My P4 has been having problems of late because of its sudden rise in temps. Despite the two fans exhausting heat and one fan bringing in cool air from the side, it still got too hot that it affected my work on some personal projects. Crashes, long waits while the CPU processed things, system instability -- these all point out to a problematic heat management within the rig. The rather humid temp in the bedroom also contributed to the PC's internal version of hell -- the CPU hitting 70 degrees Celsius or higher!
Just to ensure that my PC didn't break down, I had to open one of the side panels and focus one electric fan to the insides -- didn't help much though.
So, once again donning my hardware-expert-kuno garb, I proceeded to clean up the insides of my computer. I went so far as to dismantling the fan of the power supply unit to clear off dust and debris. Carefully avoiding the minute components of the motherboard and the video and audio and LAN cards, I dusted off the CPU portion as well as the insides of the casing.
Finally, giving weight to the real hardware experts' advice of good airflow within your rig, I knocked out two upper front panels, and relocated one of my exhaust fans to the front of the PC so that it sucked in cool air (now two fans are sucking in cool air which are being expelled by the PSU fan, and the remaining fan at the back).
The results are promising. What was once hitting highs of 70 degrees is now averaging 51 degrees, a drop of almost 29%!
Cool!
Talkin' 'bout stuff over steaming cups of coffee. Grab a seat and be part of the chit-chat.
