Simulated thermal performance and sustained processor power of the fanless Thinvent IPC5 and IPC3 industrial PCs

Will the IPC5 or IPC3 run cool enough for your site?

  • Continuous fanless running: In simulated still air, both the IPC5 and IPC3 run all day at their processor's base power (the power it is designed to run at continuously) across the full 0 to 50 °C operating range without throttling (when a processor reaches its 100 °C limit and slows itself down to stay safe). Simulated sustained limits in a 50 °C room are 32 W for the IPC5 and 30 W for the IPC3 (rising to 48 W and 45 W in a 25 °C room), leaving headroom above every shipped processor's 15 W or 28 W base rating.
  • Short speed bursts (turbo): Processors briefly draw 55 to 64 W for short bursts of extra speed before settling back to base power. Neither unit sustains maximum turbo continuously, which is normal for fanless PCs. In a simulated 35 °C room, a maximum turbo burst peaks the processor at about 82 °C (28 W class) or 73 to 76 °C (15 W class), well below the 100 °C throttling limit.
  • How warm the case gets: The aluminium case acts as the heatsink and gets noticeably warm. At continuous base power in a 25, 35 and 45 °C room, the simulated hottest spot on the lid reaches 52, 61 and 70 °C on the IPC5 with the 28 W Core i5-1240P; 42, 51 and 61 °C on the IPC5 with a 15 W processor; and 44, 53 and 62 °C on the IPC3 with a 15 W processor. The average case surface is a few degrees cooler.
  • Which model to choose: Choose the IPC5 (210 x 197 x 65 mm, black anodised aluminium) if you need the higher-power 28 W Intel Core i5-1240P, or a 15 W Core i5, i7, Core 5 or Core Ultra 5 processor with maximum cooling headroom. Choose the IPC3 (231 x 200 x 52 mm, silver anodised aluminium) if a 15 W Core i3 processor meets your needs and you want a slimmer case with side mounting flanges.
  • Where you install it matters: All figures are simulated with the unit lying flat in open, still air (calibrated against one laboratory test on an IPC5-profile unit at 24.9 W in a 26 °C room: 75 °C processor, 52 °C case; simulation uncertainty is a few degrees). "Room temperature" means the air immediately around the PC: putting it inside a closed cabinet heats up that trapped air, so keep the cabinet ventilated or allow airflow over the fins, which lowers temperatures below these still-air figures.

Sustained processor power across room temperatures

Sustained processor power across room temperatures
Simulated in still air, the IPC5 sustains the 28 W base rating of the Intel Core i5-1240P (the processor in most IPC5 units shipped) and both enclosures sustain the 15 W U-series base rating up to a 50 °C room, while neither sustains maximum turbo power continuously.

Hottest case point by processor power and room temperature (28 W class)

Hottest case point by processor power and room temperature (28 W class)
Modelled peak temperature on the black anodised IPC5 with the Core i5-1240P; where requested power exceeds what the enclosure sustains at a 100 °C processor limit, the processor throttles to the sustained wattages shown.

Hottest case point by processor power and room temperature (15 W class)

Hottest case point by processor power and room temperature (15 W class)
Modelled peak enclosure temperatures for the shipped 15 W U-series processors (Core i5-1335U, i7-1255U, Core Ultra 5 125U and Core 5 120U in the IPC5; Core i3-1215U and i3-1315U in the IPC3), with the top dotted line marking the 55 W maximum turbo rating (57 W on the Core Ultra 5 125U).

Hottest and average case temperature against processor power

Hottest and average case temperature against processor power
Simulated average enclosure surface temperature stays up to 8 °C below the hottest point across the load range, showing heat spreading across the case up to each curve's throttling limit.

Processor junction temperature against processor power

Processor junction temperature against processor power
Modelled core temperature rises linearly with load until it reaches the 100 °C maximum junction rating, where the processor lowers its own power to stay at 100 °C.

Ninety-minute response from idle to a maximum turbo burst and base load

Ninety-minute response from idle to a maximum turbo burst and base load
In a simulated 35 °C room, a maximum turbo burst followed by continuous base load peaks the processor around 82 °C (IPC5 at 64 W then 28 W) or 73 to 76 °C (IPC5 and IPC3 at 55 W then 15 W) before settling as the enclosure warms over 90 minutes.

Whole lid surface temperature to scale at base power

Whole lid surface temperature to scale at base power
Simulated lid temperature from above in a 35 °C room across the 210 x 197 mm IPC5 and the 231 x 200 mm IPC3 (the uncoloured strips on the sides of the IPC3 outline are its mounting flanges).

Close-up of the warmest part of each lid at base power

Close-up of the warmest part of each lid at base power
Modelled 90 x 90 mm close-up around the warmest spot on each lid in a 35 °C room, where 0.5 °C isotherms show a gradual temperature drop away from the processor beneath.

Cross-section of the Thinvent IPC5 at 28 W base power

Cross-section of the Thinvent IPC5 at 28 W base power
Simulated heat flow through the 210 x 197 x 65 mm black anodised aluminium IPC5 in a 35 °C room, conducting heat from the Core i5-1240P and board into the case walls and twenty-eight 13 mm top fins.

Cross-section of the Thinvent IPC3 at 15 W base power

Cross-section of the Thinvent IPC3 at 15 W base power
Simulated heat flow through the slimmer 231 x 200 x 52 mm silver anodised aluminium IPC3 in a 35 °C room, spreading heat from the U-series processor into its twenty-eight 7 mm top fins and flanged body.

How we simulated

Each complete enclosure was modelled from its design CAD in a three-dimensional heat-flow simulation of about 4 million cells, lying flat in still air with natural convection and radiation, plus 5 W from the rest of the board added to processor power.

Surface emissivity was set to handbook values of 0.88 for the black anodised IPC5 and 0.80 for the clear anodised IPC3.

One laboratory measurement on an IPC5-profile enclosure at 24.9 W in a 26 °C room (75 °C processor, 52 °C case) matches the simulation, which was set to match that reading; every other result on this page, including all IPC3 figures, is simulated.

Modelled temperatures carry an uncertainty of a few degrees, and fitting a unit inside a closed cabinet will raise the air temperature around it.