heatsink in a computer

Can a heatsink replace a fan and motor in a computer so that a computer would run quietly and, if so, would it cause any harm to the computer? Thank you for your response. abm

 

You see many graphics cards being released without fans now and motherboards with elaborate heatsink systems. That's fine, but the heated air still needs to be removed and replaced with cool air, you can't cool something with hot air. The chips without fans are nice and quite, but they rely on case fans to remove the heat, otherwise the case will just become an oven.

So what do you do? You then need to add fans to the case to bring the cool air in and take the heated air out. Somewhat self defeating in my opinion. If the heatsink is not located in the airflow stream, it may not be cooled correctly.

New cases have larger fans 120mm over 80mm. The larger fans are(?) quieter.

If you replace the fan system with a heatsink, I suggest you still look at how you plan to do the cooling.

Matt

 

There are many "silent PC" options - those builder that cater to integrating PCs into home theater systems strive for silent operation. There are fanless power supplies and fan less heatsinks but as noted, you still have to move the hot air away from the sink and out the case.

Note that many HTPC users underclock their systems to slow them down, minimizing heat generation.

Much depends on the CPU of choice, the chipset, and graphics card - size and the quality of the fans. I note some cases have 160mm and 250mm case fans are showing up - the idea being they move massive amounts of air, but at a much slower RPM, minimizing noise.

Of course there are alternative cooling solutions - but those tend to be for the enthusiast, and not for any machine used for "production" (work, school, etc.).

But - again EVERYTHING depends on the case.

If you want specific answers - you need to be specific in telling us what your goal is, and what you bring to the table in terms of specific hardware already purchased, and budget.

Also note that if your CPU fan is making too much noise for your taste - make sure it is not because it is hot, and the CPU fan is not frantically trying to cool it down. When was the last time you cleaned out all the heat trapping dust?