Sounds like the right choice. They were really scarce last Summer and I was happy to get a passive board.@miraculix that does make some sense about supported vs actual config that would be used (ie fan added), having said that I did not see anywhere the required fan / fan mount to do it. Does not seem to be mentioned in the manual either.
Got me thinking I should change my idea now ... I still can since the board I want is still not yet in stock but actually the active cooled version is.
For anyone dealing with a similar situation... I added a drop of high temp epoxy between each heatsink screw head (which are rimmed and have a shallow cup shape) and the anti vibration pads on a 60mm Noctua. Easy jury rigging and it works great even with the board's vertical mounting.