Working in a heavy and difficult industry like industrial, you will be used to environments or applications that require devices resistant to shocks, vibrations or extreme temperatures.
This is the industrial environment that you know very well. An environment where noise is a standard, ubiquitous condition.
But…
There are more niche industrial sectors where conditions are not the same.
Areas where absolute silence is required and where hardware devices must be present to maintain it.
Now, if you are the IT manager or the production manager of a niche sector like this, you are called to choose a PC that is functional for this purpose and that is: keep absolute silence.
In the vast panorama of industrial PCs, as you well know, there are Computers that are fanless or not fanless, that is equipped with fans.
If you were to make a choice between these two types… which would you choose?
You know that the choice you make will depend on the benefits for your production environment, or… consequences.
Drastic consequences that could seriously compromise your work.
Fanless or non-fanless PC? What are the differences
Industrial PCs are often referred to in a general sense, without really giving any weight to how many differences there may be between one type and another and, above all, what adverse consequences may occur, if you decide to include a PC type not suitable for an industrial environment.
Fanless and non-fanless computers are distinguished by various characteristics and it is important for you to know them: this will allow you to understand, from the beginning, which PC is the most suitable for your industrial sector, allowing you to save a lot of time, money and energy, in the choice of totally inadequate computers.
So, in essence…
What are the differences between a fanless and non-fanless PC?
1) The cooling system
The first thing that distinguishes a fanless PC from a non-fanless one is the cooling system.
A fanless PC uses a passive cooling system, which is mainly based on heat sinks and an advanced thermal design.
This way, the heat is dissipated naturally through specific materials and surfaces (such as metal fins) without the need for fans.
A fanless non-PC uses an active cooling system, that is: we have a fan that sucks and disperses the heat produced by internal components (such as CPU and GPU).
So, summing up we could say that…
Fanless PCs are completely silent, while fan-based PCs emit a variable noise depending on the fan speed and workload that the computer has to support.
2) Reliability and maintenance of the computer
Fanless PCs are designed to be more reliable in the long run: this is because they have no moving mechanical components.
What about the non-fanless ones?
Industrial PC fans are often subject to continuous wear and dust accumulation, which can reduce their efficiency and increase the risk of failure.
3) Resistance to harsh and difficult environments
Fanless PCs are ideal for extreme environments, such as those with high concentrations of dust, humidity or very high temperatures and vibrations.
Fanless PCs are less suitable for harsh environments: this is because the fan sucks dust and particles that accumulate over time and can damage internal components.
In very humid or hot environments, the fans may also not be able to adequately cool the PC, causing it to fail or malfunction.
For this reason, we can say that fanless PCs are more suitable for industrial environments or extreme conditions, while the PC with the fan require much more “mild” and controlled conditions.
4) Energy efficiency
And here is a peculiarity that, perhaps, you did not know yet…
Fanless PCs generally tend to consume less energy than non-fanless PCs, because passive cooling does not require the energy needed to run a fan, making them also more environmentally friendly and less expensive in the long term.
Non-fanless PCs, on the other hand, require a huge amount of energy to power the fan, especially if the computer has to handle intense workloads: here the fans are forced to operate at very high speeds to cool the system.
Conclusion?
Fanless PCs require lower consumption for greater sustainability.
5) Performance and reliability
Fanless PCs are perfectly suited for specific applications, as they are optimized for reliability and quiet operation.
Being designed for passive cooling, fanless PCs are more limited in terms of power, especially if they are used for very intensive and heavy tasks.
The PCs that have a fan are more suitable for heavy workloads: they can manage them without running the risk of overheating the PC. This is because fanless computers are equipped with fans and this makes them more suitable for all those applications that require processing power.
6) PC maintenance
Fanless PCs are the ones that require less maintenance and are designed to be more reliable in the long run because they have no moving mechanical components.
Compared to fan-equipped PCs, they are more durable in harsh and challenging environments: this is because fanless PCs require periodic maintenance, aimed at cleaning the fans from dust and keeping them efficient.
You will understand, then, that if you insert inside dusty or contaminated environments a computer with fan, the same can fail, thus increasing the risk of overheating and failures.
