Canadian Chat → Re: New Computer Build Looking for Fan suggestions

I've done the near-impossible. I've actually fitted a Zalman VNF100 fanless graphics card cooler on a Sapphire Radeon HD 5570, and installed it in a Shuttle SG33G5 barebones system!

Incredibly, the card's core temperature barely rises anymore, even when playing a game. Having a huge block of metal and radiator fins in direct contact with the graphics processor makes a huge difference in how quickly the set-up can evacuate heat from critical components.

I should point out, in case there might be any misinterpretation, that I was referring to fans related to general case airflow, not individual component cooling solutions! The latter can be absolutely critical!

And I say this as one who distinctly remembers mainframe style computers from my youth. When powering them up would result in, among many other sounds, the sound of jet engines from the fans revving up to blow cool air from under the raised floor into the cabinets. But of course then -- when 16K of memory was the size of three refrigerators -- the cabinets were the components!