July 7, 2010

Keeping computer, laptop and you cool during hot summer days!

Summer sure is hot. Which can be very bad for your computer, laptop, and yourself. When your computer, or laptop overheats, they can be unstable and randomly freeze, restart, or shutdown. This means you might lose your work because you forgot to save before your computer overheated.

Normally, you do not need to add an extra fan to your PC since your computer company installed enough fans to properly cool your computer. However, over time your computer fans gets clogged with dust. I recommend opening up your PC case and using a canned of compress air which you can buy at a local electronics or computer store to use to blow out the dust bunnies. Use short burst of air to prevent over spinning the fans since spinning your fans too fast with compressed air can damage them.

Desktop computer cooling

If your fans are dying on your computer, even after cleaning them, you can try adding a drop of oil to them if there is a hole under the sticker. If there is not, you need to buy a fan which will fit your computer. Make sure to install them on the right way. If the fan is at the back, then air should be blowing out of the case. If the fan is on the front, it should be blowing air into the case. The CPU fan should be sucking air onto the CPU heat sink. Putting your desktop on a table instead of the floor also reduces dust build up.

You can also replace your power supply with a high efficiency 80plus power supply since they use less electricity and run cooler. Plus, they usually have better fans then the cheap power supplies.

 Also, tidying up your cables can also improve airflow in your computer. I recommend using Cable ties to tidy up your wires inside your computer case.

If you still use IDE drives, you can use rounded IDE cables to improve airflow inside your computer case since rounded cables use less space which improve air flow.

If none of these tips help at lowering the temperature of your CPU or video card. There is a possible your Heat sink's thermal compound or heat sink is not properly seated on your CPU or video card.

  Desktop Computer Overclocking cooling tips

I also recommend water cooling, or a better fan heat sink for your CPU, Video card, memory/RAM, chipsets (North and South Bridge chips on motherboard)  and fans which push more air if you are an Over clocker.






Using a better Thermal compound like Arctic Silver 5 can also improve your cooling performance for CPUs, video cards, and chip sets since silver paste has better heat transfer capabilities compared to the standard silicon thermal paste. When applying thermal paste, gently clean up the old thermal paste on your heat sink and CPU die with "99% pure rubbing alcohol" and a cotton swab, and make sure your paste is spread out as thin as possible with a plastic card like a credit card or ruler.

Hard drives can also get kind of warm, but they don't need cooling in most cases unless the computer case is extremely hot for some reason, there are also hard drive coolers available for them or you can buy Solid State drives which generate not a lot of heat compared to mechanical drives.

Buying a new full size metal ATX case made of steel or aluminium with lots of fans for your computer can also cool it down a lot if your computer case is made out of plastic. 

Keeping down computer noise while keeping computer cool!

By installing more faster fans on your computer, you will experience more noise. But, there are computer cooling products you can buy to make your computer not as loud.

If you find your computer too load from the fans, you could buy a fan controller for your fans.

You can also buy a case that is better constructed which vibrate less from fan and hard drive vibrations and better fan dampening features and buy quieter fans, but they push less air in some cases due to a slower RPM speed.

 Noise absorbing gaskets and screws which go between tour case and fan might also prevent some noise.

Passive/fanless CPU heatsinks, power supplies, chip set, video cards, and hard drive coolers can also decrease the noise of your computer while keeping it cool. But, I recommend you at least have one system fan to keep decent system air circulation


Laptop cooling


Make sure you use your laptop on a hard surface like a table, and none of the air vents are blocked or clogged with dusts. If they are clogged with dust, it is best to take it to a computer shop to have the laptop dissembled and cleaned since opening a laptops case can be very difficult.

You can also buy a Laptop cooler for your Laptop or Netbook which runs off or USB, so you do not have to worry about using a power adapter or batteries.

Cooling yourself and your environment.

You can buy a fan, Air conditioning  or USB fan to cool yourself off if you are very hot when you use your computer in your computer room. I also find closing the curtains when it is sunny, and opening a window can help if your room is sunny, but you do not have a fan. By having a cool environment, you and your computer will be a lot cooler which will make your computer, and yourself run at its best.

Ink Jet printers and LCD monitors also run cooler compared to Laser printers and CRT tube Monitors. Plus, they use power more efficiently, so you can use more of your electricity to run your Air conditioner, or Fans.

You can also try replacing your lighting regular light bulbs, halogen, spotlights, lava-lamps with Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs or LED light bulbs since they generate less heat and use less electricity. They also last longer.

Power adapters also tend to give out some heat when they are plugged in even though the electronics plugged into the power adapter is off, so you can get a power bar to turn them all of at once with the power button on the power bar or automatically if you buy a smart power bar.

Also, check to see if your heater/furnace is turned off. Mini-fridges can also be a source of heat.

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