Fed up with noisy laptop fans? Fanless cooling tech could soon bring you peace

An angry office worker preparing to smash his laptop with a hammer.
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

An innovative new cooling solution could lead to the demise of the laptop fan, if it really is as effective as its creators suggest. San Jose-based firm Frore Systems have developed a revolutionary new ‘cooling chip’ that could be implemented to provided superior - and near-silent - cooling for everything from the best ultrabooks to even the best VR headset.

This isn’t passive cooling, either; despite the lack of fans, these chips (dubbed the ‘AirJet’) provide active airflow by vibrating super-thin membranes inside the chip at ultrasonic frequencies to generate jets of air. The name is nothing if not appropriate.

This process provides cooling by sucking colder air in through small vents on the upper surface of the chip, then blasting it through a narrow chamber on the underside, where it comes into contact with a heat spreader plate. The spreader absorbs heat from the component being cooled (for example, the copper heat pipes found connected to most laptop processors) and dissipates it via the AirJet’s internal airflow, venting warm waste air from one end of the chip.

One small step for laptop fans

Even the very best laptops can have problems with fan drone when under heavy load (barring, of course, the iconic fanless MacBook Air), and Frore System’s solution could supposedly eliminate the problem entirely.

The technology - which comes in two flavors, the AirJet Mini and the larger but more powerful AirJet Pro - is claimed to outperform conventional laptop fans significantly due to the massively increased air pressure generated by the tiny chamber inside the 2.8mm-thick chip.

According to its creators, the AirJet function at 21 dBA. That’s quieter than a human whisper, approaching the lower echelons of human hearing; for reference, the average laptop fan sits above 40 dBA, while normal speech sits at around 65 dBA. The chip also requires only a tiny amount of power, just a single Watt for the AirJet Mini.

Frore Systems also claims to have fitted a passively-cooled Arm-based notebook with four AirJet Mini units, and found that the processor could run at its full turbo frequency without issue - while using the existing passive cooling system resulted in frequent throttling down to a lower frequency.

Frore System is currently working with Intel and its laptop partners to (hopefully) deliver a new laptop using AirJet cooling by the end of 2023, but don’t get too excited; this is fledgling technology, and CNX Software noted that Frore has previously said that tech this advanced will come with ‘competitive’ pricing, so we can probably expect it to show up exclusively in high-end devices first.

Christian Guyton
Editor, Computing

Christian is TechRadar’s UK-based Computing Editor. He came to us from Maximum PC magazine, where he fell in love with computer hardware and building PCs. He was a regular fixture amongst our freelance review team before making the jump to TechRadar, and can usually be found drooling over the latest high-end graphics card or gaming laptop before looking at his bank account balance and crying.

Christian is a keen campaigner for LGBTQ+ rights and the owner of a charming rescue dog named Lucy, having adopted her after he beat cancer in 2021. She keeps him fit and healthy through a combination of face-licking and long walks, and only occasionally barks at him to demand treats when he’s trying to work from home.

Read more
Canva
It's just a concept for now, but this RTX 5090 liquid-cooled gaming laptop is possibly the craziest thing I've seen in a while
One of the best laptop cooling pad picks against a techradar background
The best laptop cooling pad in 2025: top picks to keep your laptop chilled
Maxtang SXRL-20 mini pc
This fanless PC looks like a giant heatsink and has one incredible feature: five, yes five, 4K-capable HDMI ports
AC cooling GPU
Cooling an RTX 5090 GPU using a 12,000 BTU HVAC? I am not sure that is a good idea at all
The Tecknet N5 Laptop Cooling Pad on a pink background at a 3/4 angle.
This laptop cooling pad isn't all that stunning – but my testing shows it offers seriously cool running
iPhone 16 in ultra marine
Apple tipped to add vapor chamber cooling to the iPhone 17 to prevent overheating
Latest in Windows Laptops
Asus Vivobook S laptop on yellow background with price cut text overlay
I've looked through hundreds of laptop deals in the Spring sales - this $599 Asus Vivobook has them all beat
The Surface Laptop 7 on a cyan background with a TechRadar deals badge.
This Windows laptop is 31% off in Amazon's Spring Sale and we scored it 5 stars – so why is Amazon putting a warning label on it?
The Microsoft Surface Laptop on a blue background with text saying Lowest price next to it.
The Microsoft Surface Laptop is our best-rated model and right now it's close to half price with this massive $700 discount
Dell XPS 13 Laptop in graphite on yellow background with big savings sign
Save $400 on the top-rated Dell XPS 13 - one of the best laptops money can buy
The Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro on a blue background next to text saying Don't Miss.
This half-price Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro is easily the best Presidents' Day laptop deal
Microsoft Surface Pro on a blue background
Best Buy has a huge $350 discount on this excellent high-end Surface Pro bundle
Latest in News
Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin Rennovations
Disney’s giving a classic Buzz Lightyear ride a tech overhaul – here's everything you need to know
Hisense U8 series TV on wall in living room
Hisense announces 2025 mini-LED TV lineup, with screen sizes up to 100 inches – and a surprising smart TV switch
Nintendo Music teaser art
Nintendo Music expands its library with songs from Kirby and the Forgotten Land and Tetris
Opera AI Tabs
Opera's new AI feature brings order to your browser tab chaos
An image of Pro-Ject's Flatten it closed and opened
Pro-Ject’s new vinyl flattener will fix any warped LPs you inadvertently buy on Record Store Day
The iPhone 16 Pro on a grey background
iPhone 17 Pro tipped to get 8K video recording – but I want these 3 video features instead