As a new product, fan-less computers and fan-less laptop have attracted the attention of many users. It is also Intel’s fourth portable computer revolution since CULV, Ultrabook, and 2-in-1 computers. At this point, the fan-less era of notebook computers has come. Thanks to the Intel Core M platform with a 14nm process and 4.5W TDP, OEMs can design a fan less computer with passive cooling, which can greatly reduce the thickness of the notebook body, reduce its weight, reduce noise, and Reduce dust pollution. Throughout the past several changes, fan less is self-evident for the future of notebook computers, and it is also the most profound change in notebook design.
At the beginning of 2009, Intel promoted the notebook low-power and ultra-portable revolution for the first time, which is very different from the conventional rhythm of hardware performance improvement, process reduction, and power consumption reduction in the past. With the Intel Core SU series low-voltage processors, Intel has begun the road of thin and light notebook layout. Although CULV ended in a disastrous defeat, the notebook industry’s original trend of processor and graphics performance improvement was broken, and another A new route trending towards thinness and portability.
The failure of CULV has brought considerable pressure to Intel, but the seeds of the thinning revolution have been quietly planted. Two years later, in 2011, Intel began its second plan to improve the portability of notebooks, which was the concept of “Ultrabook” that was later known to the public. The failure of CULV comes from its performance. In the ultrabook era, the performance problems of low-voltage processors have been well resolved, and with the shrinking of the manufacturing process, the increase in portability of ultrabooks is far beyond CULV’s comparison.
Since then, 2 in 1 computers have risen almost at the same time as Ultrabooks. At first, 2 in 1 computers did not have a separate concept, but belonged to the ranks of Ultrabooks. However, after product breakdown, the concept of “2 in 1 computers” It came into being. When the thickness and weight of the fuselage are both low, the detachable design gives a new direction for the improvement of the portability of the notebook computer, and it is also the only best solution currently available.
Looking back on the four revolutions of notebook portability, 2-in-1 computers and fan less computers and fan less laptop have a huge influence among them. The former gives a new definition to the external design of the notebook, while the latter changes the internal heat dissipation structure and the body of the notebook. The reduction in thickness played a decisive role.
So, at the beginning of the fan less computer layout, what products do we have to choose from? Who are these products suitable for? Today we will talk about the purchase strategy of fan less computers and fan less laptop around these two issues.
Why fan less laptop are different from the past
For most users, they may not be aware of fan less computers and fan less laptop like regular laptops, so let’s first take a look at why today’s laptops can achieve fan less designs. Low power consumption hardware is the basis of fan less. In fact, there are two essential differences between a fan and a fan less computer: One is the difference in heat dissipation methods. The former is active heat dissipation, and the latter is passive heat dissipation.
The second is the difference in portability. The power consumption of a fan computer is relatively high, and the fan itself is also thicker, so the body is generally thicker than the fan less product, so there is a more obvious difference in portability.
We all know that when a computer is in use, the processor and graphics card will generate more heat, and the more powerful the hardware, the greater the power consumption, and the greater the heat generated. Therefore, if you want to achieve a fan-less design, you must first have the support of the underlying hardware. And Intel’s Core M platform plays this role well. The thermal design power consumption of 4.5W and the 14nm process make it have a small size with low power consumption, which can ensure the stable operation of the computer in the passive cooling mode.
In addition, although the performance of Core M is not as good as Core low-voltage processors and standard voltage processors, it is much better than BayTrail-M’s Pentium, Celeron, and Atom platforms. With solid-state drives, it can still achieve a good experience. There is no problem with daily application requirements.
Passive cooling
For ordinary users, the only way to understand the internal design of a product is through the disassembly of the media platform. As for the question of “how does a fan less computer dissipate heat”, I believe many friends would like to know about it, so I will show you how fan less passive cooling is done through the disassembly of a product.
As can be seen from the disassembly picture above, above the two big heat-generating users, the processor and the graphics card, the traditional copper pipe and fan cooling design are not used, but a layer of heat sink is covered. After tearing off the black adhesive paper above, we can see that this layer of heat sink is a common brass heat sink. Among common metals, silver, copper, aluminum, and brass have the best thermal conductivity, and brass conducts heat in notebook computers. It is the most widely used and mature, and the cost is lower. Although its thermal conductivity is not as good as the first three, it is sufficient for the Core M platform.
In addition, in addition to the silicone grease and heat sink attached to the heating element, fan less computers and fan less laptop mostly use aluminum-magnesium alloy metal shells. The thermal conductivity of aluminum is stronger than that of brass, but the aluminum material itself is relatively soft, so aluminum-magnesium while the alloy solves the problem of robustness, it also acts as a part of the fan less cooling system, so the fan less passive cooling method is completely free of concerns with the support of low-power hardware.
