Run w/bare heatsink, no fan?

M

mdma-

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 28, 2005
Messages
156
I've got two Opteron 246's and am interested in running them with the following two heatsinks I bought on sale a few months back.

http://www.svc.com/hyper6-19.html

only problem is that I can't attach the heatsinks while the fans are attached. Also, can't attach the fans after the heatsinks are attached. In order to do that, I'll need to buy a server box (got a big antec as it is with a new PSU).

Right now I'm too busy with school to finish the computer, so I have been using only my laptop. So anyways:

Can I run my system bare without CPU fans attached to the heatsinks? They are both aligned so air can pass through same direction. Also have two fans in a direct horizontal line from the heatsinks below my power supply which feed air out of case. My motherboard: http://tyan.com/products/html/thunderk8se.html
 
The Hyper6s aren't designed for fully passive operation... airflow in your case needs to get through the heatsink fins, and with the fins densely packed as they are on the Hyper6, not much air can get through.
 
Basically it depends. Many Prebuilt companies are using methods most heatsink manufacturers call "passive". In that major case fans are located close enough to the HS to properly cool it.

Generally it will take a few minutes to heatup the heatsink and many more to get to dangerous levels. If they look like they will get any airflow Id say just turn it on and sit in the pc health section of bios. The bios tends to heat up the cpus pretty well, not realy a max load or anything, but can give you an average temp for moderate use. If temps are bearable after 15 min in bios I myself would stick with the cooling design. Only problem you may face is those heatpipe coolers can get overloaded if they get too hot: All the liquid bacomes vapor and can not properly cool past that temp.

In the end theres always the option to use ducts. They don't even haveto touch the heatsinks, just get the airflow as close as possible to the heatsinks. Tape and cardboard works wonders ;)

Procede with caution and use it if it works. Ive personally never seen a cpu die... from heat, or overclocking. Generally they will lockup before they kill themselvs.
 
In that major case fans are located close enough to the HS to properly cool it.
Click to expand...

Yes but with well made directional "ducts" that go over the CPU's heatsink (from all i have seen), not just some 120mm fan at the back or side panel, there is almost always ducting connected to the heatsink area which then in essensce is not passive cooling since the fans purpose is to cool the CPU.
 
I wouldn't try it, especially with moderately expensive processors and that particular heatsink. The fins are really close together so it needs forced airflow. The only heatsink I would try using passively, that isn't designed to be passive, is the Zalman flower-type and even then, only on processors that tend to run cool, unoverclocked, in a cool room, good airflow, and not for extended periods of time.
 
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