FANLESS GPUS?
In order to keep this build totally fanless, we had to forego a graphics card. This was a blessing in disguise at the time, because it meant we didn’t have to enact a dark ritual to summon an appropriate GPU in these troubled times. If you’re willing to brave the waters of eBay and do want to include a GPU, though, you have a few options here. A handful of old Nvidia GT 1030 and 1050 cards came in passively-cooled models, such as the MSI GeForce GTX 1030 2GH LP OC. These generally aren’t too difficult to find used and are likely to cost you around $150.
As you can tell from our benchmark results, this isn’t a system built for playing games. The GT 1030 is only just capable of playing games at 1080p, so the performance gains over these integrated graphics will be small. If you’re absolutely committed to gaming on a silent rig, a more powerful option is the GTX 1650 KalmX from Palit, but these are difficult to track down. We contacted Palit to discuss the card (it is, to date, the most recently released fanless GPU), but unfortunately the manufacturer no longer produces it and currently has no plans to produce new KalmX cards.
A potential solution is to passively cool a GPU yourself, although this requires a lot more work. You could do this by water-blocking the GPU and connecting it to a large fanless radiator to liquid cool it, or potentially by purchasing a dedicated passive cooler. A small number of manufacturers sell these, such as the Morpheus II Core from Raijintek, which is compatible with cards up to the GTX 1080. Bear in mind that both of these options will require you to either buy a stripped GPU or remove the aftermarket cooler yourself.