(Approx. 1,001 words)

The Art of Keeping Cool
Part 1: Computer Fans
by Jerry Goldstein, Vice President & Newsletter Editor, The PC Users Group of Connecticut
www.tpcug-ct.org/
attygoldstein(at)tiac.net

Obtained from APCUG with the author's permission for publication by APCUG member groups.

With the cold weather you may not be thinking of the need to cool down. No matter how cold it gets outside your personal computer still needs to be cooled.  Computers generate a great deal of heat and need a means of dissipating it.  Heat reduces the life of your computer parts.  Block your computer vents and your motherboard will fry leaving you with lots of nothing.  Inadequately cooled computers suffer crashes and freeze-ups as the parts overheat.

You can check your computer’s temperature during startup by going to Setup when your computer starts.  Unless you do it through a reboot after you have been on the computer for a while you will not get a true reading.  There is software available to monitor your CPU’s temperature.  Constant temperature monitoring is probably not needed unless you are overclocking (running your CPU faster than it is set for at the factory) your computer or packed in way too much gear.

To combat the heat computer users have a wide selection of choices, some that work better than others.  This article will introduce you to a variety of means of keeping your computer cool.  

As computers get faster and smaller the parts are getting hotter and hotter.  The smaller the computer case gets the less space that heat has to go.  For a while computer cases were getting bigger.  About eight years ago I had a nice full size tower that had plenty of room for lots of gear and open space for the heat to dissipate.  I still had extra fans running on that computer but the computer ran cool to start with because it had space for the heat to go.  

In the last few years the over-the-counter computer started to be made with smaller cases which meant parts are being crammed closer together.  That also meant there was less room for the excess heat to move away from the equipment.  Adding fans are becoming more of a necessity as more is crammed into less space. 

The standard computer comes with at least four small fans built onto the case walls and the CPU.  These fans are self-contained units that either blow cold air into the computer or hot air out.  You will find these fans spread throughout your computer with their location depending on the manufacturer’s design.  There is also a fan made to blow cool air directly onto an add-on video card, a notorious heat monger for gamers.  The fan uses one or two expansion slots and sits over the video card forcing cool air onto the card.  When adding fans think about placing some fans to bring in the cool air while having other fans suck out the heat.  Good airflow will keep things cool and lengthen the life of your computer.

For gamers, who always want the latest and greatest equipment, (meaning heat generating stuff), there’s nothing like a huge fan built right into the top of the computer.  These fans are larger than standard computer fans, usually as large as the case is wide.  They sit on the top of the computer sucking the heat up and out as it rises through the computer.  Way cool.

Of course a fan cooled computer will do you no good if you pack your computer into too tight a space or a closed environment.  Be sure to keep a few inches for air to circulate in and out of the computer fan vents and don’t put your computer in a closed cabinet.  There is a reason computer desks come with an open back cabinet to put your desktop into.  Air circulation is also the reason why internal computer cables are no longer flat.  They found the flat cables blocked air flow.  The round sata cables now in use cut back on air flow restriction. Sata cables are also made thinner to further increase airflow.  Check how your cables run and maybe move them to the side to increase airflow.  Air circulation equals good.  Closed-in, 
tightly packed computer equals bad.

One drawback to fans is that they run off your computer’s power supply.  The more fans you put in your computer the shorter the life of your power supply.  Power supplies are a lot cheaper to replace than a motherboard, CPU, hard drive, or video card.  In fact, you should always invest in a couple more good fans to aid in cooling your computer.  The manufacturers are looking to save costs so they are never generous enough with those fans.  You’ll always save money in the long run with longer lasting parts kept cool by those extra fans.  That is if you remember to install them.  Those extra fans won’t help while they sit on the shelf waiting to be put in.  

Fans also have a bigger drawback: noise.  When you start up your computer that noise you hear is the fans starting up and running.  The more fans you use the more noise you get.  Its worth spending a bit more to get a better quality quieter fan.  Check the computer magazines or on-line for reviews.  Using one large fan that moves more air than two small ones will also save you noise.  The law of diminishing return comes into play with fans.  At some point adding another fan will not help anymore as the enclosed space can only move so much air.

The lower you keep your computer parts temperature the longer they will last.  Taking the time to strategically place computer fans will save you time and money shopping to replace those overheated blown parts.  Keep cool year round.

This article has been provided to APCUG by the author solely for publication by APCUG member groups. All other uses require the permission of the author (see e-mail address above).