Do I need a fan for my CPU?

[Anh Duy Le]

Greetings. Great to be here again.

My case is, I am buying a Xeon E3-1220v2. I found a guy who sells tray (OEM) CPU, however those CPUs have no fans. The question is in the title. This Xeon is non-OC-able anyway, and I won't put the mainboard inside a closed case too.

Thanks in advance guys.

 

[Jake Lloyd]

Are you talking FANLESS heatsink or just no fan or heatsink? There are fanless heatsinks out there, but if you're taking just a plain CPU with nothing on it, then of course you can do that, for probably a few min before you either melt your CPU or the system shuts itself off.

 

[TechCIDLC]

Are you going to install this CPU in a server?

 

[Anh Duy Le]

Are you talking FANLESS heatsink or just no fan or heatsink? There are fanless heatsinks out there, but if you're taking just a plain CPU with nothing on it, then of course you can do that, for probably a few min before you either melt your CPU or the system shuts itself off.

Right, I got the idea now. I'm talking about a plain CPU, with a plastic cover only. One more question, do I need thermal paste or anything else?

 

[Karsten75]

You always need a CPU cooler regardless of overclocking. They sell Xeons without coolers because they can be installed in many different custom configurations - same for the high-end Enthusiast CPUs.

From this: http://www.directron.com/bx80637e31220v.html

"(2) All microprocessors must be run with an appropriate heatsink and fan attached, otherwise the heat generated from the CPU may damage the processor and void warranty. "

They are generally low TDP processors (70W) so any reasonable socket 1155 cooler that will fit your case will do.

 

[Anh Duy Le]

Are you going to install this CPU in a server?

No. I was looking for a CPU for gaming, video and photo/ image processing at reasonable price, and came up with this one.

 

[Karsten75]

Are you talking FANLESS heatsink or just no fan or heatsink? There are fanless heatsinks out there, but if you're taking just a plain CPU with nothing on it, then of course you can do that, for probably a few min before you either melt your CPU or the system shuts itself off.

Right, I got the idea now. I'm talking about a plain CPU, with a plastic cover only. One more question, do I need thermal paste or anything else?

It's NOT a few minutes. It's nearly instantaneous for the processor to overheat without a heatsink.

And yes, you need thermal paste, but many aftermarket coolers come with some already applied to the heatsink.

 

[Anh Duy Le]

You always need a CPU cooler regardless of overclocking. They sell Xeons without coolers because they can be installed in many different custom configurations - same for the high-end Enthusiast CPUs.

From this: http://www.directron.com/bx80637e31220v.html

"(2) All microprocessors must be run with an appropriate heatsink and fan attached, otherwise the heat generated from the CPU may damage the processor and void warranty. "

They are generally low TDP processors (70W) so any reasonable socket 1155 cooler that will fit your case will do.

Right, thank you for this info. I am concerned about this, because as far as I know, most of the fans selling here were counterfeits made in China with super low quality, regardless the brand.

 

[Anh Duy Le]

It's NOT a few minutes. It's nearly instantaneous for the processor to overheat without a heatsink.

And yes, you need thermal paste, but many aftermarket coolers come with some already applied to the heatsink.

Thanks mate. It's scary thinking of how the CPU works and creates that much heat in just seconds.