The ultimate guide about investing in a fanless PC

As you know, electronic components of a computer generate heat, and a fan is used to remove this heat and replace it with cooler air. This is vital to ensure that the components work well. You must have heard that a computer has several fans- 1*fan to cool CPU, 1*Fan in the bottom-front of the case, 1*Fan in the case’s rear top, and even 1*Fan in the side of the case across the GPU. But today’s modern computer enclosures don’t even have holes for ventilation. Can this be possible because of a fanless pc? If so, how do these PC’s keep their components cool? This article will discuss answers to all such questions about the new generation’s PC in detail. Read on!

What are fanless PCs?

As the name suggests, a fanless PC is a PC that does not have fans to keep the CPU cool. They are comparatively free from contamination as the particulates will not be drawn inside the system through fans. Hence, fanless computers are highly recommended systems in harsh climatic conditions that experience a lot of debris and airborne particles.

Besides dust and debris resistance, further benefits of these PCs are as follows:

• Silent operation
• Shock and vibration resistance
• Higher reliability and durability
• No moving parts
• Compact and perfect for any space
• Environment operability
• Low power consumption

How do they retain coolness?

A fanless computer works and stays cool based on the principle of conduction. Yes! Basically, the heat-generating components like the computer’s CPU, silicon chips are kept in contact with the computer’s aluminium body, which acts as a heat sink to dissipate the heat produced by the components. Heat sink allows the heat generated to flow through it and eventually into the surrounding environment.

Conduction is the natural phenomenon in which the amount of heat exchanged will depend entirely on the design of the computer and the material used to build the heat sink. Generally, copper and aluminium are the two materials widely used for creating the heat sink because these are excellent conductors of heat.

Do fanless computers overheat?

No, they don’t, thanks to the advancements in CPU technology. Today, several processors are available in the market that use little power but still are extremely potent. The processor uses less power which means it will produce less amount of heat. Whatever amount of heat the processor generates is dissipated by the heat sink (or enclosure of the PCs). Such systems are an ideal choice for embedded systems and edge IoT computers.

Moreover, even if your system overheats, you need not worry about any damage to it. This is because modern PCs come equipped with dynamic frequency scaling capabilities. This technology slows down the processor when it starts generating too much heat so that further detriment can be avoided.

Are fanless PCs reliable?

These are designed and manufactured based on industrial standards. And as you know, industrial standards are more rigorous than the standards for consumer desktop PCs; they last longer and operate more reliably than their counterparts. It is seen that fans are often the pain points of failure of a PC; therefore, by eliminating them from the systems, manufacturers have increased their reliability.

Hopefully, the questions that were swirling in your head are answered now, and you will be able to purchase a fanless pc for yourself with more assurance. To finalise, if you are looking for a lightweight, compact yet affordable computer system, a fanless computer will be worth every penny.