The first third-party fan-free case designed for Intel's D54250WYK, the Next Unit of Computing (NUC) small form factor board which boasts a fourth-generation Haswell processor, has been teased by Impactics ahead of launch.

Spotted by silent cooling specialist site FanlessTech, the Impactics cases are designed specifically to cool the Core i5-4250U processor found at the heart of Intel's latest ultra-compact NUC board. As with fan-free cases for previous NUC models, the as-yet unnamed Impactics cases work by connecting the CPU to a large passive heatsink which doubles as the exterior surface of the case. The result is a desktop-class system with, when fitted with a solid-state drive, zero moving parts for total silence.

Little is known about the cases, which currently exist in prototype form, but their design certainly suggests they shouldn't have a problem cooling the Haswell processor in Intel's D54250WYK. The external heatsink is constructed from a single piece of aluminium, curved to cover both sides as well as the top with only the underside not being covered in fins. Compared to an internal heatsink, the fins are pretty thick - but their sheer number should mean enough surface area for passive cooling without the need for fan-based forced convection.

The usual ports available on the NUC - mini DisplayPort and HDMI ports, analogue audio, gigabit Ethernet and two USB 3.0 - are all included at the rear, while the NUC's internal USB 3.0 header connects to a pair of ports at the front of the case. FanlessTech has also confirmed that there will be a specific home-theatre edition, which breaks out the NUC's infra-red sensor and pulls a headphone output to the front of the case.

Pricing and availability for the Impactics cases have yet to be confirmed.
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