10W CPU with passive cooling inside small fanless case?

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smark
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Joined: Mon Jan 22, 2018 5:52 am

10W CPU with passive cooling inside small fanless case?

Post by smark » Mon Jan 22, 2018 7:19 am

I'm thinking of building a HTPC using the Streacom F1C Evo case and one of the recently released Mini-ITX motherboards with embedded Gemini Lake CPUs with passive cooling. Though the TDP for these CPUs is 10W, I'm wondering if I'll be able to rely on natural convection alone to keep the system from over-heating, or if I'll have to use a case fan. Note that besides the CPU, there'll be heat from other motherboard components, the M2 SSD, the RAM, the DC/DC power adapter, and from the optical drive.

Anyway, as I imagine people on this forum have built similar systems based on Apollo Lake boards, I would very much like to hear your opinion!

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