Nofen Set A40 Fanless System Review

Info & chat about quiet prebuilt, small form factor and barebones systems, people's experiences with vendors thereof, etc.

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee

Post Reply
Redzo
Posts: 464
Joined: Thu Jan 26, 2006 1:51 am
Location: Sweden, Stockholm

Nofen Set A40 Fanless System Review

Post by Redzo » Thu Mar 24, 2011 2:16 pm

Just wanted to say that Xbit tested a very nice totally silent system. Take a look at the CPU cooler, it's mind bogling huge...

Review link

Image

djkest
Posts: 766
Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2007 1:05 pm
Location: Colorado, USA

Re: Nofen Set A40 Fanless System Review

Post by djkest » Thu Mar 31, 2011 8:36 am

On their heat test with the fanless heatsink, it looks like the CPU is throttling? I'm not sure why but the temperature drops signficantly several times. It's not normal behavior.

An interesting concept, but ultimately it's a waste of money when silent fans are so much more effective, cheaper, and (still) silent.

AtmanActive
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat May 21, 2011 11:08 am
Location: Zagreb, Croatia

Re: Nofen Set A40 Fanless System Review

Post by AtmanActive » Sat May 21, 2011 11:40 am

You saw something wrong there, or didn't follow the article correctly...

This diagram on this page shows how this NoFen set works with Intel Core i5 2500K, 95W TDP. As you can see, there is no throttling whatsoever, and maximum CPU temperature is 52 degrees celsius, which is an excellent result.

Now, in this diagram on this page, which you are referring to, the CPU being cooled is Intel Core i7-980X Extreme Edition, which is dissipating 130W TDP, and NoFen clearly stated that their CR-100A passive CPU cooler can cool CPUs up to 100W TDP (they even put '100' in the name). So, this is pushing-beyond-limits kind of test which is not a normal usage case for this 'Set A40' anyway.

And no-fan is just no-fan! Period. They can build evermore perfect fans but they will always: vibrate, make noise, collect dust, deteriorate, and be an ultimate single point of failure.

Moogles
Posts: 315
Joined: Thu Mar 22, 2007 10:28 am

Re: Nofen Set A40 Fanless System Review

Post by Moogles » Thu Jul 28, 2011 1:32 pm

This thing is just stupid. $400 worth of stupid.

Askbu
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Dec 22, 2011 12:27 am

Re: Nofen Set A40 Fanless System Review

Post by Askbu » Thu Dec 22, 2011 12:56 am

Yes it's too expensive. I can't buy it but it looks silent. :)

Lsv
Posts: 108
Joined: Sun Dec 11, 2011 9:50 pm

Re: Nofen Set A40 Fanless System Review

Post by Lsv » Wed Dec 28, 2011 6:41 pm

Moogles wrote:This thing is just stupid. $400 worth of stupid.
Isn't the HS itself only $100~?

canardlover
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2012 12:51 pm
Location: Södertälje, Sweden

Re: Nofen Set A40 Fanless System Review

Post by canardlover » Wed Feb 15, 2012 2:30 am

Hi all, I think this is a breakthrough - a cooler able to passively cool even a hot six core CPU at "full bore" - I am impressed and considering to buy one. However, one remark in the xbitslab review (post #1 ) surprised me a lot:.."...numerous fins made of 2mm aluminum wire...".... :? ...wow, could it be that simple..?! and if true I fully agree that the price is a bit too high. Anyone out there who knows more..?

Lsv
Posts: 108
Joined: Sun Dec 11, 2011 9:50 pm

Re: Nofen Set A40 Fanless System Review

Post by Lsv » Wed Feb 15, 2012 5:42 am

canardlover wrote:Hi all, I think this is a breakthrough - a cooler able to passively cool even a hot six core CPU at "full bore" - I am impressed and considering to buy one. However, one remark in the xbitslab review (post #1 ) surprised me a lot:.."...numerous fins made of 2mm aluminum wire...".... :? ...wow, could it be that simple..?! and if true I fully agree that the price is a bit too high. Anyone out there who knows more..?
Well, fins made of aluminum are fine. A number of HSFs are simply aluminum with a copper heat pipe inside. The size of this HSF is what sets it apart.

As for more info, it's not that fancy, it's just a huge HSF with a lot of surface area on small fins. I'm also wanting to buy one but availability is only Europe and Asia for now. Shipping to NA would cost a lot I think.

canardlover
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2012 12:51 pm
Location: Södertälje, Sweden

Re: Nofen Set A40 Fanless System Review

Post by canardlover » Wed Feb 15, 2012 8:13 am

Lsv, I am still NOT convinced since Nofan use the term "ice pipes" to describe the cooler principle. Where are they..?? :o ..
My immediate thought as a chemist would be they are rather tubes filled with a substance having a suitable melting point. Heat of fusion/melting can be rather impressive if you pick the right substance. But that is just a guess and the cooler is a bit too expensive to buy one and cut it apart..... :wink:

MikeC
Site Admin
Posts: 12285
Joined: Sun Aug 11, 2002 3:26 pm
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Contact:

Re: Nofen Set A40 Fanless System Review

Post by MikeC » Wed Feb 15, 2012 12:07 pm

Someone email them and get them to send me a sample for review.

boost
Posts: 661
Joined: Wed Jul 12, 2006 10:29 am
Location: de_DE

Re: Nofen Set A40 Fanless System Review

Post by boost » Thu Feb 16, 2012 12:37 am


Post Reply