Do fanless heat sinks pose fire harzard threat to components

[picard]

Is there a fire hazard by using any fanless heatsink on high end video card? Are power users seting themselves up for a chernobyl version of a PC meltdown? I read great review of various heat sink however, would the mother board or nearby components absorb most of the heat produce by the heat sink thus those parts might self combusted into an inferno.

[BrianE]

I'm sure this has been discussed before but I don't remember the exact threads.

I'm fairly certain that the parts will simply cease working or will trip a protection mechanism long before it gets hot enough to melt or burn anything.

[StarfishChris]

...however, would the mother board or nearby components absorb most of the heat produce by the heat sink thus those parts might self combusted into an inferno.

What have you been reading?

Nearby components do not absorb the heat from the heatsink. In fact, they don't absorb heat from anywhere, since they are typically hotter than the air around them. What is correct to say is that they aren't cooled enough (e.g. because the air is 10°C more, there is a slower loss of heat).