Buy it or not?
For fan less computers and fan less laptop, its advantages and disadvantages are very clear, and understanding these advantages and disadvantages can also help users make correct judgments when choosing a fan less computer. So let’s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of fan less computers and fan less laptop. The advantages of fan less computers and fan less laptop
A lot of dust will accumulate inside the notebook computer as the use time increases. At the same time, the long-term operation of the fan bearing will cause problems such as offset, damage, and lubricant exhaustion. Therefore, the computer that generally takes a long time and does not pay attention to frequent maintenance is will produce very loud noise. Especially in a relatively quiet environment, you will obviously feel the noise from the computer fan.
In addition, even if you have the hands-on ability to clean dust and maintain, the actual effect will become more and more discounted over time. Therefore, the most fundamental problem solved by fan less is the computer noise problem.
Secondly, fan less brings ultra-thin design to notebook computers.
In the past, ultrabooks and 2-in-1 computers often chose to remove some larger interfaces in the ultra-thin design, such as VGA and RJ-45 Ethernet ports. The abandonment of these interfaces can basically reduce the thickness of the notebook by at least 2mm, but The presence of internal fans and copper cooling pipes will still increase the thickness of the notebook. This part of the space is saved after the elimination of the fan and the elimination of the cooling copper pipe. Therefore, we see that most fan less computers and fan less laptop have a slimmer body. The most typical one is Apple’s new MacBook.
The third benefit is not obvious, but it has a fundamental impact on the health of the laptop, that is, the airtightness brought by the fan less design. Traditional notebook cooling systems are determined by many factors such as fans, cooling copper pipes, air ducts, shell materials, and cooling windows. The design of fans and cooling windows is very easy to accumulate dust inside the fuselage, which in turn affects the cooling efficiency of the machine. It can also cause noise pollution.
The fan less design does not need to open additional heat dissipation windows, only the heat sink and the metal casing can achieve the heat dissipation effect, so its sealing is greatly improved, and the cleanliness of the inside of the fuselage is undoubtedly greatly improved.
Disadvantages of fan less laptop
There are gains and losses. Since fan less computers and fan less laptop are more prominent in the three aspects of light weight, noise reduction, and airtightness, they will inevitably have shortcomings in some aspects. First of all, the biggest shortcoming of fan less computers and fan less laptop is performance.
Although the Core M platform has better performance than Pentium, Celeron, and Atom processors, it has obvious performance shortfalls when faced with low-voltage processors and standard-voltage processors. This is also the trend of most users on the official website of fan less computers and fan less laptop.
Secondly, although lightweight products bring excellent portability, but due to the slim design of the fuselage, and most of the metal materials with low hardness are used as the outer shell, there are certain hidden dangers in the overall reliability. For example, in the case of falling, squeezing, impact, etc., slim products are more easily damaged than traditional products. This is the fundamental reason why military-grade products seem to be “stupid and thick”.
The third point is that the price of mainstream brand fan less computers and fan less laptop is generally higher, and the popularity, influence and actual quality of other brand products are not outstanding. Although the Core M platform was released as early as October last year, it is still an emerging platform for the entire computer industry. Fan less computers and fan less laptop based on the Core M platform are also an emerging product. Users’ awareness of it The recognition is not high, and coupled with the lack of eye-catching performance as a guarantee, the high price seems very dazzling at this time.
It can be seen that fan less computers and fan less laptop still have very distinct advantages and disadvantages at the moment, so what products are currently available for users to choose? Which users are its product features suitable for?
What are the fan less products?
After understanding some of the basic conditions of fan less computers and fan less laptop, let’s take a look at what needs to be paid attention to when buying fan less computers and fan less laptop at this stage. First of all, since you are buying a category of products, you must understand what specific products are available and the characteristics of these products. You can use them as business laptops as well.
As far as the current brand composition of fan less computers and fan less laptop is concerned, it mainly comes from two aspects: One is the products launched by traditional OEM manufacturers. Such as Lenovo YOGA 3 11, Apple MacBook, ASUS U305, Samsung ATIV Book 9, etc. The second is some products from manufacturers in southern China. For example, Taipower, Onda, Cube, Blue Devils, etc., most of the manufacturers that originally stopped in the tablet industry have begun to transform into fan less computers and fan less laptop, and have received strong official support from Intel. This is the same as the previous ultrabooks and 2-in-1s. 1 The initial promotion of computers is very different.
Three representative fan less computers and fan less laptop
Let’s first look at Lenovo YOGA 3 11. The YOGA brand is no stranger to users. YOGA 3 11 is an 11.6-inch full HD touch screen flip notebook computer, based on the Core M platform with a fan less design. The overall appearance is still available in a variety of colors, of which orange is the most classic. The weight of YOGA 3 11 is only 1.1kg, the thickness is 14.66mm, and the 11-inch screen makes its body very compact, so it has excellent portability.
