Overheating of computer hardware

[Stallowned]

So I know that overheating of your computer hardware is bad. But I'm not 200% sure how bad. I mean can it cause complete hardware failure, along with loss of data on the harddrive, and permanent loss of performance for other hardware?

I'm asking this because this computer desk, even though it looks nice and fancy and has a bunch of crap, really is made by someone who doesn't knwo that overheating is bad for acomptuer. There is no way for air to circulate around the tower, thus it ends up getting like 50000000 degrees there, and the heat building up there really doesn't help the temperature in my room which also faces the sun durin the day, so my whole room is like a sauna in the afternoon, even with the a/c on.

[MakoShark]

I found this online, hope it helps.

"Main source of heat are comming from
1) CPU
2) Power supply
3) HDD drives...

There is a couple of thinks you can do :
1) inprove air flows
change all IDE flat cables, that block air-circulation to the round one !
or go Serial-ATA
2) change your power supply for a one that has more fans

3) use a "CPU-Idle" program to put your cpu in low power mode each
time it is not used... I can observe a 10C difference on my computer
using these techniques.

4) spin down disk drive that are not used"
-----------
Cooling is VERY simple, cheap, and worth while.

The simplest form is air cooling. Regular fans (CPU, VGA, and Case)
will do the trick; make sure they re all installed correctly, and
working at their potential. Hard-drive coolers are fairly useless, as
are RAM-Syncs. Both are noisy, realitively pointless, and generally a
hassle to maintain."

[dom]

I had the same problem. I ended up building a custom desk but because my office is small my room still get's incredibly hot. In the summer it isn't rare for the temperature (I have a themometre in here) to reach 42C when it's only in the high 20s outside. Even though I have temperature problems i've never had overheats, luck I guess?


42C = 107.6F
28C = 82.4F

[[SD]Master_Wong]

look simple solution to all these thing if it never usedto over heat and now does simply open up your computer and clean the blades of the fans and remove any other dust in the computer (anti static wipes if you going to use cleaning wipes)

[Mereghost]

Stallowned:

Overheating can damage your hardware.
Overheated Memory Sticks can become useless.
Processors have their lifetime reduced (or simply burn).
HDD can get some bad blocks.
And your mobo can simply get FUBAR'ed.

[Bakemaster]

Yes, Mereghost is right. You should be concerned about overheating. Your computer is made up of various metals and plastics in various sensitive configurations. Heat in general makes these kinds of things expand, contract, warp, burn, and eventually melt. Obviously it takes some pretty severe heat to melt your components, but damage is done long before that.

One thing you can do that helps, if you are at all handy with hardware, or have a friend who is (odds are good these days), is to get a better case. Of course, that only applies if the case you have is cheap junk. If you bought your computer ready-made from a big retailer, and it wasn't labeled a "power" or "gaming" machine, the case is probably cheap junk. More importantly, many companies (cough*COMPAQ*cough) will give you oddly-shaped components and cases with nonstandard dimensions solely for the purpose of screwing you out of any customization you'd like to do.

Anyway, if you have a generic crappy case, get one with a vent on the side directly over the processor, a vent and fan (or fan mount) near the power supply and a vent and fan (or fan mount) diagonally opposite. Usually that means one up high in the back and one down low in the front. Buy some cheapo fans if you need to, together with the case you could spend as little as $25 if you find a good deal. Don't buy a case with a power supply, it just costs more. Check that the fan by the power supply is blowing air out of the case, and that the fan in front in blowing air into the case. The fan on your processor should be blowing air out of the side panel vent.

So if you have a crappy case, parts which will fit in a standard case, the general know-how and/or a techie friend to work with the hardware, and a little bit of cash to spend, this is one thing that will help to keep your components cool. You still need decent airflow outside of the case, of course. The case I went with has served me well so far, although you may see it advertized at MicroCenter as having headphone and microphone jacks in front, when in fact it only has USB and 1394 in front.