Question Cooling - maybe passively? - a Via C7 "Esther"

[AnitaPeterson]

Hi folks,
As some of you may remember, for a brief time in the history of modern x86 computing we had not just two, but three different processor companies and architectures: Intel, AMD and VIA.

And VIA is now the foundation for China's current Zhaoxin CPU lineup.

So I came across this VIA C7 machine, where the CPU fan is making horrible screeches. Unfortunately CPU is soldered to the motherboard, and their socket is similar to Pentium M (Socket 479, according to Wikipedia). So I'm not sure what I can use to replace the old cooler. But I would surely love to use passive cooling, since it's a 20W CPU!

You can see here a picture of the board: https://www.viagallery.com/pc2500-mainboard/

As you can see, it's a weird mix of old and new(ish) technology: DDR2 and lots of USB ports, but no AGP or PCI-e slots. But I can use a Radeon 7000 PCI video card instead of the integrated video

So what do you think? Can this be passively cooled, with a modified heatsink from a different socket?

 

[Insert_Nickname]

So what do you think? Can this be passively cooled, with a modified heatsink from a different socket?

Looks like it uses a pretty standard 30-40mm fan with a regular 3pin plug. It shouldn't be hard to find a replacement for such. Is there some special consideration at play? If nothing else you could just rig a 80-120mm to blow directly on the heatsink. That should cool more then enough for 20W.

If you have access to a 3D printer, it's relatively easy to make a simple adaptor for special mountings.

 

[chrisjames61]

Hi folks,
As some of you may remember, for a brief time in the history of modern x86 computing we had not just two, but three different processor companies and architectures: Intel, AMD and VIA.

And VIA is now the foundation for China's current Zhaoxin CPU lineup.

So I came across this VIA C7 machine, where the CPU fan is making horrible screeches. Unfortunately CPU is soldered to the motherboard, and their socket is similar to Pentium M (Socket 479, according to Wikipedia). So I'm not sure what I can use to replace the old cooler. But I would surely love to use passive cooling, since it's a 20W CPU!

You can see here a picture of the board: https://www.viagallery.com/pc2500-mainboard/

As you can see, it's a weird mix of old and new(ish) technology: DDR2 and lots of USB ports, but no AGP or PCI-e slots. But I can use a Radeon 7000 PCI video card instead of the integrated video

So what do you think? Can this be passively cooled, with a modified heatsink from a different socket?

It would take five minutes to find what you need on eBay. It would probably cost about $5.