Remembering the Nofan CR-100A

Source: BullsLab

Double the awesome

The legendary Nofan CR-95C used as a CPU cooler and GPU cooler inside a HDPLEX case is totally ridiculous, impractical, and we love it.

Source: Taobao 

Nofan CR80-EH finally doing wonders

The Nofan CR80-EH was arguably the worst fanless CPU cooler on the market. While the original design was unique and particularly efficient (think CR-100A or CR-95C) the concept was totally cheapened with this nonsense. It's doing wonders paired with a 6W CPU though. In fact, the Intel N100 barely reached 44°C under heavy load. Interestingly, the cooler is not even mounted and just sits on the N100.

Source: reddit 

SilverStone Sugo build

Check out this black monolith housing the 65W i5-12400, 4.5TB of storage, the Seasonic Prime Fanless PX-500 ATX power supply, and the Nofan CR-80EH CPU cooler. This build looks great but cooling is far from optimal, though. With Intel's PL1 and PL2 set to 50 watts and 100 watts respectively, the Alder Lake i5 still reaches a scorching 90°C.

Source: Fully Silent PCs

Too many fans

We're not sure what this redditor is trying to achieve but using a fanless CPU when multiple fans and HDDs are involved is a little strange. Despite not being a top performer, the Nofan CR-80EH is once again stealing the show. Really cool chassis, too. This type of open-air structure is slowly going mainstream, and it's a matter of time before a well-established brand releases its own.

Source: reddit

DIY fanless NUC

This Redditor managed to pair the Nofan CR-80EH with an i5 Bean Canyon NUC, and the result looks great. Cooling performance is another story. Granted, the mounting solution is not the best but the flimsy heat sink still struggles with a 28W CPU. "Passive: idling about 35, 82 deg at end of PL2, drops to 72, after total ten minutes up to 87 and still rising. After ten minutes cooldown, back to 39."

Source: reddit

Less is more

Sometimes, simplicity rules over bells and whistles. Sometimes, simplicity is key. This Ryzen 5 5600G / Nofan CR-80RH build is disarmingly uncomplicated and straightforward.

Source: Instagram

Stunning Ryzen PC

"I've had aspirations to build a Woodgrain/Beige PC for that retro styling. My goal was to build a modest 1080p APU gaming rig for running legacy game systems through RetroArch and if possible modern titles at 720/1080p low/med. While I normally play HZD off my 2070S for maximum visuals, this little APU with NO FAN can drive HZD at 1080 low/tweaked med settings. It's definitely not the way the game should be experienced, but it WORKS!

The Ryzen 5700G in this fanless config has its limits for sure. The RAM is set for the default XMP 3200 profile and PBO set to Auto. If I actively cooled it the performance metrics would probably be a bit higher. However, playing Hades for 4 hours at 1080p in my 23° ambient room hovered my thermals ~70°C for the duration of play. I am THRILLED with how this thing performs, even with no fans."

Source: PCPartPicker

Noctua Vs Nofan

For size comparison, here's the Noctua NH-P1 next to the 22cm wide Nofan CR-100A, the 18cm wide CR-95 Black Pearl / Copper, and the 15cm wide CR-80EH. Nofan's CPU coolers used the proprietary IcePipe technology, originally designed for large LED lamps. The Korean coolers were surprisingly light (only 783g for the CR-100A) but were not case-friendly, not to mention PCIe slots blockers.

Source: ghebz 

One last Nofan build

Here's probably the last Nofan CR-95C build featured on FanlessTech, since the Nofan is discontinued, and the Noctua NH-P1 is the new king. This i3-4130T build featuring the unique copper-plated CPU cooler and a custom case is up for sale (not affiliated).

Source: eBay 

Gaming in total silence

The best case for a fanless build? No case at all. This stunning open frame PC features the Nofan CR-80EH CPU cooler, the Palit GeForce GTX 1650 KalmX graphics card, and the passively-cooled SilverStone NJ450-SXL power supply. Cable management is also a thing of beauty.

Source: Instagram 

3D-printed frame

3D printing has so much potential. Whether for unique cases or actual CPU coolers, 3D printing is bound to get exponentially bigger in the coming years. This simple frame is the perfect companion to the Nofan CR-80EH, the 65W Ryzen 7 PRO 4750G, 32GB RAM, a 512GB Samsung 980 PRO SSD and SilverStone's NJ450 SFX power supply. Simply avoid babies, and cats.

