[sliverstorm]

On the bright side, passive cooling generally can't fail, unless you physically snap something in two or separate the heatsink from the die. Notice that laptops generally have cooling problems as they age- I'm sure some of this is due to the processor degrading over time, but most is going to be due to gradual failure of the cooling system as the fan dies and the fins fill with dust. Neither is usually a problem with passive systems.