What do you think of this idea? Take a tower case and custom mount a mini-ITX (170mm x 170mm) board on top. Put a big heat sink on the CPU, no fan. So the heat sink is in open air. Other components are placed in the tower (no fan).
A key question is what is the CPU TDP limit for this type of cooling, assuming a cool (21C) environment. And how does the performance of open air compare with a well ventilated case? It has to be better, but is it significant?
Open air cooling
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Components that fry do not have heatsinks on them unless it is an enthusiast board with lots of pipes and sinks. (Mosfets, little chippies, etc)
You will notice an INCREASE in temperatures having an open case vs a case with in and out fans and a good front opening where one of those fans are. The system uses the flow of air in and out to keep it cool. I have noticed that any case that is well built (by the user) is cooler closed vs. open. If it is better open, you have a case that is severely choked for air.
You will notice an INCREASE in temperatures having an open case vs a case with in and out fans and a good front opening where one of those fans are. The system uses the flow of air in and out to keep it cool. I have noticed that any case that is well built (by the user) is cooler closed vs. open. If it is better open, you have a case that is severely choked for air.