Source: reddit 

The best fanless CPU cooler showdown 2

"I tested the six coolers in two system configurations at various power levels to see how each cooler does under the same sets of conditions. The first configuration included the Intel i7-10700 on an Asus Z490-Creator motherboard. The second included the AMD Ryzen 7 Pro 4750G on an Asus B550-F motherboard. The Fractal Design Meshify C case was used, and was stripped down, all fans, drive bays, and dust filters removed for optimal natural passive airflow. I ran Prime95’s torture test with small FFTs for half an hour during each run. This was done a total of 88 times, running each CPU under each cooler at 10-watt power limit intervals from 10 watts up to the highest power level that each cooler could handle without CPU throttling. I changed CPU power limits quickly between each test so that the coolers lost as little heat as possible. This way I could get to heat saturation more quickly during each run. CPU core temperatures were tracked with HWINFO64, saved as CSV files, and then processed in Excel. I ended up with a summary of average core temperatures for each minute of each stress test."
Courtesy of Fully Silent PCs

Live fanless CPU coolers installations

Courtesy of Fully Silent PCs

Fanless music server

"Built a silent (not merely quiet, but perfectly silent) PC as a HTPC. No fans, no moving parts, no coil whine. Ryzen 3700x and GTX 1060 won't break any records, but they each have a low enough TDP that I can run them with NoFan CR-95 and Deepcool Dracula coolers, respectively, in an open air Core P3 case. Temps reached 55C/33C idle and 69C/55C under light gaming, and stayed far lower when playing video and music. I'm happy.

The case had to have exceptional airflow. I'm totally bored by towercases, so I passed on the Lancool II Mesh and kin from other manufacturers, and although a cube would be aesthetically OK, the CoolerMaster HAF EVO and Corsair Air 540 seemed too closed in. I've already created a silent D Frame Mini build, so I wanted to go with something new. The Thermaltake P3 was a nice combination of size and open-air. It looks a little forlorn without a rad or fans in the right hand section, but that's life. Skipped RGB since the show should be on the TV, not the PC.

Although it's really built as a HTPC for music and video streaming in the living room, I tested it with Skyrim and ESO, and found the temps acceptable. I was able to get peaks of 77C CPU and 67C GPU running artificial loads, but mostly gameplay was lower. Ambient isn't very hot today, so I'll measure again if we get any more hot days this summer. Very pleased."

Source: reddit

Nofan is no more

We can confirm that Nofan Computer has shut down its operations permanently. The Korean manufacturer launched the legendary 27cm wide CR-100A in 2010, followed by the CR-95C Copper and CR-95C Black Pearl in 2012. The three flagship CPU coolers performed very similarly and were - by far - the best fanless coolers out there, thanks to ICEPIPE technology. In 2013, Nofan launched the vastly inferior CR-80EH that cheapened the concept. Outrageous prices and poor distribution were the final nail in the coffin for the struggling business.

PC of the day

Check out this simple and cute build powered by the i5-9500 and featuring the Nofan CR-80EH CPU cooler, the Palit KalmX GTX 1650 graphics card, and the Thermaltake Core V1 mini-ITX cube case.

Source: Inside-Tech

Open Benchtable build

This unconventional PC features Streacom's stylish BC1 Open Benchtable, AMD's Ryzen 5 3600, Nofan's CR-80EH CPU cooler and a fanless Seasonic PSU. Contrary to common perception, dust is not really a problem for open-air builds and a monthly blast of canned air keeps everything in mint condition.

Source: PCPartPicker

Low power passive server

"This system is designed as a replacement for the old tower PC I was using as a home server before. My old system was getting out of date and had slow drive reads, USB 2.0 only, loud, hot and power inefficient.

Browsing through items here, I was inspired by the NoFan CR-95C cooler and the build posted by mgfoster87 here.

I decided to copy this idea and try to save power as much as possible while maintaining a good level of power and speed. I also decided to get as many used or surplus components as possible to lessen the overall environmental impact. I also tried to spread my spending around multiple stores instead of buying everything at one large retailer. Any parts that are non-ideal due to sourcing are noted in my parts list along with the potential future upgrade."

Source: PCPartPicker

The best fanless CPU cooler showdown

Courtesy of Fully Silent PCs