Best Fanless Laptops (Silent & Cool) 2022 💻

Best things about Fanless Laptops are how silent and energy-efficient they are. This new laptop trend was made possible by the latest production methods. New equipment manufacturers use can offer good performance with very low energy consumption and heat production. So, your laptop can be silent, cool and energy-efficient as a tablet or smartphone.

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Advantages of Fanless Laptop

Silent: As fans are the main noise source of a laptop, fanless laptops are completely silent. The only other sound source that can bother you is an HDD storage. HDD stores data on a spinning disk, so it makes a sound every time data is transferred. Luckily, almost all fanless laptops use SSD storage which makes no sound.
Energy efficient: Fan itself consumes energy to cool your system but that is not all. Fanless laptops are equipped with low consumption processors that use little energy to produce little heat.
Light weight: Lower energy consumption lets producers design these laptops with smaller batteries. As batteries are the heaviest part of a laptop, weight dramatically reduces. We do not even mention the weights of fans.
Smaller: When there are no fans or air channels inside the laptop, naturally manufacturers design their laptops smaller and more compact.
Long-lasting: Fanless laptops operate at lower temperatures and as you know heat is the main reason for electronic parts to degrade. So, those parts can live longer since they do not get exposed to heat as much.
Better battery life: Fanless laptop processors are optimized for the lowest wattage consumption to not produce heat. Thus, they consume less energy and have longer battery life.
Maintenance: As fans suck air from one side of laptop and blow it from other side, lots of dust and particles stuck around the cooling system. Normally these dusts should be cleared regularly. Fanless laptops does not need this cleaning.

How does fanless laptop work?

First of all, the main reason that fanless laptops can stay cool is that they do not get that hot even without any cooling. They use low TDP processors with low frequency and wattage to create minimal heat. Fanless laptops mostly use low heat producing backlit LED screens, low-frequency CPU/RAM and SSD storage to minimize the heat each part can produce.

The produced amount of heat is low but still, there is some. This heat flows through the entire system of mostly aluminum body and copper heat pipes and is finally released to the air.

TL;DR Fanless laptops create as little as heat possible and lose that heat by passive cooling.

Do fanless laptops overheat?

Shortly no! If a fanless laptop overheats (actually applies to all laptops) it means there is a malfunction. You mostly cannot feel the heating of a fanless laptop.

An overheating fanless laptop probably has a software issue that prevents the chip from limiting frequency and let the CPU (or other parts) at turbo speed all the time. If you encounter such a problem, call warranty or manufacturer.

Top 8 Best Fanless Laptops

Model	CPU	RAM	Storage	Display	Battery	Weight
Microsoft Surface Pro 6 Check Price on Amazon	Intel i7-3960X	16 GB	1 TB	12.3" PixelSense 2736x1824	13.5 hrs	1.7 lbs.
Apple MacBook 12 inch Check Price on Amazon	Intel Core M3	8 GB	256 GB	12” Retina Display (2304 x 1440)	10 hrs	2.03 lbs.
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 Check Price on Amazon	AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS	16GB 3200MHz	1TB PCIe	14" FHD 120Hz IPS-Level Display	13 hrs	3.5 lbs.
Acer Switch 7 Check Price on Amazon	Intel i7-8550U	16 GB	512 GB	13.5" MultiTouch 2256x1504	8 hrs	3.53 lbs.
ASUS VivoBook Flip 14 Check Price on Amazon	Intel Celeron N4000	4 GB	64GB eMMC	14-inch 1920x1080	8 hrs	3.3 lbs.
Acer Spin 7 Check Price on Amazon	Intel i7-7Y75	8 GB	256 GB	14" Multi-touch 1920x1080	8 hrs	2.65 lbs.
ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 Check Price on Amazon	Intel Core M3	4 GB	64 GB	12.5” Touchscreen 1920x1080	10 hrs	2.65 lbs.
Dell XPS 12 Check Price on Amazon	Intel Core M5 6Y54	8 GB	256 GB	12.5” LED-lit 4K	4.5 hrs	2.8 lbs.