7) Quiet and acoustic comfort
We come now to the last particularity, which is also the one on which we want to focus with this article.
The noise.
Fanless PCs are completely silent computers.
Without fans, they emit no sound: which makes them perfect for environments where noise can be a big problem.
For example: recording studios, hospitals, laboratories.
They are indispensable in environments where it is important to maintain a high standard of concentration and an optimal clean sound quality.
Non-fanless PCs make noise.
A noise whose intensity varies according to the workload that the PC must withstand.
But be careful: even if some fans are designed to be silent, they will always produce a certain level of medium-high intensity noise.
Why choose a fanless PC for your production environment
Ultimately, we can summarize the benefits that a fanless PC can bring to your production environment in this way…
- They are durable computers, perfectly suited to extreme environments.
- They have a cooling system that does not allow the PC to overheat: in this way, the computer continues to work even if it is subjected to a high workload, avoiding failures or malfunctions.
- They require less energy, are reliable, always operational and capable of handling very, very intensive workloads.
- And last, but not least, they are very quiet PCs.
And this is a feature that makes them suitable for specific industrial sectors which are not known to everyone.
Do you remember those we mentioned at the beginning of the article?
Here: just the ones!
6 niche sectors where a fanless and quiet PC is essential
Not all industrial environments are expected to be chaotic, with continuous background noise, bumps and vibrations.
It may sound strange, but some expect absolute silence and concentration.
And now let’s see which.
Research laboratories
Try to think of a clean and sterilized environment, like that of a laboratory…
An environment where all the operators present work on precision tests or experiments even very delicate.
Here… What is the particularity of such an environment?
That all operators must be focused and focused on what they are doing, otherwise they risk making mistakes.
But not only…
Think about this: in an environment of this kind what is the worst thing that can happen?
Correct: contaminated with dust, germs or bacteria.
Easily achievable if you decide to insert an unsuitable industrial PC in such an environment.
For example… a non-fanless PC.
The industrial PC not fanless has fans. These can lift dust and particles in the air, risking to contaminate an environment that must be immaculate, sterilized, cleaned in every surface and in every device introduced.
And here appears on the horizon this huge risk…
The risk of contamination: contamination of food, contamination of drugs, contamination of everything that concerns the industrial environment in which you find yourself working.
If you expose such an industrial environment to contamination, you also put at risk medicines, drugs and new products which, for example, must be developed and designed to ensure a better quality of life and health for the patients they will be subjected to.
The risk is high and the consequences, well… can be really drastic!
Cleanroom
Even more delicate is the matter, if we talk about clean rooms or cleanrooms.
Clean rooms are environments designed to maintain a high level of cleanliness, with strict control of the concentration of particles in the air, temperature, humidity and pressure.
They are mainly used in industrial and scientific fields where it is crucial to avoid contamination, such as: the production of microelectronics, biotechnology, medical research, and the manufacture of optical and pharmaceutical devices.
In these environments, every computer device that enters (from a simple mouse or keyboard to a more bulky component such as a PC) must necessarily be sterilized, in such a way as to prevent any particle from entering the environment.
In the clean rooms it is essential that no particles circulate: the air must be clean and is constantly cleaned with a specific type of hygiene and sterilization, so you understand that there is no room for a PC full of fans…
… Which, in its waving, can collect dust or particles and scatter them in the air, putting at risk of contamination medicines, drugs and food!
And the same goes for…
Diagnostic hospital environments
Here the fans lift air or dust or potentially pathogenic particles and spread them around: all this represents a factor and a very high risk of contamination by potentially pathogenic germs or bacteria in hospital or diagnostic settings…
And we’re not kidding.
Try to think about the risks, big, huge, that can happen if you even try to insert one of those computers without fans in an environment like this!
Here the health of patients is at stake: better not to risk… what do you say?
Audio recording and post-production studios
We come now to a more “artistic” and less industrial production environment…
We are talking about a recording and post-production studio: an environment in which the sound is the absolute protagonist, the only main actor present on the scene.
