can i take off my computer cover and aim a fan towards it to reduce over heating

  • Thread starter Thread starter caz
  • Start date Start date
C

caz

in the summer my room gets very hot, is it safe to use my
computer while the cover is off and with a fan aimed
towards it to reduce overheating?
 
Hi, nice one Al, only the fan is on the wrong side. There is a risk that the
interface with the keyboard gets blown away :-)
Chris C
 
caz said:
in the summer my room gets very hot, is it safe to use my
computer while the cover is off and with a fan aimed
towards it to reduce overheating?
Click to expand...

That frequently works (I've used it), but:

1. With the covers off, the shields are down; the EMI radiation from
the innards of your PC might interfere with TVs and other stuff in
your house. And, your PC probably violates FCC regulations, but
nobody really cares about that little technicality.

2. The fan might cause cables inside your PC to shake enough to
dislodge. Don't go crazy with high-velocity fans, since modest
air flow is enough. And, pay some attention to aiming the fan
at the hot devices: maybe the CPU chip, maybe the HDs; when I
used a fan, it was to cool the red-hot video card that wouldn't
work without extra cooling.
 
It all depends on why the computer is getting too hot with
the cover on.

The enclosed case not only serves to confine and direct air
flow inside the case but it traps RFI signals which will
cause interference with your TV and radio and perhaps your
neighbors too. If that happens and the neighbors complain
you could be in trouble with the FCC or the local version of
same.

If you do use a fan, be sure it is properly aimed. The fan
on the heatsink is drawing air in and up through the cooling
fins, if you aim a powerful fan at the CPU it could be
cancelled by the air flow of the two fans.

You can do the same cooling, perhaps better. with some
"housekeeping" inside the case to make sure there are no
dead air pockets or ribbon cables blocking air flow. You
can put a clear plastic sheet over the open case and use
smoke to watch the direction of air-flow, looking for swirls
or dead spots. Those can then be fixed with internal
baffles, repositioning or adding more case fans or adding
slot fans or ducted fans. Intel recommends that the ambient
air temperature be below 40 C (104 F) so your place must be
very hot.


--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.


| in the summer my room gets very hot, is it safe to use my
| computer while the cover is off and with a fan aimed
| towards it to reduce overheating?
 
It all depends on why the computer is getting too hot with
the cover on.

The enclosed case not only serves to confine and direct air
flow inside the case but it traps RFI signals which will
cause interference with your TV and radio and perhaps your
neighbors too. If that happens and the neighbors complain
you could be in trouble with the FCC or the local version of
same.

If you do use a fan, be sure it is properly aimed. The fan
on the heatsink is drawing air in and up through the cooling
fins, if you aim a powerful fan at the CPU it could be
cancelled by the air flow of the two fans.

You can do the same cooling, perhaps better. with some
"housekeeping" inside the case to make sure there are no
dead air pockets or ribbon cables blocking air flow. You
can put a clear plastic sheet over the open case and use
smoke to watch the direction of air-flow, looking for swirls
or dead spots. Those can then be fixed with internal
baffles, repositioning or adding more case fans or adding
slot fans or ducted fans. Intel recommends that the ambient
air temperature be below 40 C (104 F) so your place must be
very hot.


--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.


| in the summer my room gets very hot, is it safe to use my
| computer while the cover is off and with a fan aimed
| towards it to reduce overheating?
 
Greetings --

Yes, as long as there's no danger of curious little fingers (iow,
children) getting into the open case and poking around.

Bruce Chambers
--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. - RAH
 
Greetings --

Overclocking, are we? ;-}

Bruce Chambers
--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. - RAH
 
Very true.


--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.


| One other thing he can do.....replace any ATA ribbon cable
with round ones.
|
|
in message
| | > It all depends on why the computer is getting too hot
with
| > the cover on.
| >
| > The enclosed case not only serves to confine and direct
air
| > flow inside the case but it traps RFI signals which
will
| > cause interference with your TV and radio and perhaps
your
| > neighbors too. If that happens and the neighbors
complain
| > you could be in trouble with the FCC or the local
version of
| > same.
| >
| > If you do use a fan, be sure it is properly aimed. The
fan
| > on the heatsink is drawing air in and up through the
cooling
| > fins, if you aim a powerful fan at the CPU it could be
| > cancelled by the air flow of the two fans.
| >
| > You can do the same cooling, perhaps better. with some
| > "housekeeping" inside the case to make sure there are no
| > dead air pockets or ribbon cables blocking air flow.
You
| > can put a clear plastic sheet over the open case and use
| > smoke to watch the direction of air-flow, looking for
swirls
| > or dead spots. Those can then be fixed with internal
| > baffles, repositioning or adding more case fans or
adding
| > slot fans or ducted fans. Intel recommends that the
ambient
| > air temperature be below 40 C (104 F) so your place must
be
| > very hot.
| >
| >
| > --
| > The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
| > But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
| >
| >
message
| > | > | in the summer my room gets very hot, is it safe to use
my
| > | computer while the cover is off and with a fan aimed
| > | towards it to reduce overheating?
| >
| >
|
|
 
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