1. Best Fanless Windows Laptop

Microsoft Surface Pro 6

CPU: Intel Core i7-3960X
GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 620
16GB RAM
1TB SSD
12.3-inch PixelSense (2736 x 1824)
Up to 13.5 hours
1.7lbs

Microsoft Surface Pro 6 is a premium fanless laptop that can satisfy you in every way. You will be surprised when you take it in your hands. I bet you will think, “how did they add so many things in this featherweight laptop?”.

There are too many things to talk about but let’s start with its most important feature. It has an unbelievable weight of 1.7 lbs. There are many tablets heavier than this. The lightweight and compact structure make Surface Pro 6 extraordinarily portable. It is like having a tablet with all utility peripherals like keyboard, mouse and stylus pen.

Speaking of portability, it has officially 13.5 hours of battery life. You cannot be sure if it can last that long but unofficial resources approve it can last at least 10 hours with heavy-tasks like watching movies, working on Photoshop, AutoCAD, Revit, etc.

Despite its small screen, Microsoft used a magnificent display on this device. 12.3-inch PixelSense display has 2736 x 1824 resolution. The touchscreen is very responsive and easy to use. With more than 400 nits of screen brightness, you can comfortably use it outdoors in direct sunlight.

Now the surprising part. This little guy is a monster in terms of performance. There are customization options but the model we choose got Intel i7 Processor and 16 GB RAM. You can do everything on this laptop except gaming. Maybe some soft gaming can be possible but graphics-heavy games will not work since Surface Pro 6 only has an integrated GPU. Also, storage is up to 1TB. This size of an SSD is not easy to fill up.

We want to add a little footnote here. Those cool accessories are sold separately. They cost extra but some of them might well worth the money.

2. Best Fanless Macbook

Apple MacBook 12 Inch

Apple MacBook 12 is another good choice for people looking for fanless a laptop(especially you like Mac). 12” models discontinued by Apple for various reasons. However do not afraid, it is not like a chronic problem or a production error. They decided to go with 13.3” after user-needs researches.

We must say that MacBook 12” does not offer the typical MacBook performance. Intel Core M3 CPU is good at staying cool and using less energy but it sacrifices a bit of performance in return. Retina display as fascinating as always. Good colors, sharp images and high resolution are been standard for MacBooks.

This is probably the thinnest and lightest Macbook you will ever get. With dimensions of 12.1 x 8.7 x 2.1 inches and a weight of 2.03 lbs. it is small enough to fit into a small shoulder bag. Thanks to Apple’s innovative terraced battery design, almost every inch inside the body is used. Thus, MacBook 12” does not have to give up on battery life. It lasts up to 10 hours.

The only major problem we can talk about is connectivity. MacBook goes with a single does-it-all USB-C on this model which forces you to buy a multiport adapter if you are planning to connect multiple peripherals, displays, or storage devices to it.

3. Best Silent Gaming Laptop with Quiet Fans

Asus ROG Zepherus G14

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 4900HS
GPU: Nvidia RTX 2060 Max-Q
16GB 3200MHz RAM
1TB PCIe SSD
14" FHD 120Hz IPS-Level Display
Up to 13 hours
3.5 lbs

Let me get this straight, there is no fanless gaming laptop. Do not believe anyone who says the opposite. The reason behind that is, the passive cooling technology to keep high-end CPU/GPUs under 80 degrees Celcius (176 °F) is not invented yet. Also not any CPU/GPU on market can sustain +100 °C for a long time.

Luckily, manufacturers started working on quieter models already. One of them is Asus Zepherus G14. It is equipped with an Nvidia RTX 2060 Max-Q GPU.

Max-Q line of graphics cards are designed to create the fastest, thinnest and quietest energy-efficient gaming laptops, according to Nvidia.

