Opinion on taking off a cpu fan

[Wingnut85]

Hey people. I'm making a tiny pc. Its going to be about three inches tall. Please don't judge me for asking this. Would taking off stock intel cpu cooler fan and putting a 120mm fan about a half inch to an inch above the heat sink be enough to cool it? Im using a 35 watt cpu. I'm running a pico psu and an ssd.

[jerryraynelson3]

8 minutes ago, Wingnut85 said:

Hey people. I'm making a tiny pc. Its going to be about three inches tall. Please don't judge me for asking this. Would taking off stock intel cpu cooler fan and putting a 120mm fan about a half inch to an inch above the heat sink be enough to cool it? Im using a 35 watt cpu. I'm running a pico psu and an ssd.

I think it should be fine.  The fan doesn't actually need to touch the heat sink but it does need to provide airflow.  120mm should work. 

[Jumballi]

It may or may not work, as the fans on the heat sink generally force air into the fins, but a general all purpose fan might not have enough pressure to do that.

 

This is the concept used in servers, where super powerful fans blast air with so much pressure, that a fan on the cooler would impede airflow. It’s also why specific fans are used for specific reasons, like a radiator using a static pressure fan to force air through the rad.

[Wingnut85]

I guess we’ll find out. Thanks