8 replies to this topic

[eerie]

I was asked about this awhile back, so I decided to post it as well. The following is just a few general things you can do to prevent overheating.

1) Make sure your Labtop or Desktop is well ventilated to allow airflow.

2) Clear clutter or other obstructive & intrusive debris from the surrounding area. (Make sure there is always a proper amount of space between the computer and other objects.)

3) Clean your computer! Dirt is a common problem for overheating. I suggest using a professional cleaning kit. But if you cannot afford one, use a dry/soft terry cloth to dust with. (Just make sure that the cloth your using isn't rough. But instead, delicate and gentle to your system. Since you certainly won't want to use anything too abrasive around your hardware.)

4) Move your computer to a cooler area if its impossibly hot or dry in the area its setup in.

5) Upgrade your fans, upgrade your power supply, or use cooling kits. (Try to determine the source of your problem by using a heat monitor for your computer.)

6) Stop overclocking and return to default settings.

7) Check your computer settings and adjust them as needed to reduce the amount of heat generated.

8) Always check with your manufacturer! Often, dependent on how old your computer is... The manufacturer will be more then willing to help with a permanent resolution. (Especially to avoid, voiding warranties if you currently have one for your PC.)

9) Research your purchase options online! It is better to be informed about your decision, then to take the first opinion given.

10) Give your computer a rest! If it's running all day and all night, then it is naturally going to be hot. Give your PC some downtime and don't leave it running when you plan to not use it.

If you have a tip to add, please post your own.

Thank you.

Edited by eerie, 16 July 2012 - 09:26 AM.

[CeruleanGamer]

Don't play RO in an area with a furnace.

Edited by CeruleanGamer, 15 July 2012 - 09:15 PM.

[kasshin]

For laptops in particular, use a good notebook cooler when gaming (or doing anything at home really). I have one that reduces the heat from the side of the laptop from the regular HOT to no heat at all or even cool air. Definitely a good investment if you are using your laptop as your main computer.

[Andini]

you have a lot of tips

[DrAzzy]

I was asked about this awhile back, so I decided to post it as well. The following is just a few general things you can do to prevent overheating.

1) Make sure your Labtop or Desktop is well ventilated to allow airflow.

2) Clear clutter or other obstructive & intrusive debris from the surrounding area. (Make sure there is always a proper amount of space between the computer and other objects.)

This includes blankets and such - you can't game on a laptop while it's sitting on a soft surface like a bed or pillow, because that will block the air vents on the bottom.

3) Clean your computer! Dirt is a common problem for overheating. I suggest using a professional cleaning kit. But if you cannot afford one, use a dry/soft terry cloth to dust with. (Just make sure that the cloth your using isn't rough. But instead, delicate and gentle to your system. Since you certainly won't want to use anything too abrasive around your hardware.)

I would STRONGLY recommend against using cloths, paper towels, or any other sort of fluffy object to remove dust from any part of the computer other than the screen. The cloth can catch on things and damage them, and it's easy to push crap deeper in, and/or pack dirt together making it harder to remove.
You should use compressed air (well, it's not air, technically speaking, but...) from one of those "air dusters", available from any hardware, computer, or well-stocked convenience store (CVS has them). Hold the can upright (do not tilt it or use it upside down) and use it to blow dust off. Unless you smoke cigarettes around your computer, the dust should come off without any trouble using compressed air.
You can also use an air-compressor and spraying nozzle, but be sure to set it for a low pressure; An air compressor at 20 psi will remove dust from keyboards; at 80 psi, it will remove keys from keyboards (guess how I know this?)

The vast majority of overheating issues are caused by dust, and fixed by cleaning.


4) Move your computer to a cooler area if its impossibly hot or dry in the area its setup in.

Dry isn't bad. Humidity doesn't effect computer functioning unless it's so damp that water is condensing on parts of the computer (which won't happen while it's running, even in a sauna, if your computer is having overheating problems)

5) Upgrade your fans, upgrade your power supply, or use cooling kits. (Try to determine the source of your problem by using a heat monitor for your computer.)

You missed a step here - the first step, before thinking about upgrading things, is to watch the fans while the computer is running. On a laptop, you can see the fans through the vents, on a desktop, take the cover off. If the computer is overheating, every fan should be spinning. Be on the look out for slow fans and fans that are making scraping or grinding noises. Those fans should be cleaned, and if that doesn't fix the problem, replaced. For laptops, if they're not under warranty and you're not comfortable fixing it yourself, bring them to a local computer store (not the chains - they just say "oh, you need to have the manufacturer fix this") - many of them can perform service on laptops from any manufacturer.