Moreover, Asus used GC Extreme TIM (thermal interface materials) upgrades for Cooler system temperatures of GPU/CPU. So they can prevent throttling and minimize fan noise.

G14 has a maximum 45 dB noise level at Turbo mode. Silent mode can go as low as 23 dB while fans are still cooling the system but it runs with a bit restrained performance. You can still use software to limit fan speed, reduce your clocks and get rid of extra noise as much as possible. Of course, every bit of silence cost performance.

Now you know this machine is as silent as a gaming laptop can get. Another reason we choose it is that G14 can still run the latest AAA games with ease while not sounding like a jet engine. AMD 4th Generation Ryzen 9 (8 Core – 16 Thread) Processor can go up to 4.3 GHz on turbo mode. It is a total multi-threading monster. CPU-wise you are in good hands.

Also NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q with 6 GB GDDR6 VRAM is good enough to run latest games at medium-high settings and somewhat older games at ultra with ease. 16 GB 3200MHz RAM and 1 TB PCIe SSD are both top level hardware for gaming laptops.

You know how good Nvidia RTX 2000 series is, believe it or not, it is the weakest part of this build. You can now imagine the performance of other parts.

14″ FHD 120Hz IPS-Level Display is large enough for a gamer and 120 Hz is very important especially if you play competitive games like CS:GO, Overwatch, Valorant, etc.

Also, with 3.5 lbs weight and 13 hrs battery, it is one of the best portable gaming laptops on market.

Lastly, dot matrix design on the lid made with 1,215 mini-LEDs creates a visual feast. It is definitely one of the coolest looking laptops out there.

4. Best Fanless PC for Performance

Acer Switch 7

CPU: Intel i7-8550U
GPU: Nvidia MX150
16GB RAM
512GB SSD
13.5" (2256 x 1504) multi-touch IPS
8 Hours
3.53 lbs.

This is the powerhouse of fanless laptops. Were you afraid of performance problems while looking for a fanless laptop? Fear no more! Acer Switch is equally good as performance laptops with fans. Acer somehow managed to keep temperatures low enough for Intel i7-8550U to let it do its work with Dual LiquidLoop cooling instead of fans and we appreciate it.

It comes with a stylus and the pen works great on the sensitive multi-touch screen. Using it on a 2256×1504 IPS display adds an extra taste. You can use it as a tablet, laptop or at stand mode. Nvidia MX150 GPU adds visual software capabilities and opens up some room for soft gaming.

Despite being a tablet-laptop, Acer Switch 7 has much higher port availability than average laptop, including a thunderbolt and a regular USB 3.0.

Even if it has specs of other high performance laptops on the market, Swift 7 has a good weight and battery life to travel. Shortly, we can say this tablet pc has everything you expect from a laptop but still manages to take out the noise of the equation.

5. Best Budget Fanless Laptop

ASUS VivoBook Flip 14

If you do not expect much from a laptop, this is a great choice for an average user. It is super-cheap for a 14” FullHD touchscreen Windows 10 laptop. Also, since you read this, you should be looking for a fanless laptop. Vivobook Flip 14 is one of them.

It meets all requirements for surfing on web, watching videos and working on documents. But if you will use heavy software like AutoCAD or Photoshop, check out other options.

While most laptops on this price range comes with a 1366×768 display, you can enjoy Full HD 1920×1080 on Flip 14.

This robust laptop is aluminum instead of plastic which is very popular at this price range. Durable hinges can resist thousands of rotations and since the body is made of aluminum, they will not pop out of the body.

As it is a cheap product, it should have some weaknesses right? For Flip 14, that is storage. 64 GB eMMC storage will not be enough if you keep lots of media and documents on your device. So, you should be careful about what to keep.

Also, the webcam has a poor visual quality. If you are planning to do lots of video calls, this might not be the right laptop for you.

