My opinion is yes. Try to use the largest duct diameter you can, say 8" or more- and a hood with a large 'capture' area- all more important if you're searing or any combination of high heat and fats- like cooking bacon in the morning.

Obviously for a lot of cooking you'll just set the fan to low or not even turn it on.

Probably not. It depends partly on how you cook -- definitely not if you sear meat or use a wok.

Note too that the actual, effective cfm you get depends on your ducting and makeup air. It will probably be quite a bit less than what the blower is rated at.

The other general principle is to err on the high side: if you end up with a more powerful blower than you need, you can always dial it down in use.

I have that exact Bluestar config and I don't use a hood at all. NO HOOD.I can tell you from 5 years experience it's been no problem 95% of the time. Searing meats on the stovetop is the only problem and I open a window and sometimes put a fan on next to the window. Or I broil the steaks etc in the oven, and the broiler burns off any grease smoke.

I have that range and a 600 CFM Modern Aire range hood. I haven't got to try them yet as this is a new home and gas doesn't get turned on until Tuesday. I will tell you that this hood is a lot noisier than I expected, even though I have a short run 8" duct (1 elbow and 1-13" section). I am wondering whether I should have gone for the Magic Lung hood as it was a lot quieter when I heard it in the show room than the Modern-Aire. I didn't have a chance to hear the Modern-Aire before I purchased it.

I think the only real way to have a "quiet" hood is to have a remote blower.

-Stooxie

I have a CC with a 600 CFM hood. It is plenty, even with the Wok and searing meat. 1/2 the time I only use one fan, usually on low. It kicks up to high by itself when things get hot enough.