All the other actors are non-protagonists, they must, that is, adapt.
Adapt to a state of absolute silence.
You will understand that to make an environment as quiet as possible all the devices that are introduced must be… silent, precisely.
In a recording and post-production studio, the fan of a PC can create sound interference that would be picked up by microphones and dirty audio recordings.
Which would cause…
A loss of quality in the post-production process: even minimal jobs can negatively affect mixing, editing and mastering work and this may require an avalanche of extra work to remove all that background noise.
In the art or multimedia production environment, there may be a lot of interference on the recording and production sets: noise from the fan can greatly disturb audio recordings or live video recording moments, Thus causing disruptions and thus increasing the costs and time of post-production.
Always keep in mind that a quiet environment is the basis of creative work…
Think about it: when you do a creative job the noise of the fan can greatly compromise concentration, creating disturbances and thus compromising the final quality of the project.
… is that really what you want?
Are you looking for a H24 industrial PC that works without any interruptions and is as silent as possible?
Quality control in microelectronics manufacturing
Reliability, cleanliness and operational precision…
These are fundamental aspects in this type of production.
Microelectronics requires extremely clean and stable environments to avoid contamination which could compromise the quality of electronic components.
That’s why a fanless PC is preferable to a traditional fan PC.
Artistic or multimedia production environments
Graphic design, video editing, virtual reality, animation…
In an artistic or multimedia production environment, a fanless PC can provide you with the concentration you need to create your own…
- Maintain a quiet environment, ideal for all stages of recording and development of creative processes.
- eliminating any type of noise, also remove any kind of distraction: in this way you can work in peace, without any disturbing element.
- Run smoothly even over very long sessions, thanks to passive heat dissipation that prevents the PC from overheating or locking up as might happen with a fan-equipped PC.
- use software such as 3D rendering, high-resolution video editing and graphics, which are very demanding and require long uninterrupted work sessions.
In these cases, the stability of a PC is crucial because it allows you to work on your projects without stopping.
From here… here is the importance of having a fanless PC within your artistic or multimedia production environment!
Choose the right fanless PC for your industry
So far we have shown you why you should choose a fanless PC if you work in a niche environment (like the 6 we described above) and what are the main differences between faless PCs and those equipped with fans instead.
Yes, okay, all very nice so far…
But what if your production environment was not one of the above?
If you worked in a “simple” production environment?
How do you make a correct and informed choice of which industrial PC to fit inside?
Trust Kimera Computers: the benefits
Kimera Computers is the leading supplier of industrial PCs made in Italy.
We manufacture industrial PCs in our laboratory, in Italy: to be precise, we are located in Pressana, in the province of Verona!
But, in concrete… what can Kimera Computers give you more than another supplier of industrial PCs?
- Industrial PC ready, working and delivered within 5 working days.
Why can we do this, compared to all our competitors, which have a production time of at least one month?
Because we make our PCs directly in our laboratory: we have a team of technicians dedicated to this.
Once you place the order, we will immediately start to work to make your PC and deliver them within 5 working days!
- Industrial PCs customized to your requirements.
Here’s another thing that other competitors don’t do!
Do you have a particular need or need to place your computer in a niche industry or application and need a computer with specific performance?
We can meet your requirements!
- Request a free and personalized consultation with us: we will listen to your needs and know how to make the PC that suits you!
A 24-hour service: Is your computer malfunctioning or experiencing any failure? Contact us. We are always available.
To guarantee this service, we have also activated a chat service that you can find always active on our site, which allows you to contact us always, at any time!
- All our PCs are CE, ISO, IQNET certified and our company is ESG certified.
What does that guarantee you? The fact that you are not relying on a company thrown at random, but to a solid reality, able to guarantee all the certifications and possible guarantees. - 3 years warranty on your industrial PC, unlike all other suppliers, which only guarantee you 2.
- A free 15-day trial on your industrial computer, allowing you to insert it into your production environment, try it out, see how it works and then… You decide what to do!
If you are looking for an industrial PC to put into production… contact us!
Want more proof that our Kimera PCs are perfect for your production environment?
