Keeping my PC cooled from summer's heat and humidity

Hello everyone. I recently purchased a new gaming PC (specs at bottom of post). And I would like to know how I could protect it from hot summer days. Yes, I know, I am not going to be gaming outside in the middle of the scorching sun, but we usually keep the thermostat inside the house on cool at 75°F degrees (in an effort to trim down our monthly utility bill). Could the temperature of my home affect my PC? I live in Central Virginia and the heat and humidity during the summer here is brutal! I want to protect my investment and make my PC last for a good few years. Anyone got any advice? Thanks a lot guys!

 

PC specs:

 

Windows 7 (64-Bit)

CM Storm Scout II Advanced

ASRock Fatal1ty Z97 Professional

Intel 4th Gen Core i7 4790K (4.8GHz Overclock)

Corsair Hydro Series H80i Liquid Cooling

32GB Trident DDR3 SDRAM

4GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 980

1000 Watt Corsair RM Series Power Supply

1TB Samsung EVO Solid State Drive

Simple: Keep the inside of the computer case clean and debris free. That, right there is 99% of making sure a comp stays cool. Keep all the fans in good working condition, and replaced if necessary, is the other 1%.

It's that simple, basic and easy once the system is built correctly. That's all. Nothing else :)

Hope that helps!

Pat☺

Thanks, Pat! :D

Glad to do what little I can :)

Pat☺

May be over the top but.

I bought 2 small HoMedics HEPA Air Cleaner and Filter $69.99

and set them near my 2k+ system.

 

And what Phantom Tweak said.

Also make sure there is plenty of air flow around the case. Tucking it away under a desk in the corner can lead to heat building up around the PC, which then circulates back through the case.

Hey, gdr1944. How many inches or feet did you place these from your system? Thanks! And thank the rest of you for your replies! :)

This might sound a bit crazy but i managed to keep my old GC for quite a long time

by installing another fan on top of it.

this kind

http://www.conrad-electronic.co.uk/medias/global/ce/9000_9999/9100/9180/9187/918764_BB_00_FB.EPS_1000.jpg

i used wooden match sticks and hot glue to hold it nice to the graphics card (on the same side on top of the mini fan)

till the last day i used it it worked but i needed a newer graphics card at the time to switch to FSX.

But as said before, keep the PC cleaned, no dust, lower near the floor (coz humidity

goes up)

If its a very hot day put a big fan near the case, but not blowing inside it, put it near the case air entrance so humidity does not go inside the tower.

 

You can also install that same fan i mentioned in the begining on top of the one that blows air outside the case. it will suck out more hot air.

 

Many will install their case in a room corner, and its not good because there is no air flow. the desk should be installed in the middle of the room or in mid wall.

 

And if you want to knock your heaad on the wall

http://www.tensionnot.com/images/images/Computer229.jpg

Hey thanks for the advice lefu! I will try that! :D

"Ohhhh,,,,do you know the muffin fan, the muffin fan..."

 

That's their "official" name anyway. Instead of stacking them, just cut another hole in the case. It will accomplish more twords the air-flow.

 

I have a Dell XPS 720. Thing has an aircraft aluminum case, weighs 70 lbs. And I swear, it has so many fans all over it, that if they ever all came on at once it would come to a fricken hover! Just bear in mind to have a direction for air-flow. IN in the front, OUT on top and back, let's say, since most power supplies fan's blow that way anyhow. Although that side fan you showed above is pretty effective...:D Just watch your fingers!!

 

A couple more things to consider: Look up "Cold Plate" technology on the net. Most effective cooling ever invented. Used in the Sidewinder missiles to cool the seeker heads before launch, so it works pretty good. One of those, the Thermal Paste on both sides, and a heat sink will cool ANY chip, I don't care how bad-a$$ or overclocked.

Also, look up "Liquid Cooling" tech. A very very popular choice among the high-end over-clockers, so there must be something to it! A variant on that I've also heard of is a liquid (usually an oil of some sort) filled case. Looks weird as heck, like a fish-tank, actually, but seems to work.

 

If/when removing/replacing/installing any form of cooling on either the GFX or Main CPU chips themselves, make absolutely certain to spread an even, not too thick, layer of the Heat Conductive Paste (Thermal Paste if you prefer) on it, either on the chip (watch the conductors, and ALWAYS use antistat or you risk blowing a lot of money!) or whatever cooling system you attach to it, on the chip side of course. That stuff is a vital component of ANY cooling system, no matter how messy it is (and it IS messy! Gets all over every-friggen-thing in sight!). Have a new roll of paper towels handy to clean up the mess, you'll need it!

 

And clean, dust free! Always always!

 

Hope all that rambling helped a little bit...

Pat☺

Well yes in general the warmer the ambient temperature the warmer the computer components will run, that's why you see in a lot forums people don't just want to know the temperature some component like the processor is running at they also want to know the ambient air temp and ideally the intake temp at any fan that is cooling things (at the radiator or heat sink). This is the delta temperature, in benchmarks for the good review sites you will see they go to great lengths to keep the ambient temperature stable.

 

You have liquid cooling and are OC so I assume you are using a temp monitoring program. If you get too hot you have some options like reducing you OC a little bit, 100 or 200Mhz isn't going to make much difference in the speed of your programs but it might well make a big difference in temp/stability. Add more or more powerful fans. Cool the room the PC is in (or use in the AM ;) ).

 

One rule of thumb for keeping your walls, floor etc. away from your fans is to measure the circumference (not diameter) of the fan and double that. But basically the closer the fan is to the wall or floor the less effective it will be though you will get diminishing returns the farther away from the obstruction you put it. If you have a bottom fan intake and the computer rests on the floor you should raise it at least 3.5" to 4" to make it effective...added benefit less dust coming in.

 

Many fans come in two styles, case fans which have a higher cfm and high pressure fans which have lower cfm but can push air better through obstructions such as filters, cables, radiators and drive stacks. In most PCs these days you will get better results with the fans with a higher static pressure, even with side fans (which often have a filter). So keep that in mind if shopping for new fans.

 

On keeping it clean there are a lot of options for fan filters, I'm trying out some magnetic ones that just stick to the case, very easy, but I haven't tried them long enough be sure how will they will stand up to washing or the vacuum.

 

As for your 980 if that gets too hot try experimenting with fan placement in your case. Usually a side fan makes the biggest difference, but try reversing the fans, also look for short circuits in air flow, one I see sometimes is people having two top fans, one set for intake the other for exhaust so the air just goes in one and out the other.

 

But really as long as your components are not running so hot that they cause throttling (or worse shut down) or BSODs/instability you should be fine, component life will generally be shorter if it runs hot but you need to consider the useful life before replacement e.g. if a processor conks out after five years instead of six or seven is that going to be a problem or will you have replaced it with something faster before then anyway?

 

Oh and DO NOT spread thermal paste. Use the rice grain method. The makers of heat sinks have instructions, or go to Tom's Hardware and look at the pics. This has been extensively tested (the spread method may have worked better on some older components but you don't have any).

Hey, BS616. Thank you so much! That was extremely helpful! I sure appreciate your help :D