Author: john eayrs Date: To: Hampshire LUG Discussion List Subject: Re: [Hampshire] More on overheating boxes
> Rob Malpass wrote:
> > Hi all
> >
> > Without wishing to resurrect a thread from earlier this week, my
> > question is - Would removing the number of peripherals (e.g. one
> > optical drive, one hard drive) inside the case reduce CPU
> > temperature? Common sense tells me it should - but then again I
> > didn't appreciate that keeping the case enclosed (i.e. not having any
> > missing blanking plates) was also advisable - so perhaps my common
> > sense ain't up to that much!!
>
Have a look at the hard drives. A modern hard drive can get very hot (hot
enough to fry an egg on). This in turn can cause the electronics to draw
more current. This could be leakage current which may not exist if the
drives were running cooler. Hot electronic devices tend to fail faster than
cooler ones.
Try a drive cooler if you have not got one and see what happens.
Check the video card. Some video cards do not have adequate heatsinks.
This has been known to cause a problem again due to leakage currents caused
by high temperature.
What is important inside a case is turbulent air flow around the components
that get hot. Smooth air flow does not remove heat as efficiently. This is
sometimes a matter of trial and error and experimentation due to the various
cables inside a case that have the habit of altering the way the air flow
behaves.