Samsung ATIV Book 9 is also a very interesting fan less computer. Although it does not use a flip screen or pluggable design, it has made a very good sense of quality under the traditional form, especially the design of the narrow bezel is eye-catching.
In addition, the ATIV Book 9 screen part uses Samsung’s own PLS wide-angle screen, and the display effect is very good at 1080P resolution. In terms of overall workmanship, this machine is also remarkable. The all-metal body and the cutting and polishing of crystal diamonds on the side bread can highlight the quality of the product.
In addition, the fan less computer that has received the most attention from users so far is Apple’s MacBook. However, the MacBook can also be said to be the most controversial product at present. The butterfly keyboard has a bad feel, a single USB-C interface configuration, expensive USB-C extension cable prices, etc., all of which are the targets of users. .
However, its outstanding workmanship, the appearance of local gold color matching, and the impeccable design have aroused the desire of many users to buy. In terms of Apple’s consistent products, the fan less MacBook is undoubtedly the most controversial Apple product ever.
Which users are suitable for fan less computers
For users, who are fan less computers and fan less laptop suitable for? From the previous introduction, it is not difficult to find that the characteristics of fan less computers and fan less laptop are very clear, so its positioning population is also very clear. In the final analysis, it is generally suitable for the following categories of people: In fact, the answer is very simple, that is, users who use the computer for a short time and have a single application. For example, the author’s mother has only three applications on her computer: video chat with the author, browse some daily news, and watch TV shows or movies. Most of these users use the computer for less than 3 hours a day, and sometimes they do not turn on the computer for several days.
- For such users, fan less computers and fan less laptop, especially low-cost fan less computers and fan less laptop launched by manufacturers in southern China, are very suitable. Many friends worry that the performance of the Core M processor is not enough to meet the needs of office applications, but from the current Atom core minicomputer that I currently use, as well as the usual fan less computer reviews, this worry is unnecessary.
- In addition, the factors that affect the office application experience do not entirely come from the processor, and the hard disk is equally important. At present, most of the Core M platforms use solid-state hard drives, so there is no need to worry about the actual office experience. Of course, if you still want to play games outside of office, the current fan less computers and fan less laptop are certainly not suitable for your needs.
- The thinness and lightness of fan less computers and fan less laptop are just right for such users, and products like MacBook are also quite face-off when they are taken out. If they are used in a coffee shop, they are definitely an X weapon. In addition, whether going out for work or traveling, the dependence on computer performance is not high, as long as it meets the needs of long battery life and watching movies, and low-power fan less computers and fan less laptop can certainly meet these needs.
- Mentioned that student users are always associated with the game book. In fact, there are many game players in the student user group, but there is also a large proportion of users who have low demand for games. It is just that people in a dormitory gather together to influence each other, and blind obedience occurs when buying a computer. Originally, what you wanted was not a gaming notebook, but it is definitely not uncommon for the other three roommates to buy a gaming notebook and you will follow suit.
- In fact, for many students and friends, a computer that is easy to carry, does not occupy space, and can be used for sex is the most suitable. Especially for students who go to school in other places, it is definitely a silly game book to go home during the holiday. Suffering beyond words. The fan less computer’s compact size, lightweight design and practical performance are enough to meet the needs of many students and friends.
- Intel has adopted a new strategy in the layout of fan less computers and fan less laptop. It is led by OEM manufacturers with strong brand influence, and assisted by manufacturers in South China that can quickly transform and ship quickly. It is a two-pronged approach to jointly build a fan less computer structure. Ultrabooks and 2-in-1 computers mainly rely on the strategies of traditional OEM manufacturers.
- It is precisely because of this that we can not only see MacBook, YOGA 3 11, ATIV Book 9, U305, etc., high-quality products with great brand influence in the early stage of fan less computer layout, but also can see low prices from manufacturers in southern China. Price products. Therefore, fan less computers and fan less laptop have shown an all-round trend in the initial layout, which can meet the needs of different user groups.
Since the launch of fan less computers and fan less laptop, the performance of the Core M platform is undoubtedly the most criticized by users. However, most of them have not really used fan less computers and fan less laptop. Therefore, most of this criticism is also common.
Final words
Today, when the CPU performance reaches an extremely high level, the performance of the Core M itself is actually enough to cope with various daily applications. The application experience of the computer itself does not entirely depend on the processor performance, so many friends have begun to try to improve the experience of using solid state drives on old notebooks. The effect is quite significant. It can be seen that performance and actual use experience are already difficult today. Equal sign again. For today’s users, only by re-examining the difference between performance and experience can they correctly judge whether a product is suitable for them. The era of choosing a computer based on processor level has actually passed.