What is Industrial Fanless Computer / Industrial PC?
Traditional computers are using cooling fan for cpu cooling. Industrial fanless computers would just use the passive components such as heat sink for cooling.
Because it is using the passive componets for heat conduction, it has the limitation of operating temperature. Normally, it would operate up to 50~60°C. For some industrial grade fanless computers, it can operate up to 75~85°C depending on the hardware configurations.
The operating temperature would depend on the hardware. E.g, Intel 35W CPU can operate up to 75°C while Intel 65W would be 55°C. If it has additional devices such as display card, the temperature would be lower. In some cases, it would need to use cooling fan to cool down the system.
Furthermore, it would depend on the electronic componets used in the system. Each componet has its operating temperature limitations.
CPU
The maximum operating temperature would state in the Intel ARK website. It can check the CPU information. The TJunction state the maximum temperature allowed.
According to the Intel FAQ wesite, “Tjunction max is the maximum thermal junction temperature that a processor will allow prior to using internal thermal control mechanisms to reduce power and limit temperature. Activation of the processor’s thermal control system may cause performance loss as the processor typically reduces frequency and power to prevent overheating. The goal for a system builder or a do-it-yourself (DIY) end user is to design a platform configuration that keeps the processor under the Tjunction max threshold during heavy workloads to maximize performance of the system.
The benefit to a user is that many third-party utilities can monitor the digital thermal sensor (DTS) on the processor die to see how close the system is approaching the Tjunction max temperature without any destructive testing. We recommend that end users look up information on the product specification page (ark.intel.com) to aid them in system assembly. Original design manufacturers should consult the nondisclosure agreement (NDA) documentation available to them for full details.”
Based on Intel information, the CPU would not be demagaed by overheat. There is a throttle temperature to implement in the BIOS setting so the CPU would be shutdown or slow down the CPU frequency to keep the CPU safe.
RAM
The normal commerical grade RAM can operate up to 70°C. The market has industrial wide temp to support -40°C to 85°C based on customer application requirement.
Storage
Harddisk and SSD are common used in the fanless computers. The standard 7200rpm harddisk can operate up to 55°C to 60°C. The SSD has similar cases to RAM which has commerical grade and industrial grade difference. The commerical grade has similar specification which can up to 70°C while industrial grade can support up to 85°C
Overall, the system to qualifiy to be a fanless system would depend vary factors.