computers the fans are the first component that becomes defective, after a few years. Moreover, for small fans it is frequently difficult to find an appropriate replacement fan.
None of these problems exist for larger computers, i.e. for Mini-ITX and larger cases.
In such large computers you can use large low-noise fans, which cannot be heard if the case has good enough acoustic insulation.
Moreover, good-quality large fans can have a very good reliability, i.e. a lifetime of at least 10 years is easily achievable and they are easy to replace anyway.
In conclusion, while for small computers I also always attempt to use only fanless computers, for large computers I do not believe that it is worthwhile to accept the much larger size & weight that is required for a fanless computer at any given TDP.