When processors jump from 6W (like Intel’s Alder Lake-N and Twin Lake) up to a baseline 15W TDP (with short power bursts stretching to 25W or even 35W), the physics of passive cooling change completely. While 15W doesn't sound like much power, cooling it without a fan in a tiny enclosure is a major thermal engineering hurdle. At 15W sustained, natural convection simply isn't fast enough in a tight space. In fact, 15W TDP brings us back to the original NUC, 14 years ago: The first fanless NUC cases were absolute units.
