Why does my laptop have a fan, is it just for the processor?

[Ffosse]

I have a Lenovo Yoga 510 with a core i3; it also has a noisy fan which kicks in sometimes when I'm not even doing anything intensive. It has a 128GB SSD.

My Chromebook has no fan and I prefer it that way. Sadly, the Chromebook is ageing with a dodgy power button and I've had to use the laptop more recently. I prefer the Chromebook as it has a 1080 screen, same as the Lenovo but is much lighter and has longer battery life.

Is it just the processor that needs a fan? How come phones with powerful processors don't need fans? Only my One Plus 3t gets slightly warm when playing some games.

 

[kevinof]

The fan is there to eliminate the heat generated by the processor , audio and ssd/drive and other components by convection - ie keep moving air through the laptop and out goes the hot air and is replaced by cooler.

A laptop is more powerful that your average phone and therefore gets a lot hotter. Some of the newer systems are fan less and can tolerate much higher temps and not do any damage.

 

[Tsepz]

I have a Lenovo Yoga 510 with a core i3; it also has a noisy fan which kicks in sometimes when I'm not even doing anything intensive. It has a 128GB SSD.

My Chromebook has no fan and I prefer it that way. Sadly, the Chromebook is ageing with a dodgy power button and I've had to use the laptop more recently. I prefer the Chromebook as it has a 1080 screen, same as the Lenovo but is much lighter and has longer battery life.

Is it just the processor that needs a fan? How come phones with powerful processors don't need fans? Only my One Plus 3t gets slightly warm when playing some games.

Some of them maybe using different types of cooling systems.

Smartphones tend to use Liquid Cooling:
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Feel...reading-heat-pipes-for-liquid-cooling_id80308

You may find that your Chromebook and OnePlus 3T have this system, along with heat shields as well.