PC Placement

by Dean Barker  (4/9/2001)

This is one of the most important but most often overlooked things in overclocking.  We will go gleefully into debt if that is what it takes to get our machines a degree or two cooler.  When you think about it, I'm sure in the past you have come up with some pretty hair brained schemes to lower your temps.  

As I was moving my PC's around in preparation for the summer it occurred to me that some folks may not of though how best to take advantage of the surroundings to maximize your cooling potential.  The Penthouse Lab is just that, up a few stories and it can get hot in here over the summer.  Our lab has central air conditioning so we are going to take advantage of this.  Both PCs have been modified with intake and exhaust blowholes.  Our back up box has the blowholes on the side of the case.   Our central air conditioning vents are on the floor.  In the same manner are the invention of the peanut butter cup we put the two together.

Now when the house begins to get hot and the AC cuts on; the intake blowhole will be sucking in nice fresh cold air.  As you already surmised, both cases are moved away from the vents during the winter when heat blows through the vents.

Our primary box was a bit different being that it is in a tower case that simply won't fit just anywhere we want it.  If we can't bring the box to the cool then we bring the cool to the box.  The front intake port has a high speed 92mm fan providing the suck.  We drove up to our local hardware store and bought a six foot section of dryer vent tube and the rest is history.

Shifting my PCs to the cooler air dropped my case temperature a whopping 10 to 15 degrees depending on how long the central AC stays on.  The cool thing is that my wife is pregnant and pregnant women like it COOOL!  

Of course try to keep your PC out of any direct sunlight that may increase the temperature beyond an acceptable level.  This is just one of those obvious tips that you may be able to use in your cooling adventures. Hope this helps! 

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