Too Cool?

MichaelS wrote on 6/5/2005, 8:58 AM

With most of us trying to squeeze the last drop of performance out of our systems, adding hard drives and burners, sound and video cards, multitasking, etc...pushing our processors and power supplies to the limit. Can you keep your computer's temperature too cool, or is it healthy to allow the system to generate and retain a moderate amount of heat?

I was experiencing what I believe were heat related problems a few months back. I popped the cover and now keep it cool with a small fan. All internal elements are now cool to the touch. No more problems! Is this a good thing?

Comments

johnmeyer wrote on 6/5/2005, 9:15 AM

Heat kills. There is no such thing as too cool. However, in a well-designed computer, the components will stay cooler, on average, with the case closed, because the fans provide active circulation of air over critial components. With the case open, that air just goes out the barn door and never gets to the animals.

JohnnyRoy wrote on 6/5/2005, 10:32 AM

Cool is... well... COOL! Never too cool. What you might want to do is figure out WHY you are having heat related problems because if the open case with a fan solved them, it was definitely a heat related problem.

One thing to check for is dust build-up. The fan on your processor blows down! This means it takes all the dust in the air and packs it firmly into the fins of your heat sink. Try vacuuming the heat sink on the processor. After one year, the dust on my processor was so thick; it lifted off like a pad of felt. (this is not good) So vacuum out the case, fans, & heat sinks.

It could just be because you added more heat generating components to a PC that was not designed to handle it (large hard drives get very hot these days). If it was a mass produced PC like a Dell, HP, IBM, etc., it probably has a barely minimal power supply and fans for heat dissipation. Companies that mass produce PC’s only guarantee that what they gave you will work (and they cut corners all they can). Once you start adding components, you’re pushing the limits. You could try and get a better fan for the back, or add a fan to the front if there is room for one. You might not be able to get a new CPU fan because some mass manufacturers are using non-standard CPU mounts so a 3rd party fan won’t fit.

Other than that, if it’s a mass produced PC, you are basically stuck. You can’t buy a new computer case and expect a Dell, HP, IBM , etc. motherboard to fit in it. Their motherboards have connectors that only fit their cases. Consider buying your next PC from a boutique builder like ABS Computers, who use all industry standard parts. This way you can swap out any parts you want including the case and motherboard and you don’t have to throw out the whole PC. In general, only buy a mass produced PC if you are willing to buy a new one instead of upgrading because your upgrade options with these PC’s is very limited.

~jr