Fanless 1030 in S4 Mini Question

[Coach_Rico]

Hi everyone, the 45% low speed limit on my Zotac 1050ti mini is really bothering me and I am considering downgrading to a fanless GT 1030 like this one. My S4 mini is sitting horizontal on my desk 2 feet away from me and I am wondering if the small amount of space between the GPU heatsink and the desk will leave sufficient airflow for proper cooling. I only use this computer for work, email, internet and other basic task. No gaming. Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

[Kooki]

I have a Zotac GTX1050 and the 45% minimum really annoys me. I'm still waiting for someone to figure how to edit its BIOS to change the fan limitations.

I had an HD7750 in semi-passive mode for very long and it could drive 2 1080p monitors when doing basic stuff without the fan ever turning on.

The model I had was the following:

This HD7750 has almost no heatsink for passive cooling and also has that shroud all over it. But since I was fine with it, I'd guess you'd be fine with a GT1030 with proper heatsink for passive operation.