When considering which laptop to purchase there are always things to take into account depending on the intended use.
Like its GPU (graphics processing Unit) if you intend on using the device for gaming (even then there is a major difference between light gaming and running AAA games on ultra settings).
Or its CPU (Central Processing Unit) which dictates pretty much everything the laptop is capable of.
In this article, we pay particular attention to the Microsoft Surface Laptop range including a bit of ground work on the term “fanless” and what the pros and cons of having a fanless laptop are.
What does “Fanless” mean?
Put simply, a fanless laptop has a simple aluminum heatsink or copper plate/tubing instead of a motorized fan.
This is usually due to the fact that fanless laptops are designed with processors which are small enough to warrant passive cooling (as opposed to active cooling offered by a fan).
Any heat generated by a fanless laptop (usually minimal, depending on what you are using the laptop for) is dissipated by the heatsink or copper plate/tubing.
This can mean there is a specific point on the laptop that gets warmer when in use due to the location of the heatsink. This specific point on the laptop is usually away from major components to avoid damage.
Does Fanless always mean quieter?
For the most part, a fanless laptop is significantly quieter than a laptop with a fan. The reason for this is pretty obvious, as a fan generates a lot of noise when in use.
Whereas with a heatsink or copper plate/tubing, there are no moving parts. However, there are some major trade offs when it comes to a fanless design which we outline later in this article.
Pros and Cons of Fanless Laptops
Pros:
- Fewer repairs are necessary: If the cooling fan on a laptop breaks (which is more likely to happen compared to a laptop with a heatsink) it renders the laptop unusable until the fan is repaired/replaced.
- Durability: The fact that, statistically, there is less that can go wrong with a fanless laptop makes them more long-lasting.
- Weight: It’s no secret that modern laptops are constantly getting lighter and thinner with each new generation. The weight of a laptop correlates to the hardware used inside the casing. As these components, such as processors, GPUs, and memory become smaller the weight of the laptop is reduced.
Cons:
- Built on low-power platforms: This is one of the most important factors with fanless laptops. In simple terms, low-power platforms relate to what the laptop can handle running. Fanless laptops can handle virtually all everyday tasks, word processing, or surfing the web for example, with ease. However, more demanding tasks such as PC gaming or video/photo editing require a greater amount of power. This requirement for more power directly affects the cooling system needed.
Microsoft Surface Laptop Overview
To date, there are five models in the Surface Laptop Family including the Surface Laptop Studio which was released on October 5, 2021. Within the 5 models of the Surface Laptop, there are different versions of each model.
The first Surface Laptop was released on June 15 2017 and sits within the wider line of Microsoft Surface devices. It was made with Education in mind, meaning that it is ideal for students.
As mentioned earlier, each model of the Surface Laptop has different versions. The main variation in these versions is the CPU (Central Processing Unit). The first Surface Laptop shipped with the following CPU’s:
- Intel Core m3 – 7Y30
- Intel Core i5 – 7200U
- Intel Core i7 – 7660U
The Surface Laptop 2 came just over a year after the first Surface Laptop, on October 16, 2018. In terms of design, it was almost identical to its predecessor, however, there were some major hardware changes.
Due to the fact that the CPU and GPU were both upgraded (8th gen quad-core Intel Core i5 and i7 and Intel Ultra HD Graphics 620 respectively), the Surface Laptop 2 doesn’t have a fanless version.
The third and fourth generations of the Surface Laptop (Surface Laptop 3 and Surface Laptop 4) were released on October 22 2019 and April 20 2021 respectively.
As with all new generations of laptop models, the Surface Laptop 3 and 4 both had major design and hardware improvements. The Surface Laptop 3 saw integration with AMD alongside models with Intel Core including the AMD Ryzen 5 and 7 family of CPUs and the Radeon Vega GPUs (Graphics Processing Unit).
Across the Surface Laptop 3 and Surface Laptop 4 models, and in each variation, these huge upgrades in GPU and CPUs meant that keeping these components cool called for active cooling. Meaning that each of these models and their variations has a single motorized fan.
Key Takeaways
Whilst there are a great number of benefits to passive cooling via a heatsink or copper tubing/piping, this method of heat dissipation simply cannot keep up with the demands of high spec laptops.
In the case of the Surface Laptop 2, and indeed all the way to the recently released Surface Laptop 4, the central processing unit and graphics processing units of these machines aren’t suitable for passive cooling (heatsink).
There are tradeoffs between active and passive cooling (heatsink vs fan). The former will make the laptop much lighter and more durable whereas the latter means that the laptop can have a more powerful CPU and GPU for more intensive tasks or gaming.
The only model of the Surface Laptop which was shipped with a fanless version was the original Surface Laptop. The Intel Core m3 – 7Y30 mentioned earlier has a less demanding CPU (which is very much outdated now) and comes with passive cooling.
When developers and manufacturers design and build laptops it’s not hard to imagine that whichever iteration of CPU or GPU they are going to use will influence whether they opt for passive or active cooling hardware. However, this may not always be the case in future generations of laptops.
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