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Ahh, summer. The time for beaches, brews and babes. It's also the time of year when computers are your worst enemy. As if the heat from the sun isn't bad enough, we have CPUs reaching in excess of 50°C, resulting in a consistently warm room. It's a disaster if you happen to be in an overly small room.
Well, Ars Technica might come to the rescue for you, with some tips on how to keep your computer, and in turn, yourself cool during this warm season. Their tips include underclocking and lowering voltages, and also to stay away from CRTs. That seems like a harsh choice, when strapping a house fan to one would be a far less expensive option.
Personally, I recommend simply making sure the computer is clean inside and out and has a superb airflow scheme. The better the airflow, the lower the temps. Past that, another good solution would be getting an air conditioner. Or, turning the PC off when it's not being used. That might be the easiest solution of all...
If you happen to be using an older, workstation-class system, don't underestimate its power consumption. I finally got around to slapping my Kill-A-Watt meter on my own rig, and was astounded to see that my system was drawing 300W of power at idle. Firing up Folding@Home + Unreal Tournament 3 pushed power consumption up to 420W—the most I've ever seen from any rig, including the ones I benchmark.
Source: Ars Technica
Well, Ars Technica might come to the rescue for you, with some tips on how to keep your computer, and in turn, yourself cool during this warm season. Their tips include underclocking and lowering voltages, and also to stay away from CRTs. That seems like a harsh choice, when strapping a house fan to one would be a far less expensive option.
Personally, I recommend simply making sure the computer is clean inside and out and has a superb airflow scheme. The better the airflow, the lower the temps. Past that, another good solution would be getting an air conditioner. Or, turning the PC off when it's not being used. That might be the easiest solution of all...
If you happen to be using an older, workstation-class system, don't underestimate its power consumption. I finally got around to slapping my Kill-A-Watt meter on my own rig, and was astounded to see that my system was drawing 300W of power at idle. Firing up Folding@Home + Unreal Tournament 3 pushed power consumption up to 420W—the most I've ever seen from any rig, including the ones I benchmark.
Source: Ars Technica
