Active or passive cooling?
Right from the selection of the proper Mini-PC there is one important feature to consider that affects the longevity of a device. The cooling. We already summarized the differences, benefits and disadvantages of an active and passive cooling systems in this article.
Right choice: active cooling
As we already mentioned in our article about active and passive cooling systems, we can say that an "active cooling […] is useful if the environment of the site allows the warm air to go out in order to prevent heat accumulation. For instance this can happen if an Embedded-PC is mounted in steles, tables or walls. Also active cooling is useful when processors and graphic cards experience a temperature rise above-average, due to applications which need a lot of hardware resources."
Installation of PCs with fan
Mini-PCs with fan are often installed into steles or similar. When doing this you have to keep in mind that the holes for the fan in the housing should not be covered. There has to be enough room between the Mini-PC and for instance a wall, so that the fan can take in enough air and also return it back outside of the housing.
Right choice: passive cooling
Mini-PCs with a passive cooling are perfectly made for "rough environments like factory work rooms, workshops or production facilities since the fanless computers are less prone to dust or similar. Even installations […] where it sometimes can be a bit colder than usual, but you nevertheless have to rely on the computer" benefit from passive cooled PCs. But also in the high end digital signage fanless Mini-PCs can score. Our prime examples are the RUGGED GTX 1050 Ti and the RUGGED Ryzen.
Installation of passively cooled PCs
Just because a Mini-PC is passively cooled, doesn't mean that it can be installed completely airtight. It's also very important that the PC is located in the right environment. A passively cooled Mini-PC emits the heat into the surrounding area via its cooling fins. In conclusion this means, that a PC without fan also needs a certain space so that the exhaust air can be released.
##Passively cooled spo-comm Mini-PCs