My future build will include an H87 matx mobo. I have the Asus H87M-E planned, but I recently found out it lacks proper heatsinks. How much of a difference is there temperature-wise and longevity if I won't overclock?

Asus H87M-E:


MSI H87M-G43:



Gigabyte GA-H87M-D3H:


Even other H87 boards in its class like the Asus H87M-PRO has bigger / better / more heatinks, which corresponds to each increasing price level. Disregarding image scaling differences, it looks like the Gigabyte one has the most robust heatsinks.

Intel non Z motherboards barely have any heatsinks, if any, and they do fine for years, if you are not introducing more voltage i dont think you should have much of an issue as long as you case has some airflow.

not a concern if not OC'ing, or running fanless at constant high usage.

Thank you for the replies.

Constant high temps is not the only concern. Temp swings are as well.


Their documentation does warn specifically about the need for an HSF.
Which doesn't mean heatsinks would help much of course, epsecially flashy heatsink which seem to have a marketing purpose. Asus in particular had a few flashy and sometimes expensive but ineffective heatsinks on low-power fanless boards.