Note: On the deal we choose, you can get 1 year Microsoft office 360 for free!

6. Best Fanless Laptop for Cooling

Acer Spin 7

Acer Spin 7 is another great fanless laptop from Acer who release lots of new models lately. It is one of the thinnest laptops out there. While thin body looks like it will easily bend with a bit of overpressure, Acer did their best to keep it as rigid as possible.

The aluminum body of the laptop is sturdier than it looks. It is connected with 2 solid hinges that provides you 360 degrees use. Also, the screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 4 that used on many smartphones to avoid scratches and impacts.

As 8 hours battery life is not that impressive that is a sacrifice Acer made to make Spin 7 as thin as possible. Moreover, smaller battery made it possible to create this featherweight laptop.

14 inch Full HD IPS display will satisfy you with both colors and touchscreen quality. Performance-wise it is adequate for professional and casual use. If you want to run heavy programs or games on your laptop, it might not be a good choice for you.

7. Best Fanless Chromebook

Asus Chromebook Flip C302

If you are on a tight budget, Chromebook Flip C302 is a sufficient solution to end your fanless laptop search. It is quite portable with 2.65 lbs. weight and 8.3 x 12 x 0.5 inches dimensions. 10 hours battery life allows all-day long productivity.

Since it is a Chromebook, C302 does not run Windows 10. Instead it uses ChromeOS as operating system. You can learn more about Chromebooks here. If you already fine with Chromebooks or you are just convinced to buy one after a short research, check out these 10 Chromebooks under $300.

12.5” Full HD touchscreen can give you fine visual experience. Also it is covered by Corning Gorilla Glass for extra protection. As it is a small foldable laptop, you will be using it as a tablet a lot. Only thing we did not like about the screen is thick bezels, especially at top and bottom. They did a better job with the bezels on newer model C434. Make sure to check it out too.

Last point to mention is the backlit keyboard. Even it sounds like a small feature, it can be a lifesaver for some situations.

8. Best Fanless Laptop with 4K Display

Dell XPS 12

Renowned XPS series has a new member of the family now. It is a very different approach from DELL. They focused on portability and flexibility in this model. This 2.8 lbs. laptop can be even lighter when you detach the keyboard. Yes, it is a detachable laptop that can be used as a tablet. So you can detach keyboard when you just want to crawl into bed to just surf on the web or take your laptop just to watch some Netflix on the metro.

Speaking of watching Netflix, this laptop/tablet might have a higher resolution than your TV if it is not equal. 4K display will fascinate you with immense visual quality. However, it has a downside. As the 4K display drains the battery at high rates, it will not last more than 4.5 hours. If you go hard on it, you can encounter a black screen in 3-4 hours. So, keep this in mind if you are planning to buy this laptop.

Best fanless laptops of 2022 are listed here for you to easily make your choice without spending countless hours on researching. All you have to do is compare them and go with the one with features you need.

2 thoughts on “Best Fanless Laptops (Silent & Cool) 2022”

Robert Sczech

6 September 2020 at 08:36

Excellent discussion of fanless computers. I am so tired of computers making noise and overheating, that I buy only fanless designs. These computers seem to last much longer. Presently, I am using a 3 year old Asus Windows machine. I am thinking of buying the 12″ Macbook which is supposed to come out in a few months just to have a smaller computer.

Fanless designs consume much less power. That is a principal advantage. Presently, the internet and all the computers connected to it consume more than 10% of all electric power generated in the US. That is a lot of carbon emissions. In my judgement, speed is not as important as low power consumption. A silent car is more desirable than a noise hot rod. The survival or our civilization will demand a radical decrease of electricity consumption. And fanless designs are an important step in this direction.

Please keeo this list updated.
- Arden
  
  30 September 2020 at 03:44
  
  Thanks for sharing your thoughts and appreciating our hardwork. We are trying our best to keep our content high-quality and updated as much as we can.