Which Motherboard is the cheapest for Fanless Design?

Reagan

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Jan 3, 2007
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Yeah, what CPU?

E.g. the AMD Turion MT-37 is rated at 25W (TDP), though only single core. The AMD "3800+ EE" is around 40W (if you undervolt), however it is dual core. The Turion TL-52 is also dual core and rated at 31W, however it is Socket S1 and good luck finding a mobo for it.

I'm not sure about Intel C2D's. A buddy of mine just bought a sweet Toshiba laptop with an Intel® T5500 Core™2 Duo processor. Rated at 34W. Not sure what socket is used but it runs on the 945 Chipset Family. I hear rumors of an Ultra-Low-Power C2D in the wings, i.e. 5-10W.

Etc.

N.B. Even though these are low power CPU's you'll still probably use a high-quality heat-sink, e.g. Zalman CNPS 9500 or Scythe Infinity.
 

Reagan

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Jan 3, 2007
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o crud, I ran out of time....

Ok, for the E6400

Package Type: LGA 775
Thermal Design Power: 65W
Thermal Specification: 61.4°C
Core Voltage: 0.850V-1.3525V

You may wind up undervolting to lower your power dissipation.
Airflow through your case is important consideration, so check out the following link for ideas .... Thermally Advantaged Chassis
http://www.intel.com/cd/channel/reseller/asmo-na/eng/53211.htm

Get a good case. Then think about getting an 945 (Intel nomenclature) Chipset based mobo, e.g. Gigabyte GA-945P-S3 or GA-945PL-S3 or Epox EP-945 Pro. Get a good heatsink, e.g. Zalman CNPS 9500 or Scythe Infinity with a Nexus 120 fan (or better). Run without the fan -- but watch the CPU temps closesly -- or run with the fan at the lowest RPM. Use Sound Dampening materials in your case to quiet the fan, if you run it. Check out http://www.silentpcreview.com/ for more ideas along those lines.

I'm outta time. Gotta run.

Btw, how are you using the computer? Is it for an entertainment PC, or a desktop, Enterprise desktop, mobile, small business, etc. ?