Fanless workstation possible?

[zigzag]

I just found out that there are heatsink cases that use heat pipe system to transfer heat from CPU to the case's heatsink walls.



Midrange cases are able to handle 65W-80W CPUs, but there are also some high-end cases that can handle 100W+ CPUs. Sadly, prices are also very "high end".



* https://streacom.com/products/?_product_category=case-fanless
* https://www.turemetal.com/product_en.html

On newer CPUs power limits can be customized. A 250+ watts CPU can be set to run at much lower power, at a cost of peak performance. But, the power to performance scaling is not linear. We are often able to reduce power with a minimal performance loss.




Still, reducing a 250W CPU to 100W or 65W will have noticeable performance impact.

However, AMD CPUs with 3D cache have very low power consumption. A 16 core Ryzen 7950X3D is rated at only 120W TDP while performing close to Intel's i9-13900k:

AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D Review - Best of Both Worlds

The Ryzen 9 7950X3D is the spearhead of the AMD Zen 4 X3D lineup. In our performance review we test AMD's new 16-core flagship with dozens of applications and 14 games at up to 4K, to see whether AMD can take the performance crown from Intel, how power consumption is affected, and what can be...

www.techpowerup.com

Limiting this CPU to 100W probably has a very minimal performance impact. So, a passively cooled workstation with 16 core CPU running likely at 95+% performance seems to be possible.

These kind of cases are not a new thing (just new to me). I thought some of you guys might also find it interesting.

Click to read more...

 

[RogiervG]

define workstation.. in essence a laptop is also a workstation (and mobile).
e.g. you can use an apple macbook air (m series), for a light workstation (might be sufficient for the needs even).

Do note: Some cpu architectures/implementations just generate more heat (e.g. x64 vs ARM), and fanless (passive: e.g. ribbons/pipes) cooling can be tricky (inefficient e.g.) without adding a little active cooling component (water pump e.g. = noise, or little slow fans on the ribbons = little noise)

 

[zigzag]

@RogiervG Workstation that can handle orchestral templates. Not necessarily build on HEDT platform, but still ~128GB RAM, 16 core CPU, 4TB+ of SSD space and iGPU.

It seems to me these cases would be able to cool 7950X3D with slight power limit, without any active cooling components.

 

[Henu]

I've always built my own machines and my two last audio computers have been very quiet just with good fans (Noctua/ BeQuiet) which are mostly tailored to kick in when needed (very rarely). The only thing that I hear sometimes in these machines is the GFX card fan under heavier load in Cubase. With my previous machine I had noise-blocking material inside the case but with this current one I went without and it's still extremely quiet. So my question is, how silent you actually need the computer to be?

 

[d.healey]

I use a HDPlex H5 case. All drives are SSDs. CPU is a i5-12600k. This is absolutely fine for my needs, but might not be for yours. It really depends on what you use your system for and the climate in which you are using it.

 

[MartinH.]

Imho the biggest factor for fanless viability is the average room-temperature. In a warm climate I wouldn't recommend it. If it's generally cold the entire year, I think it can be done, but still questionable whether it is really worth it.

My current PC is a lot quieter than my previous build but now it barely matters because I wear noise cancelling headphones most of the time.

When climate here in Germany gets noticably warmer, I might start thinking about putting the PC outside my room because I can't stand heat.

 

[zigzag]

@d.healey that's a beast of a case. Specs say it can handle CPUs with TDP up to 125W. I imagine it could cool 7950X3D, if it would support AM5 socket.

 

[d.healey]

if it would support AM5 socket.

That's down to the motherboard not the case.

 

[zigzag]

@MartinH. room-temperature is certainly a factor, but I wonder how much of an impact does it have.

TjMax of modern CPUs is ~90°C or more. Difference between 90°C CPU temp and ambient 20°C is 70°C. If ambient temp is 30°C, delta is 60°C. That's only about 15% difference in delta temperature.

 

[zigzag]

That's down to the motherboard not the case.

You are right, but the CPU heatsink for this case must be compatible with the CPU's socket mounting system.

EDIT: I don't know, if these are generic heatsinks independent of a case or if they are tied to a specific case.

 

[d.healey]

You are right, but the CPU heatsink for this case must be compatible with the CPU's socket mounting system.

EDIT: I don't know, if these are generic heatsinks independent of a case or if they are tied to a specific case.

You can customize them, but it can be a lot of work. I've modified the HDPlex GPU cooler to fit an Intel Arc card which is currently in my H5.

Also, a few years ago I modified a Librem Mini (a bit like an Intel NUC) in order to get it to fit into the HDPlex H1 case. I made a video of the process.

 

[Nick Batzdorf]

Fanless workstation, or one with a fan that never kicks in:

 

[MartinH.]

@MartinH. room-temperature is certainly a factor, but I wonder how much of an impact does it have.

TjMax of modern CPUs is ~90°C or more. Difference between 90°C CPU temp and ambient 20°C is 70°C. If ambient temp is 30°C, delta is 60°C. That's only about 15% difference in delta temperature.

If that 15% difference translates to 15% speed difference it might be worth considering though.