Intel i3-6100: Fanless operation?

[SpeedEnforcedByAircraft]

I was thinking of removing the Cryorig C7 heatsink and seeing what the temperatures are like. For the record, here's my build: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/LppzxY
I'm planning to place it inside the Inwin H-Frame Mini, a convection cooled case with a 180w PSU. I converted the 1050 Ti to a single slot card, and it hovers at 83C. Not ideal, but the thermals are okay, considering that it doesn't take a noticeable performance hit. Now, the i3-6100 has a lower 51w TDP than the 1050 Ti's 75w TDP. I'm thinking, since it has a larger heatsink, and a lower TDP, it would be capable of handling it without a fan to make it completely silent. An under the motherboard M.2 heatsink could also help.
I'm currently running it on a PicoPSU 160XT with no problems.

 

[Herc08]

Edited: My mistake. You are keeping the heat sink, just not the fan. Do you have any case fans?

 

[DRagor]

No, no, and no. Never run a computer without a heatsink on the CPU. You could just use the stock cooler as it was designed for it. If you do try to run the CPU without your fan, you could end up damaging it. Just my three cents.

OP only wants to remove fan, not heatsink.

 

[Justiceinacan]

What's your budget?

I've seen a build a while ago using a case called the HDPlex H5 - it's a low profile case with support up to an ATX motherboard, (each mobo size up needs a smaller PSU tho I think) and it has it's own silent copper heatpipe based cooling system for both the CPU and GPU. Might wanna research it to make sure that everything is compatible and works for you but that would be my first pointer, if you can afford it. I should note, though, it's notably bigger.

 

[SpeedEnforcedByAircraft]

No case fans. The H-Frame Mini is convection cooled. I want the H-Frame in particular because it's indeed a beautiful case, and fairly tiny too. More of a conversation piece than anything.

 

[DRagor]

I'm not sure if it could work. For a short periods, say 15 mins, and not too heavy CPU load, heatsink alone should be enough. However when heatsink gets really hot (and without fan it is inevitable), its ability to drain heat from CPU is significantly lowered. Really hard to predict how it will behave then.

 

[SpeedEnforcedByAircraft]

What is a CPU's reaction to overheating? It should cut down the clockspeed to lower levels, right?

 

[DRagor]

Yes, it would do that.

 

[SpeedEnforcedByAircraft]

Is there a chart or tool to measure performance degredation due to insufficient cooling capacity on the CPU/GPU?

 

[Justiceinacan]

Performance degradation isn't the only concern ; overheating will really put a dent in the lifespan if it's doing that for extended time.