For a desktop, the quick fix (for verifying that more fans will help) is to run it with the cover off. Plenty of people have run computers for years with the covers off because they're too cheap or broke to buy new fans.

6) Stop overclocking and return to default settings.
If they have to be told this, they shouldn't be overclocking in the first place. So, I guess they should follow your advice!

7) Check your computer settings and adjust them as needed to reduce the amount of heat generated.

8) Always check with your manufacturer! Often, dependent on how old your computer is... The manufacturer will be more then willing to help with a permanent resolution. (Especially to avoid, voiding warranties if you currently have one for your PC.)

You have far more faith in manufacturers than I do. My "best" experience with a manufacturer was when they took it back, denied the existence of a problem, then shipped it back to me packed improperly, so it arrived with more problems than it left with. The local store that I've had whitebox machines for me to order, on the other hand, I've had good luck getting support when things go bad.

9) Research your purchase options online! It is better to be informed about your decision, then to take the first opinion given.

Definitely good practice when buying a new machine. AFAIK, Acer (not to be confused with Asus, which makes some really nice laptops) still hasn't figured out how to do heat and power management well. Their mid-range laptops need cleaning almost every month to run RO or other games. Or that's been my experience, I stopped buying computers from them a couple of years ago (care to guess why?). I hear they've gotten somewhat better - but it couldn't have gotten much worse.

10) Give your computer a rest! If it's running all day and all night, then it is naturally going to be hot. Give your PC some downtime and don't leave it running when you plan to not use it.

This only buys you the 15-30 minutes that it takes for the computer to warm up before it starts overheating again. It shouldn't be overheating at all, and I'm inclined to think that if it's overheating, you should probably not try to thermally cycle the parts until something breaks - you should make it stop overheating!

If you have a tip to add, please post your own.

Thank you.

[Shadence]

If you have heat problems in a desktop, clean it and replace the thermal paste on your heatsink or get another heatsink. Also can be done on your gpu as well. Another good thing is cable management make sure your cables aren't in the way of the air flow.

If you're overclocking you know what you're doing usually. Most mass produced computers such as dell, acer, and so on lock their bios or the cpu's multipliers are not unlocked, which means those of us that build our computers know whats up.

so the list to heat problems is

1.clean
2.replace thermal compound
3.replace heatsink if its faulty
4.Cable management
5. download cpuid hardware monitor to see how your systems heat is doing.



Proper cable management, proper airflow, and a proper heatsink for overclocking.

Edited by Shadence, 03 May 2013 - 11:43 AM.

[DrAzzy]

For someone who's not an overclocker or otherwise handy with computers, I would not suggest replacing thermal compound or heatsink. I would certainly put those at the very bottom of any things-to-try list.

Also, checking the fans should be the first thing. Computer fan reliability is absolutely abysmal.

[Shadence]

anyone with a Phillips screwdriver can replace thermal compound its simple. just remember not to over paste it. If your computer is over heating the biggest reason other then dust is the thermal compound/ heatsink problem. you can have all the best fans in the world trying to cool your computer down if the heatsink isn't able to properly cool the cpu it won't get rid of the heat problem.

One more thing... before you go about trying to replace your fans and spending a bunch on them or a power supply, if they're spinning, you're golden. go spend 30 bucks on a heatsink for you cpu follow the directions and make sure its made for your cpu mount.

If you know you have a heating problem this would be the first thing to check because if you're overheating your causing damage to your components and shortening the life span of your computer.

Edited by Shadence, 03 May 2013 - 12:39 PM.

[Shadence]

For someone who's not an overclocker or otherwise handy with computers, I would not suggest replacing thermal compound or heatsink. I would certainly put those at the very bottom of any things-to-try list.

Also, checking the fans should be the first thing. Computer fan reliability is absolutely abysmal.

Proper airflow is a rule, alot of people don't know how your fans should be set up. Such as having your intake fan and an exhaust fan.

Even distributors sometimes set their airflow the wrong way. Its better to have more exhaust fans then intake fans, and that's as simple as just flipping a fan over, alot of Mass Distributors put all their fans as intake fans which is not smart since it doesn't get rid of the heat properly.