Are Fanless Mini PCs Worth Buying?
Thanks to the ever-evolving technology, PCs are getting smaller and more powerful at the same time. A thin laptop or a small form factor PC can now do tasks that once required a large desktop computer. Generally speaking, there are two types of SFF PCs: actively cooled mini PCs and fanless mini PCs. As consumers, it’s important for us to understand the pros and cons of those two types of mini PCs so that we end up purchasing the right unit. here is our analysis: What Are Fanless Mini PCs? Fanless mini PCs, in contrast to actively cooled ones, are small form factor PC systems that don’t utilize rotating fans for cooling. Some basic fanless mini PCs solely rely on the perforated housing for passive heat dissipation, while higher-end models may come with effective heat sinks like thermally conductive metal to transport the produced heat to the outside via lamellar cooling fins on the chassis of the computer. Even though fanless systems are still the minority in the entire mini PC category, you can find a few models with decent sales numbers and positive customer reviews. Many buyers use it to deal with basic everyday tasks such as web browsing, media playback, word processing, and spreadsheets. Fanless Mini PCs vs. Actively Cooled Mini PCs Fanless mini PCs may have a few advantages over their fan-powered counterparts, but they also have some drawbacks. Here, we analyze the differences between these two types of systems by the following standards: Performance Mini PCs typically use mobile processors, instead of desktop-grade CPUs. However, even among mobile chips, the differences in performance can still be quite huge. Since passive cooling is not as efficient as active cooling, fanless mini PCs usually sport processors with lower TDP to prevent the system from overheating. For instance, the Pentium N5100 chip featured in the ASUS PN41 is only rated at 6 watts. Although this mini PC tackles lightweight computing duties fairly well, it will struggle with heavier tasks. Actively cooled mini PCs, on the other hand, can feature CPUs with much higher TDP, which in return means greatly improved performance. The GEEKOM Mini IT11, for example, is powered by a 28W Intel Tiger Lake Core i7-1195G7 processor. Not only will it breeze through our everyday basics, but it is also able to handle more demanding duties. Stability Overheating can have a series of effects on a mini PC, and none of them is good. First, the electrical resistance of the internal components will drop, leading more electricity to flow through these components than originally designed. This will in return produce even more heat and possibly fry the component. Secondly, the platters making up the computer’s memory sticks and SSDs tend to expand when there’s too much heat, causing the data transfer speed to slow down, and in some worse cases, data loss and even permanent damage to the system. Third, excessive heat can cause the solder binding the components onto the motherboard to melt, resulting in parts falling off and eventually
