When are case fans needed?

[Siamey]

Hey everyone,

When are case fans needed? like yes almost every computer has them, but when are they actually absolutely needed?

I just built this comp for my mom's friend. Nothing special, just a work computer. It's a work at home computer so I assume she's gonna use it for some small fun activities, but like no gaming other than solitare I would think. I also threw in a card reader cause she has a camera and whatnot.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3329104&CatId=31

Also, because I'm so awesome, I forgot to buy case fans of any sort. So its got the athlon's stock heatsink fan and the fan in the PSU, and it runs so damn quietly I can't tell its on. It's really quite nice.

So.... is it going to catch on fire eventually? :O:O

I've owned computers that didnt have case fans before. Mind you they were like Emachine computers with a 500mhz celeron :/ So... yes.. thats like 8 years ago...

I took the fan off of a socket 478 heatsink (which i had scratched on the bottem and was keeping around thinking I would get around to lapping it but I never did) and put it in the front of the case, and its loud as hell so I unplugged it.

I'd really just like it to be an awesomely silent computer. Is this a pipe dream or should I get a different fan? Maybe the 478 fan is louder than it should be.

Thanks!

[Majin GeoDooD]

Case fans allow better air flow through the case, bringing in cool air and taking out hot air. If you aren't having any CPU/GPU temp issues then I wouldn't worry about getting any fans.

[Effef]

It could probably run without one, since the Athlon X2 4000+ is a 65nm processor and thus produces very little heat. I would probably put a low speed one in the back, just for peace of mind. Plus, it will help cool the hard drive and motherboard components through indirect airflow.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185056

These are nearly silent, and actually push a good bit of air for how slow they run. Since you don't have any especially hot components, it should do fine.

[Katsurugi]

My friend put together a very barebones system with a P3 processor. It did very well without any fans at all. Also, the parts were exposed to open air most of the time. Very light web browsing (checking e-mail) and word processing were its main functions.